A floatplane with four people aboard reports a hard ocean landing, flipping over in an area of turbulent riptides. The Quatsino Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary joins the Gordon Reid Canadian Coast Guard Ship to search for the downed plane.

Amid training exercises, two Quatsino Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary vessels respond to a frantic “mayday” from people trapped on a small boat with its engine on fire. The environmental threat evokes vivid memories of previous industrial pollution.

As the Quatsino Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary battles shifting tides and looming storms to search for a missing mushroom picker, the legend of Bak’was, Quatsino’s “wild man of the woods,” resurfaces.

The Quatsino Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary heads into an area of dangerous underwater rocks and logging debris to rescue a clam digger. It reminds them of an earlier era when the shellfish harvest was decimated by industrial polluters.

With the help of a search and rescue member from Kyuquot, the Quatsino Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary searches dark waters and hidden coves for signs of a lost paddleboarder.

Struggling against a heavy tide, the Nisga’a Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary pulls close to a civilian boat to help an injured passenger. The area the two vessels are in was once the scene of Canada’s deadliest volcanic event, the eruption of the Tseax Cone.

As Nisga’a community members unite to rescue two fishermen lost at sea, others work on land to reclaim parts of their heritage that have been lost over time or misappropriated by outsiders who are unaware of their cultural significance.

When unlicensed hunters are suspected on their territory, the Nisga’a Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary calls in a compliance and enforcement officer to ensure the protection of their fish, wildlife and timber resources.

Local knowledge of the wind and tides is key to the success of the Gitxaala Nation Coast Guard Auxiliary. The same powerful currents and rugged shores that test visiting boaters sustain the community’s vital sources of seaweed and marine life.

As the Kitkatla search and rescue unit uses their training to board an out-of-control tour boat and aid its incapacitated captain, children in the community strengthen their artistic skills through the lens of their culture and language.

As the search and rescue team races to aid campers in distress, Gitxaala Elders share the deep cultural heritage of their 5,000-year-old community, inspiring youth to learn from the wider world while staying rooted in their traditions.

As a second Coast Guard unit searches Gitxaala’s maze of islands for a lost boater, locals of all ages gather the traditional foods that sustain their community.

As Gitxaala Nation’s Ocean Warriors search for a diver who has failed to return to his boat, the Kitkatla community celebrates the repatriation of cultural artifacts. These sacred treasures bring new hope and fresh insight into the ways of their ancestors.