We are the Tseshaht

The Tseshaht people live on the west Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, one of the 14 Nations that make up the Nuu chah nulth Tribal Council. Tseshaht is pronounced as “see-sha-ought”.

Tseshaht translates as “the people of, “” while Nuu chah nulth means “all along the mountains and sea” and is descriptive of a people living along the mountains that face the Pacific Ocean. The area “” is located on what is today known as Benson Island, one of the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound.

The Tseshaht people were created at “” and came to own all of the Broken Group Islands and lands up the Alberni inlet to Port Alberni. Historically, the Tseshaht people were whalers and fishermen, and their lives revolved around their territories on both land and water. The Tseshaht people assumed full control of the Somass River and established a fishing infrastructure where the ownership and utilization of fishing sites was governed by “Tupaati” - a system where hereditary privileges or prerogatives determined the ownership and use of practically everything of value.

Today, the Tseshaht remain in the Alberni Valley and still hold their traditional territories in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Valley . “” the land of Tseshaht creation, has been declared a park reserve by the Government of Canada.

The Tseshaht First Nation reserve land is now a vibrant, active community, with a membership of over 900 members and with an active and progressive natural resources- based economy, primarily with its abundant fisheries and well-developed forestry interests. The Tseshaht community is involved in many initiatives from construction to forestry, from social development to education, from the fisheries to mental health and is quickly moving towards self sufficiency.

The people of Tseshaht remain proud of their heritage and work as a community to preserve their traditional values and the teachings of the past.