Thank you for your kind words, Richard. It's very good to see you, as well.
In the early 1990s, there was a lot of disruption and concern by many people over the way forestry was being practised in the Clayoquot Sound region on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The government of the day convened a panel—I was privileged to be a member of it—composed of Nuu-chah-nulth knowledge-keepers and scientists of various background experiences to come up with recommendations about how forest practices should be undertaken in the region.
Dr. Richard Atleo Umeek was the co-chair of the panel, along with a wildlife biologist. He is the author of two books. One is called Principles of Tsawalk.Tsawalk means “one”.
The first thing we did, following Nuu-chah-nulth protocol, was that we sat around the table, introduced ourselves, and developed a series of guiding principles, ways that we would mutually agree to. That was the fundamental background to the work we were doing. The first principle was something to the effect of hishuk ish tsawalk, which means “everything is one”. It's the recognition of the interrelationships among all beings that the scientists, Nuu-chah-nulth elders, and specialists agreed to.
Out of that work, over two or three years, came a series of recommendations. I would recommend that your committee actually get a hold of those reports and have a look at them. “Report 3: first nations' perspectives relating to forest practices standards in Clayoquot Sound” has a lot of good advice. Those reports would provide a lot of good information and advice, I think.