Sharing Ahousaht culture with the world

Sharing Ahousaht culture with the world is the mandate for the award-winning Ahous Adventures eco-marine tourism company, which is managed by the Ahousaht Ḥaẁiiḥ (hereditary chiefs) through the Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Enterprises Inc. (M.H.E.I.) and Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society (M.H.S.S.).

When you venture out into Clayoquot Sound with Ahous Adventures, you’re about to embark on a unique and unscripted experience with knowledgeable guides whose families are deeply rooted in this place, often sharing stories handed down through the generations. A seismic shift has occurred in Clayoquot Sound through the collaboration of Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, working with the province of BC, to protect over 76,000 hectares via Indigenous-led conservancies. Mux̣šiƛa Hot Springs, at Nism̓aakqin in the Ahousaht haḥuułii, is now Ahousaht-managed with exclusive morning and evening access for Ahous Adventures.

In this three-part series, Ahousaht’s Ḥaẁiiḥ recount the People’s history, their vision for regenerative ecotourism in Ahousaht’s future, and ongoing stewardship of the haḥuułii.

Part 1: An Introduction to Ahousaht’s History

As told to Erin Linn McMullan

There is a name for “conservation” in the Nuu-chah-nulth language ʔuḥ-mowa-shił (“keep some and not take all”). This word pertains to careful use of the fishery. ¹

—Tyee Hawilth, Earl Ḿukʷina George, father of Tyee Hawilth Ḿukʷina Lewis George

How the Ahousaht People came to inhabit their present location in the Maaqutusiis Village on Flores Island

“The ʕaḥuusʔatḥ (Ahousaht) People as present were not the original inhabitants of what is now known as Ahousaht Maaqutusiis,” Tyee Hawilth Ḿukʷina Lewis George, of the Hes’shaht House, begins by speaking about the Ahousaht-Otsosaht War in the 1800s. ² Ḿukʷina is set amidst a Zoom backdrop of the Northern Lights, inspired by a recent display of aurora borealis in the sky over Clayoquot Sound.

In Nuu-chah-nulth, the name Maaqutusiis means “moving from one village to another”, “going from or going to”, or “to stay for some length of time”. ³

“We inhabited what is known as Quait Bay—we have a resort there we just purchased; it’s called the Tofino Wilderness Resort. Right next to the Tofino Wilderness Resort, we have a village, two of them, and they’re right by the Cypre River. We call this place Waʔuus, and it was one of the places where we originally inhabited, especially during the wintertime.

“It was during the summers we traveled out to Vargas Island. On the outside of Vargas Island in a village, what is now called Ahous Bay, was another place where we could easily get salmon. The salmon run in the summertime was right there on the doorstep. You could literally just go out on a rock and throw a line out and pull in a big salmon, what we call suuḥaa (soo-ha), King salmon, and it was right there, so they didn’t even have to get in a canoe to get their fish.

“The whales would come right into the bay, and it wasn’t very far for them to go get whale.”

“Oinimitis was also one of the places we stayed during the 1800s,” Ḿukʷina adds, explaining that it is opposite the resort in the Bedwell River Valley.

The gift of salmon

Both salmon and whales are integral to the Ahousaht, and the Nuu-chah-nulth way of life. In his book, The Living Edge, Earl Ḿukʷina George, father of Ḿukʷina Lewis George recounts the “gift of salmon” when the rivers were once “alive” with salmon runs almost every month: Sockeye in May and June; Spring salmon in June, July, and August; Sockeye again, August to September; and Chum, October through December. ⁴

He describes the Otsosaht Nation in the late 1700s and into the 1800s as owning “the whole of the area designated by an imaginary line from the south side of Catface Mountain, to a point halfway from Hot Springs Cove to Hesquiaht. They would not allow anyone to come past that boundary.” ⁵

He points out that the Ostosaht owned the Atleo River and the entire surrounding area. “They owned all of Flores Island and all the rivers and streams that cross Flores Island, Bawden Bay, White Pine Cove, and Herbert Inlet, all very rich in salmon.” ⁶ He explains that “each one of those rivers belonged to certain families from the Otsosaht Nation,” ⁷ a large Nation with as many as 10,000 members. ⁸

The Otsosaht “owned eighteen fish-producing rivers in Clayoquot Sound,” according to Peter Samson Webster, in his book, As Far as I Know: Reminiscences of an Ahousaht Elder. At the beginning of the war, the Ahousaht “numbered more than one thousand people. To feed this number of people required more fish than could be obtained from the one river, the Wahoose (Waʔuus), which they owned.”

Attempts to go through protocols to resolve resource-sharing conflict

Ḿukʷina Lewis George is a direct descendant of that wartime era’s Ḿukʷina, through his oldest son, both of whom would survive the upcoming Ahousaht-Otsosaht War over resource sharing, escaping a targeted attack near its conclusion. ⁹

Ḿukʷina explains that at that time, “We had, in my family, a matriarch that was part of their village.” However, despite these direct ties between Ahousaht and the Otsosaht through marriage, a protocol he explains would normally mean resource sharing, they refused to share the fish. “And every time any one of our people would go try to get fish, the Otsosaht,” he emphasizes, “would kill the people that would go and try to get the fish.” ¹⁰

The Ahousaht-Otsosaht War

“And so, my great, great, great, great-grandfather, his name was Hyupinulth, on my mother’s side of the family,” Ḿukʷina continues, “he was the war chief, and the second chief.

“So Hyupinulth went to the head chief and said, ‘I’m going to go to war for you.’

“And the head chief (Ḿukʷina) said, ‘Well, I can’t join you because of the matriarch in that village. I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘I can’t be part of the war.’ So, at the beginning of the war, the head chief stayed out of it.

“Hyupinulth, he took his warriors ¹¹ and climbed what’s now known as Catface Mountain, we call it čitaapii (Chitaapi).” Atop the mountain, Hyupinulth, the second War chief, declared war.

“I went on top of čitaapii,” recalls Ḿukʷina. “I landed there in a helicopter, and I looked to see how he would get up there. If you look down from čitaapii, there’s an S curve that goes right from the bottom, it’s an S. And that’s how he got up.

“But he had to make rope, cedar rope in order to get up there. So, he climbed čitaapii, and did a war chant with these warriors, and looked straight at the Otsosaht People because he could see their village right from the top of čitaapii. He said he was going to take the Otsosaht. So, the war began.”

Ḿukʷina recounts that when the war started the Ahousaht People had a lot of help. “They received guns¹² from the chief, Ḿukʷina from Muchalaht, what is now known as Friendly Cove. And I believe that’s what really won the war because going against 10,000 people is a task that you’re not going to do it, bows and arrows.”

However, he explains, “It wasn’t a full out war that kept going and going. It was done tactically from our side, going in canoes and going on raids. We had one group of people that would come from the back, and we had people going from the front so they would meet in the middle.

“The warrior that is recognized from today, Bishuckclim, from what is now known as the Frank family. He was the one that went from the back to the front and met Hyupinulth and another well-known warrior was on our side was Kahmina. Kahmina was a warrior that was part of the head chief’s house.”

Hamina had a high-ranking seat as part of the Takowith, 17 seats designed to assist the head chief or hereditary chiefs in their planning not only for war, but for potlatches, as well as resolving conflict. Today, Kahmina still has a seat beside Ḿukʷina.

Ḿukʷina himself would not enter the war until two years later, after burying his younger brother, who was shot and killed by the Otsosaht.¹³ In Living on the Edge, Earl Ḿukʷina George states that “John Jacobson related that Ḿukʷina killed as many people as the best of the warriors that fought approximately 15 years.”¹⁴ The War chief Hyupinulth had perished two years after the declaration of war by an enemy spear. ¹⁵

“When the war began, there was a young baby that was born,” Ḿukʷina says now. “And she was born right in the beginning of the war. So, when the baby became a teenager, when she became a young lady, the war ended. So, it’s really difficult to say a number of years how long the war was, but we’re looking between 13 and 15 years, that’s how long the war lasted.

“There’s no changing history,” Ḿukʷina reflects on the nature of war and its devastation. “So, war, any kind of war, it’s not going to be nice or pretty, but you can’t change that. You can’t change the history of what happened. And you can’t change how those people were to us.”

For the Ahousaht People, the war with the Otsosaht—”it was survival. If we didn’t go to war, we wouldn’t be here today because the main staple of our food is fish.”

As Earl Ḿukʷina George concludes in Living on the Edge, “access to many important resources—good cedar trees, salmon streams, herring spawning beds, and whales and seals—resulted from this war.” ¹⁶

Affirming contemporary fishing rights and continuity of stewardship

As stewards of their haḥuułii in Clayoquot Sound, the Ahousaht Ḥaẁiiḥ continue to fight to protect its incredible resources for future generations. In 2021, Nuu-chah-nulth leaders, including Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, and Ehattesaht/Chinehkint First Nations won a landmark victory affirming unlimited rights to commercial fishing within their own territories.¹⁷ On June 26, 2024, Nuu-chah-nulth stewardship was acknowledged through the formal establishment of Indigenous-led conservancies over 76,000 hectares in Clayoquot Sound as a result a collaboration between Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, working with the province of BC.

“We’ve been meeting with the provincial government for quite some time now, going over protocol with them and informing them that we are stewards of the land,” says Ḿukʷina, emphasizing, “We’re Unceded. That land, right from Hilthwina (Hesquiaht) Point all the way to Schindler Point, right around near Meares Island, (and) all the way to Dolly’s Pass is the Ahousaht First Nation territory.”

Ḿukʷina reflects on testifying in court during the fisheries litigation about how the Ahousaht conquered the Manhousaht, who had aligned themselves with the Otsosaht during the war. “Hot Springs Cove as we know it today belongs to Ahousaht through war.”

Ḿukʷina approaches this delicate history with sensitivity, pointing out that they welcomed the last of the Manhousaht People when they came to his father, Earl Ḿukʷina George, and the Ḥaẁiiḥ – all five hereditary chiefs – around 1958 to ask if they could amalgamate and join Ahousaht.

Today, Ahousaht is one of BC’s largest First Nations with 2,500 people:¹⁸ a confederation of multiple former tribes which began joining together before the arrival of Europeans, including: Manhousaht, Keltsmaht, Piniit-thlaht, Kwatswiaht, and Oinimitsaht.¹⁹

Sharing Ahousaht culture through Ahous Adventures

Ahous Adventures marks Ahousaht’s debut into the tourism economy in which they’ve traditionally been marginalized, contributing to capacity building with new employment and economic opportunities, and coming full circle by funding salmon restoration through their stewardship program, which has to-date released nearly 100,000 fish back into the Atleo and other rivers within the haḥuułii’s watershed.

“The launch of Ahous Adventures by the Ahousaht First Nation is another significant step toward regenerative tourism in this region,” says Brad Parsell, Executive Director, Tourism Tofino. “It is a win-win situation where the Nation can create meaningful opportunities for Ahousaht people and raise funds to build capacity around stewardship efforts in the territory, while at the same time providing a richer, deeper experience for visitors. While the Clayoquot Sound region is renowned for its natural beauty and abundance of wildlife, not all visitors fully appreciate the rich Indigenous history and millennia of stewardship that has contributed to this biodiversity. Seeing the territory through a First Nation lens is a whole other experience, and a wonderful addition to what is on offer to visitors in this part of the world.”

It is with deep gratitude that the writer acknowledges the history and wisdom shared by Tyee Hawilth Ḿukʷina Lewis George.

References:

Interview with Ḿukʷina Lewis George, May 14, 2024.
George, Earl Maquinna. Living on the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.
Webster, Peter S. As Far as I Know: Reminiscences of an Ahousaht Elder. Campbell River, BC: Campbell River Museum and Archives, 1983.

Part 2 of this series continues in November 2024 with an in-depth interview with Hasheukumiss Richard George to discuss the Ḥaẁiiḥ’s vision for capacity building and ongoing Ahousaht stewardship which has been practiced in Clayoquot Sound since time immemorial.

1. Earl Ḿukʷina George, “The Gift of Salmon,” In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective., 63. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

2. While Peter Samson Webster recounts that this “fierce war” took place in the 1840s or 1850s, lasting 15 years (p. 60, In As Far As I Know: Reminiscences of an Ahousaht Elder, 1983), Earl Ḿukʷina George, who consulted with both Webster and Ahousaht historian, John Jacobson, dates the war as having begun much earlier, already underway with night raids by the Ostosaht and growing “fiercer somewhere around 1800” (p. 44. In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective, 2003). Recent validated land claims describe Ahousaht territory as having been “won in war from the Ootsosaht in the early 1800s” (Ahousaht First Nation v. Her Majesty The Queen In Right Of Canada, 2019: https://decisions.sct-trp.ca/sct/rod/en/item/362821/index.do).

3. p. 20, Peter Samson Webster, As Far as I Know: Reminiscences of an Ahousaht Elder. Campbell River, BC: Campbell River Museum and Archives, January 1, 1983.

4. p. 68, “The Gift of Salmon,” Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

5. p. 43, “Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

6. p. 42, Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

7. p. 43, Earl Ḿukʷina George, “Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

8. p. 43, Ibid.

9. p. 63, Peter Webster, “The War in Clayoquot: The Final Battle,” In As Far as I Know: Reminiscences of an Ahousaht Elder. Campbell River, BC: Campbell River Museum and Archives, January 1, 1983; p. 51, Earl Ḿukʷina George, In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective, 2003.

10. Earl Ḿukʷina George suggests one of these murders would become the catalyst to this war, a “guerilla warfare”, executed in a series of raids which would last for fifteen years. (p. 44, In Living On the Edge, 2003).

11. In Earl Ḿukʷina George’s account, he describes a “gathering of 40 warriors …all speaking one at a time.” p. 46, “Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

12. These guns were muskets from The Boston, Ahousaht Indian Band and Nation v. Canada, Supreme Court of BC, December 15, 2009: https://caid.ca/AhoDec2009.pdf

13. p. 43, Earl Ḿukʷina George, “Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

14. p. 49, Earl Ḿukʷina George, “Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

15. p. 43, Earl Ḿukʷina George, “Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

16. p. 52, Earl Ḿukʷina George, “Quesahii: The People and the Sea,” In Living On the Edge: Nuu-Chah-Nulth History from an Ahousaht Chief’s Perspective. Kootenays, BC: Sono Nis Press, 2003.

17. Cara McKenna, “Nuu-chah-nulth leaders celebrate legal victory for commercial fishing rights,” IndigiNews, April 20, 2021: https://indiginews.com/vancouver-island/nuu-chah-nulth-leaders-celebrate-legal-victory-for-commercial-fishing-rights; Ahousaht Indian Band and Nation v Canada, Supreme Court of BC, 2018: https://www.mandellpinder.com/ahousaht-indian-band-and-nation-v-canada-attorney-general-2018-bcsc-633-case-summary/

18. Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society (M.H.S.S): https://mhssahousaht.ca/stewardship-fee/

19. Ahousaht First Nation, First-Nations.info: https://www.first-nations.info/ahousaht-nation.html