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British Columbia is home to 198 First Nations, a statistic that gives it the distinction of having more First Nations than any other Province or Territory in Canada. Each of those First Nations have their own unique languages, histories, spiritual beliefs and cultural practices. The four host First Nations are:

1.) Lil'wat
2.) Musqueam
3.) Squamish
4.) Tsleil-Waututh

As a collective, those First Nations are known as the Four Host First Nations (FHFN,) and they have lived in the Vancouver or Whistler area for literally thousands of years. These First Nations are integral to this part of Canada's culture, history and traditions, but beyond that, traditional First Nations creatures served as the inspiration for the design of the mascots that will be an important marketing tool throughout the 2010 Olympic Games.

There are three actual mascots and their side kick.

*MIGA -

Miga is a sea bear who lives with her family pod beyond Vancouver Island, but near Tofino, British Columbia. She is part Kermode bear ( a rare cream colored or white sub-species of the black bear which is unique to the central west coast of British Columbia,) and part killer whale.

All summer long, Miga hangs out with the local surfers, joining them as they ride the waves. During the winter, she comes to Vancouver, sneaking on shore to seek out adventure. She once saw humans "surfing" on the snow, (at least that's what she thought they were doing,) and right then, she decided she had to join in the fun.

Since then, snowboarding has been her favorite winter sport. Her big dream is to land a corked 720 in the half pipe one day. Although she knows it will take a lot of practice, she is hopeful that will be able to accomplish that.

Miga's favorite food is wild salmon in any form, but in particular, salmon jerky, BC roll and smoked salmon.

According to First Nations legends, Kermode bears are also known as spirit bears and they were turned white by Raven in order to remind people of the Ice Age.

*QUATCHI -

Quatchi is a young Sasquatch who lives in the "mysterious" forests of Canada. He loves all winter sports, but his real passion is ice hockey. He dreams of becoming a world famous goalie someday. The trouble is, he's kind of clumsy on account of his size, but he is so enthusiastic about ice hockey that no one can question his passion. Besides that, he knows that if he works as hard as he can, and if he always does his best, he might just be able to achieve this dream.

He always

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