Stories articles North America
Photo: A wooden carving stands along the coastal lands of the Heiltsuk Nation in British Columbia, Canada. By Alex Robinson (Nansemond) / Nia Tero
December 15, 2025
Heiltsuk Nation's Ancestral Knowledge and Western Marine Science Drive Guardianship of Vital Coastal Ecosystems
The Haíłzaqv, or Helitsuk Nation, in northern British Columbia, Canada – a Nia Tero grantee – uses Indigenous knowledge and western science to monitor its marine ecosystems and protect critical habitats. They also skillfully navigate relationships with governments to defend their right to guardianship of ancestral lands and waters – which helps preserve a healthy and habitable planet for future generations of Heiltsuk Peoples.
Below, we spotlight some of this important work in 2025.
1. Haíłzaqv Coastal Guardian Watchmen
The Heiltsuk have cared for lands and waters in what is known today as British Columbia since time immemorial. In the wake of a 2015 oil spill, invasive green crabs rapidly spread across the Pacific Coast — from Washington and British Columbia to southeast Alaska — threatening Heiltsuk territory and surrounding ecosystems.
The Haíłzaqv Coastal Guardian Watchman, as they are known, are Indigenous guardians that monitor this invasive species to protect the clam beds and beaches that have sustained their people for generations.
2. Gathering with the Wayfinders Circle
The Heiltsuk Nation is also a member of the Wayfinders Circle – a network of Indigenous Peoples building solidarity, exchanging knowledge, sharing spiritual and cultural practices and supporting each other's self-determination. The Wayfinders Circle is convened by Nia Tero, the Pawanka Fund and the World Union of Indigenous Spiritual Practitioners.
In 2025, the Heiltsuk Nation participated in the Wayfinders Circle North America exchange alongside Cahuilla Peoples from the Native American Land Conservancy and Blackfeet Nation. In addition, they were joined by Sámi Peoples of Sweden and Warddeken lands in Australia.
“One of the greatest gifts Wayfinders have given me on this transformational journey is the ability to see the similarities in who we are as people in our relationship to the land and our collective struggle for self-determination and sovereignty for our homelands and our relatives back home,” said Indigenous law lawyer Saul Brown (Heiltsuk Nation). “That exchange – whether it's a spiritual exchange, a cultural exchange, or how to preserve and conserve lands and waters in which we come from – inform our strategies and our vision for our future. Not just for us, but for all people across the globe.”
3. Land-Based Wellness
The Heiltsuk's Kunsoot Wellness Centre stands as an extension of Indigenous Peoples’ guardianship through land-based connections and healing.
Once lined with smokehouses and rich with salmon, Kunsoot is now a living space for community wellness, ceremony, and connection to the land, where healing continues through culture and ancestral relationships to place.
“Living in the wilderness fosters connection between you and the Earth,” said Larry Jorgensen, architect and builder of the Centre, a sentiment that guided its design and purpose.