The Hupacasath First Nation increased their presence in Port Alberni with a flag raising at Victoria Quay on Sunday, Nov. 16.
The flag, which will complement the Welcome Figures already at Victoria Quay, is the first of five flags the Hupacasath plan to raise all around the Alberni Valley.
According to Hupacasath chief councillor Steven Tatoosh, the flag is meant to let people know that “this is our area that we developed, just to show that we have a presence in the Alberni Valley.”
The Hupacasath originally got the idea from the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“[They] invited us to put a flag up there along with the Canadian flag and the British flag and we took the opportunity to just let everybody know that we’re here to stay and that we have a presence in the Alberni Valley,” said Tatoosh.
The Hupacasath will be raising four more flags in the coming months at the Chamber of Commerce, their band office, at the dock at their Ahahswinis reserve and at their Kleekhoot reserve at Sproat Lake.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com
twitter.com/AlberniNews