A is for Aboriginals the First Nations of our lands The Ashcroft Ahousaht and Alexis Creek are just a few of the many
many bands It is fitting that the first residents of British Columbia the aboriginal peo ples who lived here for thousands of years before the European settlers came to the area about 200 years ago are the first topic of this book In 1778 two ships were discovered floundering in the fog off the coast of Vancouver Island and escorted to the safety of Yuquot Nootka Sound by First Nation guides The captain of the ships James Cook and Chief Maquinna made the first contact between the British and aboriginal people in this area At that time almost half of all the First Nations People in Canada lived in British Columbia and their language and culture were some of the most sophisticated in the world Although the population rapidly declined due to infection from new diseases brought over by the Europeans there are cur rently about 200 distinct aboriginal bands in our province the most in Canada The First Nations are a sig nificant part of life in British Columbia contributing immensely to the art forms identity communities and
Of the 16 different species of bats found in British Columbia eight are found nowhere else in Canada The Okanagan Valley is the best place to see the furry nocturnal creatures because 14 types of bats make the warm valley their home The largest British Columbia species the big brown bat lives on Vancouver Island and has been known to sneak inside the legislative buildings and zip above the heads of our provincial politicians Bats are the only mammals that can fly Some bats beat their wings 20 times per second and reach speeds of almost 40 kilometres per hour They can navigate and catch insects in total darkness because of a special sight called echolocation The bat emits a high frequency sound wave that hits an object and then is reflected back like light from a mirror A bat then uses its large ears and nose to catch and process the echo picture and thereby determine the position distance and shape objects of
