View source for Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations

{{Short description|Nuu-chah-nulth band government in British Columbia, Canada}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2009}}
{{Infobox First Nation
| band_name             = Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations
| band_number           = 660
| endonym               = ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ
| image                 = 
| caption               = 
| map                   = Tla-o-qui-aht.png
| map_caption           = Traditional territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations
| people                = [[Nuu-chah-nulth]]
| treaty                = 
| headquarters          = [[Meares Island]]
| province              = {{BC}}
| main_reserve          = Opitsat 1
| reserve               = {{Collapsible list|Title="List"
| Clayoqua 6
| Echachis 2
| Eelseuklis 10
| Esowista 3
| Ilthpaya 8
| Indian Island 30
| Kootowis 4
| Okeamin 5
| Onadsilth 9
| Tin-wis 11
| Winche 7
}}
| area                  = 3.878
| pop_year              = 2025
| on_reserve            = 399
| on_other_land         = 57
| off_reserve           = 786
| total_pop             = 
| chief                 = Elmer Frank
| council               = 
| tribal_council        = [[Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council]]
| website               = {{URL|https://www.tla-o-qui-aht.org/}}
| footnotes             = <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-18 |title=Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations |url=https://fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/fnp/Main/Search/FNMain.aspx?BAND_NUMBER=660&lang=eng |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=First Nation Profiles |publisher=[[Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada]]}}</ref>
}}

The '''Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations''' ({{langx|nuk|ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ}}) are a [[Nuu-chah-nulth]] [[First Nations in Canada|First Nation]] ([[band government]]) in [[Canada]].  They live on ten [[Indian reserve|reserves]] along the [[Pacific Rim National Park Reserve]] on [[Vancouver Island]], British Columbia. The band is part of the [[Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council]]. There were 618 people living in the Tla-o-qui-aht reserves in 1995. Their primary economic activities are [[fishing]] and [[tourism]].

== Introduction ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2025}}
[[File:A Clayoguot Woman LACMA AC1997.271.33.jpg|thumb|A Clayoquat woman, 1915 by [[Edward Sheriff Curtis]]]]
Tla-o-qui-aht, whose ancestral border is determined by the height of land, the direction of the rivers flow and as far as the eye can see on the ocean, is a confederacy of aboriginal groups who historically were independent from one another. Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations is the [[Indian band]] mandated under the federal ''[[Indian Act]]'' to deliver civil and human services to Tla-o-qui-aht. The hereditary governance systems and structures of Tla-o-qui-aht that exist today, and that have existed since [[time immemorial]] have a dynamic relationship with the Indian band administration and with the general population of Tla-o-qui-aht.
The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation resides on two separate reserves, one on [[Meares Island]] ({{lang|nuk|Opitsaht}}) and the other at [[Esowista Indian Reserve No. 3|Esowista]], surrounded by [[Pacific Rim National Park Reserve]]. A reserve expansion is planned for the Esowista site. The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN) has been active in economic development.
The keystone to understanding Tla-o-qui-aht history is understanding what the term ''Tla-o-qui-aht'' means. The following translation/interpretation was developed based on conversations with various Tla-o-qui-aht elders (including Mary Hayes and Dixon Sam Mitt, among others), fluent speakers, master craftsmen, seasoned politicians and those who participated in the exhaustive community consultation that was implemented by Tla-o-qui-aht during the Meares Island court case.

Tla-o-qui-aht is the [[confederation]] of historic native groups that once lived all around the lake system called Ha-ooke-min. ''Tla-o-qui-aht'' has been translated to mean "different people from a different place." However, it means much more than that: {{lang|nuk|aht}} is a prefix for the term 'people', and {{lang|nuk|tla-o-qui}} is a place in [[Clayoquot Sound]] presently known as Clayoqua. In this way ''Tla-o-qui-aht'' can be understood to mean the "people from a different place." Clayoquot Sound is on the western coast of [[Vancouver Island]], north of [[Tofino]].

In former times, the tribe's ancestors were in fact not one tribe, but many small tribes and family groups who lived all around {{lang|nuk|Ha-ooke-min}}, which is now known as [[Kennedy Lake (Vancouver Island)|Kennedy Lake]] and which is where Tla-o-qui is located.

The defining event that changed the face of Tla-o-qui-aht forever is eternalized in the name of the [[Esowista Peninsula]]. The war of Esowista was a great war that Tla-o-qui-aht engaged in as a single force. The people who once lived on the peninsula from [[Long Beach (British Columbia)|Long Beach]] to Tofino and further north had kept tight control of ocean resources and had made it a common practice to raid the sleepy fishing villages of {{lang|nuk|Ha-ooke-min}} to take slaves and other commodities. In Nuu-chah-nulth, {{lang|nuk|Esowista}} means "clubbed to death."

Tla-o-qui-aht maintained their presence in this part of the sound through to first contact with Europeans in the late 18th century. In summary, Tla-o-qui-aht, different people, are the people from Tla-o-qui; they are a confederation of many different smaller groups who once lived a very different lifestyle at {{lang|nuk|Ha-ooke-min}}.

== Hereditary system ==

Tla-o-qui-aht is in the process of rebuilding through a combination of restoring functions and adapting to the modern political landscape in British Columbia.{{When|date=October 2015}} The Hereditary Chiefs are leading Tla-o-qui-aht through this process.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}

== Administration ==

Tla-o-qui-aht maintains two administration offices, one at Opitsaht and the other on the property of Tin Wis Resort in Tofino. They are currently making plans for a new administration and cultural center for the Nation.{{When|date=October 2015}}

== Appointments to other boards ==

Currently, regionally focused appointments are made by the Hereditary Chiefs. Internal appointments to band committees etc. are made by Chief to the [[Clayoquot Biosphere Trust]] Board of Directors, the Clayoquot Sound Technical Planning Committee, the [[Central Region Management Board]] and the Central Region Board.

== Business and economic development ==

The Tla-o-qui-aht (TFN) has been very active in economic development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bcabic.ca/success-stories/tla-o-qui-aht-first-nation-and-swift-water-power-corporation/|title=Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Swift Water Power Corporation - Indigenous Business and Investment Council|publisher=}}</ref> They own and operate TinWis Resort, and have launched a tourism-booking center owned by their Economic Development Corporation. The Nation has tourism, artist/carver and small business entrepreneurs. They are involved in expanding their community housing with a reserve expansion situated adjacent to Pacific Rim Provincial Park and they are working towards the establishment of a tribal park in the Kennedy Lake watershed that will "marry" economic development and environmental protection in this part of their territory.<ref>http://ecotrust.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ECReport-FNGovernance.pdf pg15</ref> In 2008 the Nation signed a protocol with the District of Tofino to work collaboratively towards planned development on the north end of the peninsula where several large parcels of crown land are under discussion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hashilthsa.com/news/2012-12-17/tla-o-qui-aht-rejects-latest-treaty-agreement-principle|title=Tla-o-qui-aht rejects latest treaty agreement-in-principle|date=17 December 2012|publisher=}}</ref> Like several other Nations, some TFN members (six to eight) are still involved in the fishing industry including spawn-on-kelp, and commercial salmon and halibut fishing.

===Canoe Creek Hydro===
Is a run-of-river hydro plant in operation since 2010. A [[weir]] on Canoe Creek diverts water through a {{convert|4|km}} penstock dropping {{convert|474|m}} to a powerhouse with a 5.5 MW Pelton wheel generator. Water is then returned to Canoe Creek, eventually flowing into the Kennedy River. It is owned by a partnership of Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations & Swiftwater Power Corp, and managed by Barkley Project Group Ltd.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://canoecreek.ca/canoe-creek/|title=Canoe Creek|website=canoecreek.ca}}</ref>
The powerhouse is beside the highway at {{coord|49.176894|-125.395741}}

===Haa-ak-suuk Creek hydro===
This hydroelectric project was completed in 2014. It has a [[weir]] in Haa-ak-suuk Creek diverting water to a {{convert|3.6|km}} penstock leading to a 6 MW powerhouse at {{coord|49.248074|-125.383682}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
*Ecotrust Canada. Eli Enns, "The Tla-o-qui-ahth First Nations," in Daniel Arbour, Brenda Kuecks & Danielle Edwards (editors). ''[http://www.ecotrust.ca/clayoquot/governance/  Nuu-chah-nulth Central Region First Nations Governance Structures 2007/2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918224145/http://www.ecotrust.ca/clayoquot/governance |date=2008-09-18 }}'', Vancouver, September 2008.

==External links==
* [http://sdiprod2.inac.gc.ca/fnprofiles/FNProfiles_DETAILS.asp?BAND_NUMBER=660 Government of Canada's Department of Indian and Northern Affairs First Nation profile]

{{Nuu-chah-nulth-aht First Nations}}
{{First Nations on Vancouver Island}}
{{First Nations in British Columbia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tla-O-Qui-Aht First Nations}}
[[Category:Nuu-chah-nulth governments]]