Lower Nicola Indian Band, is one of the interior Salish first peoples in the south-central interior of BC. Its community and offices are located at Shulus, also known as Lower Nicola, just west of Merritt, BC, between BC’s lower mainland and Kamloops.
Write to Read BC placed its 17th library in Rocky Pines, or Lower Nicola Indian Band. It was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunrise.
Nisaika Kumtuks is an elementary school in Nanaimo. It opened its doors in September 2014 as is the first urban aboriginal public school on Vancouver Island. At its start, if offered children from Kindergarten to grade 4 an Aboriginal focused curriculum.
Nisaika Kumtuks means “ours to know” in the Chinook language.
The school started in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Vancouver Island in Nanaimo, BC, with additional support from Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre, Mid Island Métis Nation, School District 84.
Write to Read BC installed its 16th library for the students and their family members. Sponsors included the Rotary Clubs of Nanaimo and Lantzville.
Previously, students at Nanaimo’s Nisaika Kumtuks Elementary Centre walked to the public library for books. After the ribbon-cutting, they had a library in their school building.
The library offers tablets, computers, and video conferencing, the library has books for children and adults that students and their families can use.
Ahousaht First Nation is a coastal community on Vancouver Island in BC. It includes much of Clayoquot Sound, and is the largest First Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island by population. It has 2,400 members.
Ahousaht First Nation’s core values are to respect one another, teach one another, care for one another, and help one another, and to know that everything is one—everything is interconnected. The community also publishes a dictionary of Ahousaht words.
Write to Read BC’s 15th library was installed here. Its sponsors included the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus, and the Rotary Club of Steveston.
Quatsino is a west-coast village on Quatsino Sound in northern Vancouver Island, BC. It is accessible by boat and float plane. Quatsino is near Coal Harbour and Port Alice. The largest town in this region of BC is Port Hardy, an hour northeast by boat and motor vehicle.
Quatsino residents are employed in the forest, fishing, and eco-tourism industries. Some professionals also live there and practice their professions via the internet.
Write to Read BC installed its 14th library here. The Rotary Club of Whistler Millennium was its sponsor.
The Tsay Keh Dene First Nation is a Sekani band in the Omineca region of northern BC’s interior. Its territories, settlements, and reserves are around Williston, about 550 kilometres north of Prince George.
The people of Tsay Keh Dene hunted, trapped, fished, gathered food and herbs, and traditionally lived on this territory in the Rocky Mountain Trench. Tsay Keh Dene means People of the Mountain.
The community is vibrant, created through hard work and commitment to its values, beliefs, and principles. This includes striving for sustainable growth and improving quality of life of its members. It does this through sound governance and responsible growth.
In partnership with the community Write to Read BC installed its 13th library here. Its sponsors included Rotary Club of Prince George Yellowhead, and Britco (now Boxx Modular).
Nooaitch First Nation is in the southern interior region of BC, with its reserve community and offices in Merritt. The main urban centre is in the Nicola Country region, between the Lower Mainland and Kamloops.
The Nooaitch First Nation reserve has a population of about 250 people.
Economically, forestry is important to this community. In response to pine beetle infestation, in 2007 the band agreed to harvest 20,000 m³ of timber annually over a 5 years, in its traditional territory.
Nooaitch First Nation’s vision for its library included video-conferencing. As a result, other partners donated computers and screens, to make that vision a reality. This library can offer remote participation in courses and conferences, in its learning centre. In partnership with the community, this was the 12th library Write to Read BC installed. Sponsors included Rotary Club of Merritt, and Britco Structures (now Boxx Modular).
Lax Kw’alaams is an Indigenous village community in BC, not far from the city of Prince Rupert. It is located on Port Simpson Indian Reserve No. 1.
In the community, the Coast Tsimshian Academy provides classrooms for 26 kindergarten students and 156 students in Grades 1 to 12. The school is a beautiful, two-storey, building of 2,000 m², tailored to the needs of the community. With a large, state-of-the art kitchen, and well-thought-out design and layout, the school is also a place for large groups of people to gather.
The school has spaces to learn home economics, industrial arts, and cultural activities. All classrooms have taken into account the needs of learners today, including electronic and spatial needs, as well as the relationship between teacher and student. There are also central gathering spaces connected to other common social areas, and quiet spaces to allow for more intimate learning opportunities.
The school is designed so it could be expanded to meet long-term projections of 175 to 200 students. As economic development projects in the area get underway, community members living elsewhere could return to Lax Kw’alaams. The school welcomes their children and youth to the community with its successful model for educating.
Write to Read BC installed its 11th library here by partnering with Academy of Lax Kw’alaams to expand its library offerings. The Rotary Club of Mission Sunrise was its sponsor.
Metlakatla is a small, west-coast village at Metlakatla Pass near Prince Rupert, BC.
Metlakatla village is a progressive community, 5 km north of Prince Rupert on an ancient site. For thousands of years, the Metlakatla people have lived there. Metlakatla means saltwater pass in Sm’algyax, the language of the Coast Ts’msyen (Tsimshian) people.
Metlakatla honour their history on the land. Its council oversees a number of services in the community to ensure members have the best quality of life possible, including access to healthcare, education, recreation, and social development.
This is the 10th library Write to Read BC installed, in partnership with the community. Its sponsors included Camera Buildings and Coquitlam Chrysler (Now Journey Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram).
The Ditidaht First Nation is a band government on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The government has 17 reserve lands: Ahuk, Tsuquanah, Wyah, Clo-oose, Cheewat, Sarque, Carmanah, Iktuksasuk, Hobitan, Oyees, Doobah, Malachan, Opatseeah, Wokitsas, Chuchummisapo, and Saouk.
Several of these lands are part of the newly established Pacific Rim National Park and can be reached on foot by the West Coast Trail. The land, waters, resources, and environment have always been the source of life, culture, and spirituality of the Ditidaht People.
Ditidaht First Nation is governed by an elected Chief and councillors. Ditidaht Economic Development Corporation manages economic development the nation.
Write to Read BC installed its ninth library here, in partnership with the community. The Rotary Club of North Delta was a sponsor of this library.
The Kwakiutl, in Fort Rupert, are a First Nation community located next to Port Hardy.
The Kwakiutl have lived on the north-eastern shores of Vancouver Island, since time immemorial. Their ancestors hunted and fished on these lands and waters, and developed a rich culture through which they celebrated the diversity of life around them. They continue to be strong by honouring all that our ancestors have taught them.
The Kwakiutl are a part of the larger Kwakwaka’wakw cultural group, known for their distinct art, language, and ceremonies. Their ancestors were skilled fishers, hunters, and gatherers who lived in harmony with the natural world. Through potlatches, storytelling, and intricate carvings, they passed down knowledge, values, and traditions from generation to generation.
The Kwakiutl Band operates a certified band operated school providing grades preschool to grade seven.
This is the eighth library installed by Write to Read BC. Its sponsors included Rotary Club of Burnaby Metrotown, Rotary Club of Port McNeill, Rotary Club of Port Hardy, Success By 6, and Britco Structures (now Boxx Modular).
