Cortes Currents

By the time you hear this, everyone on Cortes Island will have received a newsletter from their Regional Director. I found it left me with more questions than answers. So I asked Noba Anderson to explain her vision for Cortes Island’s future.

According to the definition at neighborhoodcats.org, “A "feral" cat is unsocialized and tends to be fearful of people and keep a distance.” That may once have been true of the sixteen cats Samantha Statton is currently looking after but, speaking as a former cat owner, a few of these are among the friendliest cats I have seen. It was hard to take a picture because they were constantly sniffing my lens, or trying to smooch, and one adorable youngster liked to jump up onto my shoulder for a nuzzle. In this morning’s interview Samantha tells us how Cortes Cat Rescue came into being, what they do and ways you can help out.

In October, Cortes Island’s Augmented Home Support (AHS) program was looking at the very real possibility that they may have to shut down. They had enough funding to continue until the end of the year, after which they could not pay their part time employees. Some of you may have read their appeal in the Cortes Community Health Association (CCHA) Newsletter and made a donation. The immediate concern is over, but it prompted me to reach out to the Augmented Home Support program’s organizer, Ron Kroda.

On Monday, November 25, 2019, the forest management company Mosaic began shutting down its Vancouver Island harvesting operations because of “very challenging pricing and market conditions.” Approximately 2,000 people - contractors, union and non union workers, are being let go “of ahead of the usual winter shutdown.” Mosaic plans “to resume harvesting when the market outlook improves,” but some see this as the symptom of a much larger industry problem. That same day, Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee planned to hold an event in Campbell River’s downtown community centre. Two hours before this was to begin, the city of Campbell River cancelled it because of “the number of people anticipated, the strong potential for highly-charged emotion, and lack of time to establish a security plan for this booking.” This morning’s program is about the crises in our forests.

Reality 102 with Rex Weyler was the conclusion of a two part series at Cortes Island’s Folk University. This session was recorded and broadcast over Cortes Radio in the regular Cortes Currents slot on November 13, 2019. Rex asks what are realistic responses to the problem of overshoot.

Reality 101 with Rex Weyler was one of the lunchtime lectures at Cortes Island's Folk University. This session was recorded and broadcast over Cortes Radio in the regular Cortes Currents slot on November 6, 2019. The theme is overshoot, and what this means to humanity's future. Rex also writes about in the article below. The podcast is Rex's Folk U presentation.

Rex Weyler presented Reading Between the Headlines, how to get more truth out of today’s media. as part of Folk U Fridays.

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - I probably first heard his Klahoose language program sometime between 2010 and 2013. We were already on Cortes and the radio was always tuned to CKTZ. By the time you hear this, he will have returned home from another teaching venue. Norm Harry was the eldest speaker for the  ɬəʔamɛn, or Klahoose, Nation. The ɬəʔamɛn and three other Northern Coast Salish nations recently came together for an event called Speaking Our Language.

Roy L Hales/ Deep Roots - British Columbia is known for its totem poles. Examples of a less known artwork have surfaced in more recent years. Aborglyphs are carved into living trees. One was discovered a few years ago, two hundred kilometres north of Vancouver in the midst of a clearcut in Toba Inlet. The Klahoose Arborglyh has been moved to the band’s multipurpose building in Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island. Deep Roots story producer Roy L Hales interviewed Michelle Robinson and Ken Hanuse, from the Klahoose First Nation, and local historian Judith Williams about the arborglyph that survived into modern times.

Roy L Hales/ Deep Roots - Michelle Robinson and Ken Hanuse, from the Klahoose First Nation, and local historian Judith Williams about the pre-contact trail believed to have connected Toba Inlet and the Upper Squamish Valley