Timeless Tofino – Winnipeg Free Press

TOFINO — It’s been said that one of the best reasons for travel is to see the beauty, history and importance of a place — to be educated on the need to preserve it for future generations. As a small group of us follow in the footsteps of a man named Moses on this crisp and clear autumn afternoon, I get a sense that class is in session.

Our stroll takes us along a labyrinth of paths that were once the local botanical gardens, where visitors would come to enjoy the various varieties of rainforest flora. The plants are still in place, but something else has now bloomed — the Naa’Waya’Sum Coastal Indigenous Gardens, part of the new Clayquout Campus where visitors can learn about Indigenous history, language, culture and conservation.

There are a number of covered viewpoints and seating areas in the garden that create opportunities for pause, reflection and appreciation of nature’s teachings. IISAAK, which means to observe, appreciate and act accordingly is the highest law of the Nuu’chah’nulth constitution and is the ethos of the campus. (Nuu-chah-nulth is a collective term to describe the First Nations of western Vancouver Island. Indigenous people have inhabited the area around Tofino for thousands of years, pre-dating European contact by many generations.)

The transformation of the 10-acre site began in the fall of 2021 when it was purchased by MakeWay Canada’s Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) Innovation Program. IPCAs are lands and waters where Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) governments have the primary role in protecting and conserving ecosystems through Indigenous laws, governance and knowledge systems.

The new campus also has a cafe that serves seasonal dishes with foods from the region and a learning lodge where Indigenous and non-Indigenous visitors can meet with elders and knowledge holders, learn more about IPCAs and their role in helping Canada reach targets established by the UN Convention of Biological Diversity and connect with the land and waters on unique excursions.

There are numerous exhibits, including one that shows totems being designed and carved on site. During a recent Sturgeon Super Moon, NaaWas Čiinuuł (Totem) was placed in the Naa’Waya’Sum Gardens.

Eli Enns, a leader in Indigenous conservation and co-founder of the IISAAK OLAM Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting the establishment of IPCAs, is the visionary behind Clayquout Campus.

“It’s a place of inspiration,” explains Enns, who mostly grew up with his non-native mother in Manitoba and did his bachelors degree in political science at Brandon University. “Coming to the campus is to create a spirit that dilates the hearts and minds of visitors. And to provide links for them if they wish to delve into the subject further.”

The Nuu-chah-nulth word Naa’Waya’Summ means the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another and there’s perhaps no person who better epitomizes that principal than our guide on this day, Moses Martin.

A 13-term chief councillor of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, Moses was a key figure in the anti-logging protests on Canada’s west coast during the 1980s and ’90s. Known as the War in the Woods, the series of protests by groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of Clayoquot Sound fought to put an end to destructive logging in the area.

Martin got the ball rolling in 1984 by spearheading work on an historic agreement known as the Meares Island Tribal Park Declaration that protected the majority of the island’s rainforest from logging — preserving its natural beauty and cultural significance.

Since then, Meares Island has become a symbol of conservation efforts and the importance of protecting ancient forests and Martin has remained committed to preserving his community’s land, culture and heritage.

“Moses is one of the most humble people I have ever known,” says Enns. “He’s so full of wisdom, so generous. He’s helped so many people.”

Now in his early 80s, Moses remains a voice for his people. As a co-owner of Clayoquot Wild, an environmentally focused tour company in Tofino, he shares his vision and wisdom on a variety of journeys. A residential school survivor who was taken from his community when he was seven years old and only allowed to go home one day a year until he was 14, Moses understands the importance of healing and hopes that visitors experiencing the Tofino area’s natural wonders while also learning about the Indigenous heritage and environmental history that make it a unique and valuable place, can help in that regard.

“It’s just something we have to accept. Non-natives aren’t going away and neither are we,” Moses says. “So, we have to learn to live together. Perhaps something like this can help with that.”

Walks with Moses and tours of the campus are just two of many Indigenous tourism experiences in the Tofino area. A few others to include in a visit are:

— Big Tree Trail (Meares Island Tribal Park): The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation’s flagship visitor experience was originally built in 1984 as are part of the protest against MacMillan Bloedel’s intent to log Meares Island. Along the trail, you’ll find western red cedar trees as old as 1,500 years. The Hanging Garden Tree, with a circumference of 18.3 metres, was once considered the largest tree of its kind in Canada;

— NAAS Foods: The fine folks at this seafood market serve up fresh HUSMIN (kelp), SUUHAA (chinook), and P̓UUʔI (halibut) — along with other high quality, eco-conscious products sourced locally. The kelp is sustainably hand-harvested off the coast of Clayoquot Sound and hand-processed in Tofino;

— Picture this: World-renowned Canadian First Nations artist Roy Henry Vickers has a terrific gallery in the heart of Tofino where you can see his carvings, original prints and paintings, reproductions, books and jewelry — all housed in a building he built himself with close friends and family;

— Tofino Clayoquot Heritage Museum: showcases events spanning from the retreat of the last glaciers to Nuu-chah-nulth culture to the logging protests that have shaped present-day Tofino.

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