Now, two and a half years later,as Chief (Kukpi7) of Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw First Nation, Tomma is leading his community through a difficult journey of recovery from the worst wildfire disaster in band history.
Challenges are playing out in hundreds of Canadian households this year, after wildfires consumed an area roughly a quarter of the size of Manitoba, and forced about 200,000 from their homes.
On a rare sunny late October day, a quartet of swimmers gathered around a deep pool on the Tranquil River in Clayoquot Sound ready to immerse themselves in the frigid water with hundreds of huge salmon swimming upstream to spawn.
The number of electric vehicles and charging stations is surging in Canada and B.C., but the rollout is uneven, with rural or remote Indigenous communities facing extra roadblocks.
A new pilot project to help B.C. conservation groups and First Nations bring emergency aid to struggling salmon saw one team try to provide the breath of life to suffocating fish.
On Wednesday, the Assembly of First Nations released its National Climate Strategy detailing a First Nations lens on the climate crisis that is more focused on language and cultural revitalization and the reciprocal relationship with the natural world.