In Nuxalkulmc (Nuxalk Territory), the disappearance of the sputc (ooligan) — a small fish that has nourished the people of the Nuxalk Nation for generations — becomes a lens through which history, memory, and resilience unfold. Beginning from a request from Nuxulk leadership, director Banchi Hanuse’s film is twelve years in the making. Told through Nuxalk voices, radio broadcasts, rare archival material, watercolour animation, and careful scientific observation, the film traces how colonial policies and industrial extraction have imperiled both the fish and the people. Guided by Elders and cultural leaders, the story weaves together Indigenous sovereignty, cultural resurgence, and the sacred bond between human beings, non-human beings, and the land. Ceremony is made with the community, for the community — honouring the knowledge of the ancestors and envisioning a future rooted in the enduring presence of Nuxalk lands and waters.

Banchi Hanuse works across film and radio as a co-founder of Nuxalk Radio, supporting Nuxalk language revitalization, upholding Nuxalk Nationhood, and advocating for stewardship of Nuxalk homelands. She is the director of Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun (2023).