.png)
The beautiful Ucluelet area is deeply rooted in an indigenous history dating back over 4,300 years. The land was traditionally inhabited by the Yuu-tluth-aht Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ people, whose name for this place, Ucluelet, is a Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) word commonly understood as 'People of the Safe Harbour'. However, its more precise translation is 'Dwellers of the Protected Place Inside'.
The modern Ucluelet First Nation, or the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ, represent the union of seven distinct groups that were independently established prior to contact with Europeans. Each of these groups was made up of several sub-groups and families, demonstrating the rich diversity within the First Nation itself.
The Ucluth Peninsula, the home of Ucluelet, is recognized as the ancestral territory of the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ. This peninsula, with its lands and beaches, is imbued with a profound Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ history and is preserved as a sensitive environment. Among these cherished sites are Big Beach, Little Beach, He-Tin-Kis Park, Terrace Beach, Amphitrite Point, and the Pacific Rim National Park.
In contemporary times, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government operates as a modern treaty government, standing as a member of the Maa-nulth Treaty Society. It maintains a government-to-government relationship with Canada and the province of British Columbia. This government oversees nearly 5,500 hectares of Treaty Settlement Land, which encompasses the community of hitac̓u and extends north of Ucluelet, in the Effingham Inlet, and along the Nahmint River.
At Little Beach, a site of significant cultural heritage in British Columbia, archaeologists have discovered an ancient First Nations midden. A midden, in archaeological terms, is a site for domestic waste disposal. The remnants of these old middens offer priceless insights into the lifestyle, diet, living structures, and tools of past societies. For Indigenous cultures, middens often hold sacred or culturally significant value as tangible evidence of their ancestors' existence and way of life. Due to their historical and cultural significance, these sites are often protected and researched to further our understanding of indigenous history and their deep-rooted connection to the land.
A bear aware orientation upon check-in which can include our help with booking you on safe and respectful ‘bear watch’ tours in the area (as opposed to dangerous ‘bear watching’ on the local highway which has proven to cause vehicle accidents and endanger the local bear population).
