The boundaries of Hupacasath territory read like a mountain climber's itinerary. Mt. Chief Frank anchors the north, 5040 Peak and Hannah Mountain define the south, Mt. Arrowsmith and Mt. Spencer hold the eastern edge, and Big Interior Mountain guards the west. Between these peaks lies the entire Alberni Valley, where warm Pacific currents create a mild maritime climate with dry summers. The resulting forests are extraordinary: western red cedar, yellow cedar, Douglas fir, hemlock, and balsam grow in dense stands. The rivers and lakes hold all five species of Pacific salmon, plus steelhead and trout. The Hupacasath are members of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, and their territory is large by Nuu-chah-nulth standards -- a reflection of the valley's abundance and the nation's long stewardship of its resources.

Ahahswinis, Reserve Number One, sits on the north bank of the Somass River in Port Alberni. This is the main Hupacasath village, home to the majority of the nation's members, who continue hunting, fishing, and berry-picking as their ancestors did. Upriver, Kleekoot occupies the confluence of the Stamp and Sproat Rivers near Sproat Lake, long prized as a fishing site where families speared fish and built weirs. Cous, on the west side of Alberni Inlet, once held a thriving seasonal settlement -- until Chief Dan Watts died there in an accident, and the community departed in mourning. The site remains uninhabited, though people still visit to fish and picnic. Chu-ca-ca-cook, the smallest reserve, served as a fishing camp and stopover north of Nahmint Bay. And then there is Nettle Island, purchased from Arthur Maynard in the early 1900s, located outside the traditional territory entirely -- among the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound, now part of Pacific Rim National Park.

What distinguishes Hupacasath governance is not just the use of territory but the care of it. Traditionally, each chief appointed caretakers for specific areas and resources, ensuring that no one overharvested or damaged the land. This was not abstract environmentalism; it was practical management, practiced year-round and enforced within each chief's ha-houlthe -- their hereditary domain. Medicines were gathered at the appropriate seasons. Berry patches were maintained. Salmon streams were monitored. Before the Hupacasath's three original groups amalgamated, each chief managed resources within their own ha-houlthe. After amalgamation, use and care of the territory became shared. The Hupacasath still follow migratory patterns of deer and the seasonal runs of salmon, letting the rhythms of the natural world dictate the calendar rather than imposing one upon it.

The Hupacasath have been assertive in defending their constitutional rights. The nation argued in federal court that the Canadian government must consult First Nations under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, which protects aboriginal and treaty rights. This legal stance placed the Hupacasath in the national spotlight, challenging the government's approach to international trade agreements that could affect Indigenous territories. For a nation of 300 people, the willingness to take on the federal government in court speaks to a deeper principle: that the territory bounded by those mountain peaks is not merely land to be governed, but a relationship to be honored -- one that predates Canada itself by thousands of years.