A free screening of a documentary dedicated to emergency preparedness and tsunamis is coming to Vancouver Island.
Called the Tsunami 11th Relative documentary, it will cover First Nations history and stories about earthquakes and tsunamis on the Island’s west coast.
This documentary comes as part of the Strathcona Regional District’s dsaster risk reduction/limate adaptation grant, with the goal of helping communities prep for emergency situations.
The district says 10 communities will have the chance to watch the documentary during both Tsunami Preparedness Week in April and Emergency Preparedness Week in May.
Pieter Romer, Indigenous community liaison with Ocean Networks Canada and the producer, director, and writer of the documentary, says he learned how urgent it was to record these traditional stories.
“We lost three elders during the production of this documentary,” says Romer.
“I also learned from Nuu-chah-nulth artist, Tim Paul, who was taught by his grandmother, that sky, sun, moon, mountains, rivers, lakes, land, sea, wind and stars are all our relatives.”
The screenings will take place in Port Alice, Port Alberni, Quatsino, Kyuquot, Oclucje, Zeballos, Campbell River, Tsa’xana, Gold River, and Tahsis, according to the District.
The first screening is scheduled for Port Alberni on Friday April 14, with the last screening in Tahsis on Sunday, May 7.
