Short Summary
Based in the Heiltsuk Nation community of Bella Bella, British Columbia, Qqs (Eyes) Projects Society (www.qqsprojects.org) is an indigenous-driven society focused on cultural and environmental stewardship with a strong commitment to mentoring youth. Qqs is a registered Canadian charitable organization founded in 1999 with roots that stretch back to the principles of Heiltsuk stewardship and the earliest days of the coastal conservation movement. Throughout our 15 year history we have found consistent success in our three program areas (youth, culture and environment). By working collaboratively with our community, we engage young people in their culture and environment and provide key scientific capacity for stewardship of Heiltsuk resources.
Our film Sitting on Water (the English translation of the Heiltsuk word Koeye) tells the story of the Heiltsuk First Nation and their work to ensure a sustainable future for their community's salmon fisheries. The film documents efforts to build and operate a traditional fish weir in the Koeye River and the emerging role of First Nations in stewardship up and down the coast. Fish weirs, cedar fences which were built across rivers for thousands of years, were traditionally used by First Nations to selectively harvest salmon as they returned to spawn each year. However, until the spring of 2013 the practice had been dormant in the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella for more than one hundred years. The documentary follows our crew through the ups and downs of a season as we take the weir project from an idea to a reality, revitalizing the age-old practice of weir-building to provide the first ever estimates of sockeye salmon returns to the Koeye River. Through this work and other initiatives, the Heiltsuk are asserting their rights as the traditional stewards of their territory, building on centuries of cultural knowledge to create a sustainable future for their community and the entire Central Coast.
What We Need & What You Get
During the summer of 2013 we worked closely with film-maker Ilja Herb, shooting footage documenting the pilot season for the Koeye River weir project. Now we are in the home stretch and we are seeking donations to provide support for editing and post-production with a goal of releasing our short documentary film in January. With your help we can get there!
By supporting our campaign you become a partner and friend of our community, and depending your level of support you will receive one of several unique thank-you gifts. Most of all, you will know that you are supporting a community that is working hard to resurrect and sustain their traditional culture to ensure that future generations can experience the bounty of the Central Coast.
The Impact
By supporting our project you can help us grow and sustain our work at the Koeye River for years to come. We hope that this project can provide a model for community-driven stewardship that is couched in the traditional culture of British Columbia’s First Nations, and Sitting on Water is one of many ways we are getting the word out. Through the film we hope to reach a broad community of supporters and friends, and to provide a tangible story of cultural and environmental success within our community.
In many regards this project has already been a success, but if we hope to keep the momentum going, and to inspire other communities around BC - we need your help!
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can’t contribute, that’s okay! Please consider helping to spread the word on social media or by using the Indiegogo share tools. Walas gaiasixa!
