The Narwhal https://thenarwhal.ca Deep Dives, Cold Facts, & Pointed Commentary en-US Copyright 2026 The Narwhal hourly 1 How an Okanagan deep freeze left B.C.’s independent wineries with a big tax bill https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-wine-taxes/ Thu, 23 Apr 2026 22:22:20 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=159389 B.C. wineries needed foreign grapes to replace a 2024 harvest decimated by extreme weather. Now, the government program that made it easier to import fruit is making it harder to turn a profit Paloma Pacheco and Aaron Hemens In-Depth Who Pays? B.C. climate change farming A man in a grey jacket stands among vineyards, with a town, lake and hills beyond Interior Salish women are reclaiming fire — and protecting their homelands https://thenarwhal.ca/salish-women-reclaiming-fire/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:23:20 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=158240 In Canada’s hotspot for wildfires, First Nations women are challenging colonialism and patriarchy by leading wildfire projects and gatherings Santana Dreaver and Aaron Hemens On the ground B.C. climate adaptation Indigenous Rights solutions Wildfire Photo: Aaron Hemens / IndigiNews A woman wearing a work vest looks off into the distance in front of trees. Before wildfire season begins again, Indigenous firekeepers gather in Interior B.C. to share knowledge https://thenarwhal.ca/salish-fire-keeper-society-spring-meeting/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=157955 In March, attendees of a Salish Fire Keepers Society gathering learned about decolonizing fire management, working with blazes to protect the land and more Aaron Hemens On the ground B.C. climate change Indigenous Rights Spirits of Place Wildfire Similkameen Indian Bands say B.C.’s Copper Mountain mine expansion advancing without their consent https://thenarwhal.ca/similkameen-copper-mountain-mine-expansion/ Wed, 04 Mar 2026 19:22:41 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=155992 The project near Princeton, B.C., and close to the Similkameen River will revive an old open-pit mine and raise its tailings dam by 87 metres Aaron Hemens News B.C. Critical Minerals Indigenous Rights mining tailings ponds Photo: Aaron Hemens / IndigiNews An aerial view of an open-pit mine and tailings pond with a river beside them. Across a colonial border, First Nations share salmon eggs to bypass dams https://thenarwhal.ca/syilx-salmon-egg-sharing/ Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=155023 This year marks a decade of the partnership between the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, in Washington, and a syilx hatchery up-river Aaron Hemens News B.C. biodiversity Endangered Species transboundary Photo: Aaron Hemens / Indiginews Hundreds of bright pink salmon eggs float in a hatchery tub. Amid climate impacts in B.C., leading Secwépemc firekeeper shares ‘a better way of looking after the land’ https://thenarwhal.ca/cultural-burning-secwepemc-firekeeper/ Wed, 26 Nov 2025 18:31:09 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=149693 In a time of worsening wildfires, Joe Gilchrist says cultural burning ‘needs to be multiplied hundreds of times’ — returning forests to Indigenous stewardship Aaron Hemens On the ground B.C. solutions Wildfire Joe Gilchrist, a Secwépemc firekeeper, stands in profile against a pine forest behind him. syilx children vow to ‘save the world,’ one sapling at a time https://thenarwhal.ca/syilx-children-planting-okanagan-lake/ Tue, 25 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=149372 Elementary students plant native trees and shrubs to help salmon migrate through new fish passageway at the Okanagan Lake Dam Aaron Hemens News B.C. salmon A woman and three children, one of whom is holding a shovel, grab a sapling by its roots. ‘We have a way to save communities’: Indigenous fire keepers share knowledge across colonial borders https://thenarwhal.ca/indigenous-cultural-firekeepers-bc/ Fri, 07 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=148482 First National Indigenous Fire Gathering brings First Nations experts from Canada, Australia and the U.S. together on syilx homelands in B.C. Aaron Hemens In-Depth On the ground B.C. climate change Indigenous Rights Spirits of Place Wildfire ‘This is the vision’: Inside Nlaka’pamux Nation’s quest to build B.C.’s first major solar project https://thenarwhal.ca/nlakapamux-qua-ymn-solar-project-bc/ Thu, 30 Oct 2025 18:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=147796 As the province fast-tracks development, the Southern Interior tribal council has lessons to share on how to build for the future Zoë Yunker and Aaron Hemens Generating Futures On the ground Beavers disappeared from syilx territories. Could imitating their habitats bring them back — and restore their wetlands? https://thenarwhal.ca/wetlands-beavers-syilx-homelands/ Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=146495 Historically seen as a ‘nuisance’ species to be trapped and removed, beavers may be key to restoring ecosystems amid deforestation and climate change Aaron Hemens On the ground B.C. climate change Spirits of Place water wildlife Three people wearing yellow hard hats build an analogue beaver dam in a small creek with green forest behind them Okanagan researchers seek new treatments for bighorn sheep, ravaged by disease https://thenarwhal.ca/okanagan-bighorn-sheep-disease-research/ Wed, 13 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000 https://thenarwhal.ca/?p=142706 The Penticton Indian Band is the hub of a research project that hopes to revive the population of yilíkʷlxkn, which has declined by 70 per cent over two decades due to mange and pneumonia Aaron Hemens News B.C. biodiversity Indigenous Rights wildlife Three bighorn sheep in a dry, grassy field with dry mountains behind them in the syilx territory, Okanagan Valley.