On this International Women’s Day, I’d like to introduce you to some of the women involved in a historic alliance with the Saltwater People.

The Tsawout First Nation, on Saanichton Bay in Central Saanich, BC, have long worked towards self-governance. 170 years after the signing of the Douglas Treaty, the Nation is now applying their jurisdiction and authority over their lands, water, and resources in their territory.

A few miles up the shoreline from Tsawout, in Sidney, is Cascadia Seaweed. The BC-based corporation is the largest North American provider of ocean-cultivated seaweed. Their crops don’t require freshwater, fertilisers, pesticides or arable land - just the sea and sunlight. Those ocean crops can also create jobs for Tsawout band members.

The Nation exercised their right to self-govern and enacted a Marine Use Law for their maritime territory. On February 25th, 2022, under the provisions of this new law, Tsawout First Nation Chief Harvey Underwood and Cascadia Seaweed Chairman Bill Collins signed an historical agreement - granting Cascadia Seaweed a licence to engage in commercial seaweed farming activities within Tsawout’s territorial waters, and on their behalf.

On this International Women’s Day, in recognition of their contributions, we’d like to introduce you to some of the women involved in this historic alliance with the Saltwater People.

Born, raised, and a life-long resident on Tsawout lands, Mavis is a beloved and respected elder. Her education, volunteerism, and experiences alone could fill a book. Throughout all that she has done, her path reflects her deep commitment to children and youth.

While working in the office at a Junior Secondary, she was inspired to pursue further education, earning a Professional Teacher’s Certification. She worked in Counselling, Learning Assistance, and First Nations Studies. She has also served as a Social Worker, Drug and Alcohol Counsellor, and Deputy Director for Aboriginal Services BC. She volunteered on the Tsawout Lands, Health and Housing Committees, before being elected to the Tsawout Council. She obtained a Bachelor’s in Child and Youth Care, and a Master’s in Indigenous Governance. She has been a Governor for the Real Estate Foundation of BC, and served as Executive Director of NIL/TU,O Child and Family Services. Mavis received a Woman of Distinction Award for Community Leadership, the Derek Thomson Award for contributions to Social Policy Change, and a Canada 125 medal.

Mavis credits her upbringing with her desire to contribute part of her energy to greater good and to give her knowledge and experience to be a helpful part of positive changes. In working with children, she saw the struggles of many young learners, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who held in common fear and anxiety about the future. She knew how relentless their own thoughts could be as they tried to persevere in school and tried to imagine their adult future. She wanted to be an encouraging voice for them, sharing the good teachings she’d benefited from, committed to use her knowledge to help problem-solve community issues in SȾÁUTW̱ , and to work locally to influence change. 

Growing up, her family home was near I,EKEN, the lagoon area where the current from Saanichton Bay meets up with Tetayut Creek, and once crossed under the wooden bridge. A SENĆOŦEN Master Teacher taught Mavis that this area is a natural amphitheatre and is an area to amplify voices and give power to the new Speakers as the waters rush in and the noise of wind and water encourages the voices to rise up and be strong. As a youngster, she found this area a source of adventure, as the mud flats encouraged bare foot exploring and the shallow waters were alive with great bull-heads and small fry, weasels, muskrats, and raccoons.

Living her life on Saanichton Bay, as a true woman of the water, she knows its power and potential: “The “W̱SÁNEĆ People were the richest people in the world”. This is related to the richness of the land and marine territory that held everything needed to sustain life without money. “We go back to the Creator and what we have been given. That’s our beautiful way of life, and why we are the richest people on the planet”.

At the signing ceremony, she told the gathering how the event was important to her, hoping that it would be inspiring to young people, and that it would hold up Tsawout history on the water. Like many parents and grandparents, she’s concerned with what opportunities lie in the future for SȾÁUTW̱ youth. “It is a challenge to speak for future generations, but in the beginning it was hoped that a partnership with Cascadia would begin to inspire hope and reconnection with the richness of the saltwater marine territory that maintained Tsawout First Nation, the SȾÁUTW̱ community, for generations.There is hope that growing seaweed will provide not only an economic opportunity, but a product that has powerful healing properties not only for humans, but for the saltwater”.

Her message for young women is to encourage them to try to learn and maintain skills they have, to provide enjoyment and to take time to learn to be independent. She was able to do many things in life as she felt encouragement and many voices guiding her: grandparents, my parents, siblings, teachers and coaches. She also encourages you not to rush to “settle” - that she learned early that there is power in making your own way and knowing if life gets tough you can walk away from some situations and find a job and be able to live independently.

As Fisheries Manager at Tsawout, Chrissy Chen came to the position in March of 2021. Her journey however, started long before, working at a hatchery in enhancement, restoration, and rehabilitation work. She found that she loved being around the rivers, creeks and especially with the salmon. That early passion led into other fishery opportunities, as a technician and then to a coordinator. She brought 30 years of ocean fisheries governance knowledge to Tsawout, previously working as a consultant with Gwabalis Fisheries Society, and as the Fisheries Manager for Kwakiutl Band Council. Many years of learning from the community and the staff she worked with has been beneficial, and she credits that such support led her to better understand each fishery she has worked on.
 

She is Tsimshian, hailing from Port Rupert on Northern Vancouver Island. Chrissy is not only proud of her own village, but also of the matriarchy in northern BC - her grandmother’s home. She values her Tsimshian heritage and is passionate about understanding her connections to such an important legacy.

As those who know her will tell you, she is an amazing force of nature and energy. Her strength and determination shine through in even a brief conversation with her; through networking with industry, business, and government, she has shared the knowledge and history of Indigenous people, specifically Kwakiutl and Tsawout, as Douglas Treaty nations. She acknowledges that such engagement is her forte - then and now - making statements on behalf of many nations to be clear on what is so important: water and the salmon.

Chrissy reminds people that the Douglas Treaty has been breached for 170 years(Feb 11 for Tsawout) and 171 years(Feb 9 for Kwakiutl) and those rights given to Indigenous people need to be included in anything and everything done in this province in the name of Indigenous people.

Among her many duties, she oversees the commercial fishery, habitat enhancement, enrichment, and policy management, as well as coordinating the planning and distribution of the Food, Social, and Ceremonial fish, sea urchins and prawns for all Tsawout families. The seaweed farm is another duty, but also another connection to the water.

As First Nations stewards, Tsawout is determined to pass on the rich ecological knowledge of their ancestors. They feel the need to prepare for the future and manage their traditional lands, air and sea, to ensure that economic activities taking place in their territories are safe and sustainable. “This includes the protection and regulation of food, social, and ceremonial purposes and benefits”. Chrissy says that for environmental, social, and economic aspects, “sustainability means we only take what is needed to conserve our natural resources. We are producing food, creating job opportunities, and rehabilitating our ecosystem at the same time”. She is committed that the Tsawout Fisheries “will continue to promote green, regenerative projects and encourage positive impacts for our environments”.

Chrissy states that Cascadia Seaweed was chosen to partner with Tsawout, because they offered the “greenest of the green projects” that the Nation wants to pursue. “We are Indigenous People, we are here to conserve and protect the environment while we produce food and create opportunity for our people. Cascadia Seaweed is supporting all of these objectives”.

She believes that water is so important to all human beings, with the view that it defines us, and who we are. It is essential for everything we do and what resources, like salmon, need to survive and thrive. An intense woman of the water, she feels the connection to water on both a spiritual and cultural level - often dreaming of water, and always surrounded by water in those dreams.

Her advice for young women centres around dedication and passion in what one does, and learning - from history, books, knowledge, and experience. That any woman can achieve and flourish in whatever endeavours they choose. Chrissy learned this first-hand when she reached a point in her life when she wanted to work on a fishing vessel, which happened to have an all-male crew. She knew she could achieve it, knew that she could do the job just as well as they did. She was the only woman hired that time, and still holds the title of being the first woman hired in that fishery. She actually did everything the male crew did, and more, on that herring trip!

True to her nature, Chrissy offers that she is always here to educate anyone that wants to hear her speak.

The opportunity to spend time on a boat out on the water with Jennifer is the best classroom in the world! Hauling up a length of sugar kelp or alaria to check on their growth, she offers the inquisitive onlookers on deck, a chance to taste the crop. All while explaining, with barely-contained enthusiasm, the process of seeding, growing, and harvesting these crops of the sea.

As Cascadia’s resident marine Phycologist (seaweed scientist), she personally loves Nori seaweed. Not only is it delicious, and we have a few species locally, but it’s also an ancient species, being around 4 billion years old. Their very interesting life cycle includes a stage where they burrow into shells or any calcium carbonate substrates.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor in Marine Science, Honours in Environmental Science, and PhD in Sciences with focus on Marine Sciences - all from the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. She was also a post-doctoral Hakai Scholar. She is an award-winning scientist, receiving the Luigi Provasoli Award from the Phycological Society of America, and the Paul C. Silva Award from the International Phycological Society. In other words, she’s a rockstar woman of the water.

Jennifer joined Cascadia Seaweed in 2020 as there was a need to look towards regenerative solutions to global problems including food and resources for growing populations, climate change, and job provision; seaweed cultivation ticked all the boxes. It can provide nutritious food that does not take up any arable land, does not require fertilisers or pesticides, or freshwater use. Through photosynthesis using sunlight, it uptakes excess nutrients (from run-off and agriculture) and carbon dioxide (GHG emissions) and converts it into carbon and sugars in its tissues. If the tissues slough off and are buried over time in the deep sea, it could sequester carbon permanently, helping mitigate climate change effects. There are so many other things seaweed is great for. “This is a win-win to me. I wanted to be a part of that and be able to grow seaweed to support and provide these solutions”.

She finds that there is something vast and unknown - and very humbling - about the ocean. Covering so much of our earth for billions of years, yet we know more about the moon than the ocean. While it produces, supports and nurtures life, it also holds the ability to take life away. Yet contrasting such power is the ocean’s fragility; in only a few hundred years it has been impacted through anthropogenic effects. Jennifer goes to the ocean to feel recharged, to feel humbled, and to know that the ocean has been doing its thing for millenia without our influence. She says it sparks her curiosity to understand it more, and the ways we can support, protect and co-exist with it.

Jennifer supports Tsawout First Nation through cultivating and monitoring the kelp for the farm. She hopes to continue working with the community and their fisheries department to share knowledge and information about how to look after and grow kelp on the farm. “Seaweeds, including kelps, photosynthesise and through simply living, can provide a multitude of benefits. The role that seaweed aquaculture plays in our future is essential if we are to find regenerative solutions to global issues”.

Her words of wisdom for young women: “The world is your oyster if there is something you want to do for work or for interest, there are so many ways you can get involved. I think the biggest advice I can give young women is be involved, throw your hat in, take a chance. Talk to people who are doing it already. The worst someone will say is no, which is usually not the case”.

Spend some time on a boat with Jodi Rooke, and you can sense that she is also a true woman of the water. She grew up - literally - on the water, on the decks of her parents’ commercial fish boats. In fact, she was only 2 weeks old when her parents bundled her up and set out on a workboat to find the family’s Christmas tree that year. This annual excursion is a beloved family tradition that she and her husband have kept going with their own children.

Saanich Peninsula locals would know her relationship to water just by her last name, as she is a 4th generation Rooke to make a living on the beautiful waters of the Salish Sea. Her paternal great-grandparents moved from Saskatchewan to the coast, to become commercial fishers. With such strong familial history, Jodi feels her connection to the ocean is vast, but especially enjoys the sense of community amongst her fellow boat operators, and the peace that comes from being out on the water. She’s forever grateful that her forebearers made that move: “There is not a day I take for granted being able to make a living on the most calming place on Earth. Salt water runs through my veins, I swear!”.

Despite her youth, she’s an experienced and well-qualified skipper, having been commercially certified since she was 18years old. Jodi feels that Tsawout First Nation has welcomed her with open arms, and that she shares a kinship with anyone who comes from a fishing family. “W̱SÁNEĆ people are saltwater people, as am I!”. As part of the fairly new Tsawout Fisheries Department, she’s excited to see how it can grow to support the community in the coming years. She cherishes the stories that have been shared with her, and really appreciates being ‘spoiled with yummy food’ by her favourite Tsawout chefs!

Her advice for young women includes the story of being about 12 when her Dad threw her into a herring skiff with no reverse, and said “meet ya there!” while he took off in another boat. While it was nerve-racking, she says that she was hooked. From there on, she started taking courses as soon as she was old enough, and knew that once she finished high school, she wouldn’t be pursuing post-secondary academics. Her “big words of wisdom” are: “YOU, as female, can do ANYTHING your heart desires. I am so fortunate I have some amazing, supportive males and females out on the water that have always had my back. I think the stigma is starting to change, I feel very respected, more so now than ever when I show up to a dock in a big boat!”

The team at Cascadia Seaweed extends our appreciation and gratitude to all the women of the world today and every day, as we work together to #breakthebias, ending stereotypes and discrimination and embracing diversity.

A special thanks to Michele Sealey from Bridge West Media who produced these profiles! And to the women on the Cascadia Team... thank you for all that you do.