August 21, 2026
Update by June Titian, Communications Coordinator
Ahousaht Leadership Advocates for Community Priorities in Meeting with Indigenous Services Canada
Ahousaht Chief and Council met virtually with Alyson Rowe, Director General for British Columbia with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and members of the ISC regional team to bring forward priorities affecting Ahousaht members.
Managers and staff were again invited to take part in the discussion, providing front-line knowledge in the areas they work in every day. Chief Councillor Rebecca Atleo said including managers was important because Council’s role is to advocate for the people and the staff working directly to meet community needs.
The meeting covered a wide range of priorities, including infrastructure, the new Longhouse, housing, water, health and wellness, education, funerals, economic development and membership services.
Rebuilding What Was Taken Away
A central message from Council was that many of the issues facing Ahousaht today cannot be separated from Canada’s history of government treatment toward First Nations.
During discussion about the Longhouse, Councillor Anne Atleo spoke about what was taken from Ahousaht through government actions of the past. Generations lived through the residential school system, the potlatch ban and other measures that suppressed language, culture and traditional ways of life.
The effects did not disappear when those practices ended. Their impacts continue within families and the community today.
Anne made clear that Ahousaht was not approaching Canada “with hat in hand,” but seeking a partnership. The same government that once acted to suppress First Nations languages, cultures and ways of life now has a responsibility to be a meaningful partner as Ahousaht works to restore and strengthen them.
The Longhouse is an important part of that work. Council is seeking support not only for infrastructure connected to the building, but for its long-term operation and for language and cultural programming that can take place within it.
Needs, Not Wants
Council also emphasized that Ahousaht is not waiting for others to solve its problems.
The Nation has continued to move projects forward, secure facilities and invest its own resources where funding falls short. At the same time, leadership made clear that essential community needs should not continually depend on short-term grants or on Ahousaht finding ways to fill funding gaps.
Housing overcrowding, aging water infrastructure, a growing need for serviced land, an Elders facility, cemetery expansion, staff housing, fire protection and medical infrastructure were among the needs brought to ISC. Council stressed that these are not simply community “wants.” They are about providing safe housing, clean water, care for Elders, safe facilities and essential services for a growing community.
The realities of living in Maaqtusiis were also repeatedly raised. Materials, supplies, tradespeople and essential services must often travel by water, adding costs and complications that communities connected by road do not face.
Healing Must Be Long Term
Health discussions returned to the lasting effects of residential schools, day schools and other colonial actions.
Leadership spoke about the trauma that continues through generations and the need to move away from repeatedly responding to crises toward long-term healing and prevention.
Ahousaht has already taken significant steps, including establishing the Wellness Centre and developing a Community Well-being Action Plan based directly on input from Ahousaht members. Priorities identified by the community include primary health care, a dedicated medical facility, traditional foods and harvesting, a 24/7 crisis team, emergency medical transportation, land-based healing, palliative home care, intergenerational knowledge transfer and patient advocacy.
Chief Councillor Atleo connected present-day struggles directly to residential school experiences within Ahousaht families and spoke of the importance of acknowledging that history rather than denying its continuing effects.
Council’s message was that Ahousaht is already doing the work. The Nation is building programs, creating facilities and listening to its people. What is needed is stable partnership and long-term support rather than having critical healing initiatives continually depend on temporary funding.
Protecting Language for Future Generations
Education discussions also focused on language revitalization. Chief Councillor Atleo spoke about the reality that Ahousaht's language was taken from generations through residential schools, yet today the Nation must continually seek additional grants to teach its own children their language.
Council advocated for Ahousaht language to be properly and consistently supported as part of education, rather than treated as an extra program dependent on available grants.
Council also advocated for adult education, support for students living away from home, teacher housing, safer education facilities and continued work on school infrastructure.
Membership Services Must Work for a Nation of 2,400
Council and staff also raised significant concerns about membership and status card services.
Ahousaht has approximately 2,400 members living both in Maaqtusiis and away from home, yet the Membership Department has recently been limited to orders of only 100 status cards at a time. With the number of new cards and renewals required for a Nation of Ahousaht's size, 100 cards simply does not meet the demand.
This is more than an administrative inconvenience. Status cards expire, and an expired card may not be accepted by some service providers. For members, delays can create barriers when trying to access benefits and services they are entitled to.
Another concern brought forward is lengthy registration processing times. Membership staff reported waits of approximately six to eight months for some registrations, with previous cases taking as long as two years.
Leadership pressed ISC to look seriously at how membership and status services are delivered to larger Nations such as Ahousaht. Council's message was straightforward: a system serving more than 2,400 Ahousaht members needs to reflect the actual size and needs of the Nation.
“We’re Still Here”
Throughout the meeting, Council returned to the interconnected nature of the issues being discussed. Housing affects health. Health affects education. Culture, language, infrastructure, safety and wellness cannot always be separated into individual government programs.
In closing, Chief Councillor Atleo spoke about the work already happening in Ahousaht, including recent cultural wellness activities that brought people together to learn traditional skills and reconnect with culture.
She also invited ISC representatives to come to Maaqtusiis and experience the realities of the community firsthand.
“We’re still here. We’re not going anywhere.”
The message reflected the larger purpose of the meeting: Ahousaht is not asking government to do the work for the Nation. Ahousaht is doing the work, setting its own priorities and rebuilding what previous generations were prevented from carrying forward.
Leadership is asking Canada to be a genuine partner in that work.
Rowe acknowledged the importance of an ongoing relationship and said ISC would provide Ahousaht with a list of action items and next steps following the meeting. She also welcomed an invitation to return to the community for an in-person meeting.
Chief and Council will continue following up on the priorities raised and advocating for the resources and partnerships needed to support Ahousaht members today and for generations to come.
Ahousaht Leadership Meets with Minister Josie Osborne
August 20, 2026 | Maaqtusiis
Update by June Titian, Communications Coordinator
Ahousaht Chief and Council welcomed MLA Josie Osborne to Maaqtusiis on August 20 for an in-person meeting focused on health and wellness, infrastructure, housing, education, culture and other priorities affecting Ahousaht members.
When the meeting was originally arranged, Osborne was serving as B.C.'s Minister of Health. Since then, she has transitioned to the role of Minister of Finance, but kept her commitment to visit Ahousaht and offered to carry health-related concerns forward to the new Health Minister and ministry staff.
The afternoon began with prayer and a blanketing for Osborne, whose father recently passed away. In keeping with Ahousaht custom, the blanket was offered as an expression of care and acknowledgement as she continues her work while grieving.
Chief Councillor Rebecca Atleo explained that meeting face-to-face was important to leadership and provided an opportunity for Osborne to hear directly from Chief and Council and Ahousaht managers.
Osborne reflected on her longstanding relationship with Ahousaht, dating back to her early career in the 1990s as a fisheries biologist with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. She said relationships have remained an important part of her work and that hearing directly from Ahousaht gives her a better understanding of the issues the Nation is facing.
Health, Wellness and Patient Travel
Health and wellness formed a significant part of the discussion.
Leadership and staff spoke about the challenges Ahousaht members continue to experience accessing health care from a remote community. Patient travel remains a major concern, including limits on mileage and meal reimbursements, requirements to use the closest available provider, expectations for same-day travel, and the additional costs of travelling by boat.
Managers and Council members shared examples of members travelling for specialist appointments, dialysis, dental care and other medical services, sometimes having to fundraise or rely on Ahousaht to cover costs that existing programs do not adequately reimburse.
Emergency medical transportation was also raised. Ahousaht continues to rely heavily on local boat operators and volunteer first responders when patients need to be transported from the community. Leadership discussed the need for both land and marine ambulance services, improved accessibility at docks for people using wheelchairs, and appropriate support for the people responding to emergencies.
Council also spoke about the need for long-term operational funding for the new Wellness Centre and for culturally grounded services such as land-based healing, mental health and substance-use supports.
The message throughout the discussion was that Ahousaht has demonstrated its ability to develop facilities and programs for its people, but short-term grants do not provide the stability needed to operate them year after year.
Osborne acknowledged that concerns about the First Nations Health Authority have also been raised by other First Nations during her time as Health Minister. Although health is no longer her portfolio, she committed to bringing Ahousaht's concerns back to the new Health Minister and ministry staff.
Ahousaht's Well-Being Priorities
Council shared priorities identified through Ahousaht's community well-being engagement. These priorities reflect needs identified by Ahousaht members both at home and away from home.
- Improved access to primary health care and a reliable nursing team
- A new medical facility
- Traditional foods and harvesting
- A 24/7 crisis response team
- Emergency medical transportation
- Land-based healing
- Palliative home care
- Intergenerational knowledge transfer
- Community gatherings
- A patient advocate
- Education around governance and traditional roles
- Improved communication
Housing and Infrastructure
Housing remains one of Ahousaht's most significant challenges.
Discussion included overcrowding, aging homes, mold and electrical concerns, limited housing for community members and employees, and the difficulty of securing adequate funding to meet the Nation's growing needs.
Leadership also raised the need for major infrastructure investments, including a replacement water treatment plant, improvements to education facilities, an Elders facility, a youth centre and eventually a new administration building. The current administration building dates back to the 1970s and no longer provides adequate space for the number of employees working from it.
A common challenge across departments is that funding may sometimes be available to construct a building or purchase infrastructure, while ongoing funding to operate, maintain and staff it is much harder to secure. Leadership emphasized that long-term sustainability needs to be considered alongside capital funding.
Language, Culture and Education
The discussion also addressed language revitalization and the lasting impacts of policies that prevented generations of Nuu-chah-nulth people from speaking their language and practising their culture.
Ahousaht continues to invest in language and cultural education, but much of this work remains dependent on short-term grant funding. Leadership emphasized that restoring what was taken away should not require communities to repeatedly compete for temporary funding.
Education representatives also discussed aging facilities, seismic concerns and the shortage of housing for teachers and local education staff.
Economic Development and Ahousaht Territory
Leadership spoke about the significant economic activity taking place throughout Ahousaht territory and the importance of Ahousaht having a meaningful role in decisions involving its lands, waters and resources.
Discussion included tourism, resource management, economic development opportunities and proposed mining activity within Ahousaht territory. Osborne committed to connecting Ahousaht with the appropriate provincial representatives regarding mining activity and related questions.
Leadership emphasized that Ahousaht is not simply asking governments for assistance. The Nation continues to take initiative, build infrastructure, develop programs and invest its own resources. What Ahousaht is seeking is a fair partnership and recognition of the resources and economic activity generated within its hahuułi.
Supporting Families Through Loss
Funeral support was another important topic.
Ahousaht previously participated in a provincial pilot approach that made funeral reimbursements less burdensome for grieving families. Leadership explained that the process has since become increasingly administrative, requiring families and staff to gather documentation during an already difficult time.
There are also significant costs involved in bringing Ahousaht members home when they pass away outside the community, along with transportation, food and other supports traditionally provided to grieving families.
Council asked the Province to renew the spirit of partnership that existed under the earlier approach and recognize the realities of how Ahousaht cares for its members and families during loss.
Continuing the Relationship
Throughout the meeting, Chief and Council emphasized the importance of government representatives coming directly to Maaqtusiis to hear from the people responsible for delivering services and responding to community needs.
Osborne acknowledged that she could not promise immediate solutions to every issue raised, but committed to helping connect Ahousaht with the appropriate ministries and continuing to advocate for the Nation's concerns.
In closing, Osborne recognized the work of Ahousaht's elected leadership and managers and said she looks forward to strengthening the relationship with Ahousaht in the years ahead.
“I'm here to serve. I'm here to help. I'm here to work.”
Josie Osborne
Following the meeting, the afternoon concluded with a tour of two major community projects: the Longhouse currently under construction and Ahousaht's completed Wellness Centre.
The visit gave Osborne an opportunity to see firsthand the investments Ahousaht is making in culture, healing and community wellness, as well as the importance of securing sustainable support to ensure these facilities can serve Ahousaht members for generations to come.
