Naomi Nicholson's dream of bringing Indigenous tourism to the Alberni Valley was moving closer to reality with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. She and her husband Ed opened her first Indigenous-themed guesthouse in 2018. Their property, on the outskirts of the Tseshaht Indian Reserve on Highway 4, already has an established wellness center where Naomi offers holistic medical services, but the plan is to attract tourists. The aim was to introduce more housing and start hosting cultural events.
Everything changed in March 2020, when the pandemic shut down Nicholson's business and stopped her cash flow. At the same time, Ed is fired from his job at the Paper Excellence factory and is no longer able to receive her employment benefits because her employment records are no longer available due to a cyberattack.
Because they were living on reserves, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and other benefits for employers did not apply to them. She called her lender, the Nuu-chah-nulth Development Corporation, and was granted a break on payments for several months.
“We used up all our savings in a few months and actually ended up going to the Tseshaht First Nation food bank. And that was the first time in both of our lives.”
Ed is called back to work, but Naomi finds herself without a job due to the post-pandemic recession.
“With no disposable income, we knew we would never get back to the customer levels we had before.”
She didn't stay depressed for long and utilized the resources and practices she had learned over the years.
“I've done a lot of counseling and I recommend it to everyone,” she said. She also supports the practices of motivational speaker Jack Canfield and makes finding inspiration in superstar singer Taylor Swift's lyrics part of her morning routine.
To make a little more income, Naomi and Ed started looking for long-term rentals instead of tourists, renting out part of the wellness center to tenants as office space.
Naomi looked into real estate and began researching small homes and securing funding and loans. The expansion of Chim's Guest House is now complete, allowing him three of his RV sites, a guest house, a studio suite, and two small homes on the property.
For the past two years, the Indigenous experience “Chim’s Fest” has been held in August. The event celebrates Indigenous culture, featuring song, dance, music, language, fashion, crafts and more. It aims to connect indigenous and non-indigenous cultures.
Naomi's idea to attract Indigenous tourists to the region was sparked by a fieldwork opportunity she had while a student at Vancouver Island University. She visited the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, which attracts tourists from all over the world, and was struck by the idea that this could be replicated in her hometown. She graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree in tourism management and never lost sight of her dreams.
“I dreamed of what this property could be and it was an insane event. I still pinch myself, but it happened and it's real.”
