Opitsaht

Opitsaht is located on the Meares Island, directly across from the neighboring town and popular tourist destination, Tofino. The Meares Islands are on the lower side of the Vancouver Islands in British Columbia, Canada. The settlement is only accessible by boat, or the local water taxi services. The island's vast terrain called for multiple species of marine life, animal life, and plant species.[4] Opitsaht was also known for its natural flourishment of trees and plants, which would later spark an environmental protest between the Tla-o-qui-aht people and potential forestry companies looking to tear down the local woods. The main terrain of Opitsaht is its island-like flat ground, and is surrounded by The Arakun Islands, Stockham Island, and Monas Island.[5] These islands also home thousands of trees, ranging from Evergreen Conifer Trees to Shore Pine. These various trees and plants produce food, such as fruits and berries, and the trees themselves provide a forest spreading throughout the Vancouver Islands.[6]

Environmental benefits of being located near marine life included access to salmon, sea otters, and even whales. These animals were hunted for their fur and skin, and often used as a major trading source between the Tla-o-qui-aht people and settlers that would be involved in the Maritime Fur Trade. Their diet was also supported by various plants and animals, such as berries and deer, which were hunted in the forests around Opitsaht. One of the main marine life resources was salmon, which the Meares Islands were known to have a plethora of. However, after the fur trade and large industrial farming techniques, the salmon population has reduced drastically around Opitsaht and the Meares Islands. The Clayoquot Sound Canning Company led the expansion in the area, lowering the amount of salmon reproduced.[7]

Opitsaht from the Meares Islands

Opitsaht is also home to cows, which never really made their way into Tla-o-qui-aht cuisine and therefore were left alone on the Island. The main Tla-o-qui-aht cuisine was centered around salmon, crustaceans, and other sea and plant life. The marsh-like area isn't common to cows, but their adaptation over time has found them to be surviving peacefully in the Meares Islands and Opitsaht, grazing in the beach waters and finding their way along the island.[8]

The settlement of Opitsaht was a great resource point during the Maritime Fur Trade, a ship based trading system during the popularity of sea otter fur and other marine life usually located around the Pacific Northwest Coast of Alaska.[9] At the same time, Opitsaht was the home to Tla-o-qui-aht chief, Wickaninnish, who was present during the initial European contact in the 1780s. The original village of Opitsaht was destroyed by the American Captain Robert Gray, after tensions arose between the Tla-o-qui-aht people and the European settlers who had made contact. In 1792, the village was destroyed, including 200 (unoccupied) longhouses that were home to 50-100 people each.[10]

The settlers of Opitsaht would soon have to turn to assimilation, with the increased amount of European immigrants spreading throughout the 19th century. Tla-o-qui-aht people were forced onto reservations and residential schools, all various methods to control the Native way of life under The Indian Act.[11] Over time, the Nuu-chah-nulth culture faded, but the Tla-o-qui-aht people, along with the other Nuu-chah-nulth tribes, are continuing to preserve the culture and language of their people.

Environmental tensions arose in the Meares Islands area after British Columbia's government wanted to cut down the old forests in Clayoquot South. The plans started in 1984, but the Tla-o-qui-aht people were ready to defend their tribal land. These old forests were considered tribal ground and ancient woodlands, sparking a resistance and large-scale protest of the area, known as the "War in the Woods".[12] In 2000, the UNESCO declared Clayoquot Sound as a Biosphere reserve, in turn protecting it from industrialization.[13] Opitsaht and the Meares Islands are currently in the Vancouver Islands, British Columbia, and the Tla-o-qui-aht are currently involved in negotiations with the federal government to gain potential independence and the ability to self-govern.[14]