This Monday, n̓ačiqs comes together to celebrate the ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ (Tla-o-qui-aht) First Nation.

TFN Days is an annual celebration of culture, community, and the People who have called this ḥaḥuułi home for thousands of years. It is a day that belongs to Tla-o-qui-aht — and this year, for the first time, Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks Allies have been invited to march together as a block in the parade.

This is not a small thing.

What It Means to March

The Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks Allies program was built on a simple but profound idea: that the businesses and individuals who operate and live on this territory have a role to play in its care. Not as sponsors. Not as donors. As allies — people who have entered into a reciprocal relationship with this place and its People, and who show up for it season after season.

To march in the TFN Days parade as an Ally block is to make that relationship visible. It is to say, in public, in community, on the ḥaḥuułi — we are here, we are committed, and we are grateful for the welcome we have been given.

łaayaksiinḥiʔin — let us be generous and helpful. There is no end to the work of building community.

This is what that looks like.

The Parade

Floats and marchers assemble at Gibson Road prior to 10 AM. The parade steps off at 10 AM.

Julian Hockin-Grant will be present with Tribal Parks Ally shirts available by donation. All certified Allies are invited — and encouraged — to march together.

If you are a certified Tribal Parks Ally and would like to join the block, please register using the link here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/s4s4H7deny

The Blanket Ceremony

Following the parade, the Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks team will host a blanket ceremony at the Village Green.

Saya Masso has purchased 164 blankets — one for each certified Ally. Each blanket will be presented in person, at the Village Green, as a gesture of gratitude from the Tla-o-qui-aht People to the community of businesses and individuals who have committed to the care of this territory.

In Nuu-chah-nulth tradition, the gift of a blanket carries weight. It is an act of recognition. Of reciprocity. Of relationship. To receive one is to be seen — as someone who has shown up, who has contributed, and who is part of something ongoing.

We want every certified Ally present to receive theirs in person.

Come and Celebrate

Whether you are a certified Ally, a pledge-taker, a resident, or a visitor — TFN Days is an opportunity to witness and celebrate the living culture of the Tla-o-qui-aht People. Come to the parade. Cheer on your community. Stay for the ceremony.

This place feels the way it does because of the People who have never stopped caring for it. TFN Days is a chance to say thank you — out loud, together, in the streets of n̓ačiqs.

ƛ̓eekoo ƛ̓eekoo to the Tla-o-qui-aht People for welcoming us into this celebration. 🙏

This event takes place on the ḥaḥuułi of the ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ ḥaw̓iiḥ — the ancestral territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht Hereditary Chiefs.