Ehattesaht First Nation

The Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation, including the Ehattesaht, refer to the European explorers as mamałn̓i which essentially translates to "boat people".

[3] Similar to several other First Nations in Canada, they were forced to reserves and assimilate into the white, Christian culture that was dominant in Canadian society.

In its pre-colonial times, the members would fish in between sites, the Village of Tatchu being the most common, and would travel through canoes that were crafted by them from cedar.

Fishing continues to be an important tenet of their culture, as they would tun T'aaq-wihak fisheries, which would be one of the major legal battles to establish their Nations.

[8] This legal issue concerned the aboriginal rights of the Ehattesaht government to be consulted on any decisions made on its territory, specifically resources that companies were eager to exploit.

This court case investigated the incident in which the company Western Forest Products was granted, by the British Columbia federal government, to make use of 1 million m^3 of timber in the Ehattesaht territories.

In 2014, the Ehattesaht First Nation purchased the Mid Island Ice and Packing company to expand their fishing rights.

This matter was achieved and compounded after the British Columbia Supreme Court granted them the fishing rights in the area in a 2009 decision.

[10] Although difficult for the First Nation, it put a spotlight and emphasis on the lack of access to resources such as health care and hydro and internet connections.