Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada / Turtle Island
After being invited by Inuit visitors to Japan in 1977 to tour North America, twenty-four members of the the Ainu Society for Self Advancement set out in late 1978. This journey is understood to be the first time that Ainu representatives visited North America for the purpose of engaging with other Indigenous peoples.
After visiting Vancouver and the Interior, the Ainu arrived in Bella Coola sometime in October, where they were hosted by the Nuxalk Nation. Both the Nuxalk and Ainu are seafaring peoples who rely heavily on fishing, and so Nuxalk fishers took their Ainu counterparts out on several fishing trips during their stay.
The trip went so well that the Nuxalk Nation were sent a letter of thanks the Union of BC Indian Chiefs leader George Manuel (who had just hosted the Ainu himself in Chase), and plans were made for a reciprocal visit of Indigenous Canadians to Ainu territory in Japan in the following year. It is unclear whether this trip ever took place.
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