IRSHDC : School : Ahousaht (BC) [862]

[Exterior view of Ahousaht Residential School residence] (1937). Source: The United Church of Canada Archives 1980.058P/97.

Home Communities of Students

Ahousaht, Ehattesaht First Nation.

Note on Home Communities

The “home communities" mentioned above come from the school narratives created by government researchers in the Indian Residential School litigation process. Here the communities are described as “bands” and “reserves.” We have tried to update the names to communities' current, preferred names (these names are hyperlinked in the list above). In instances where we have not been sure which community is being referenced, we have left the name as it appears in the school narrative and unlinked. The names of cultural groups have been updated and the original name placed in square brackets.

These lists on the school records are not comprehensive. In a few cases the community names have been supplemented with information from a school’s quarterly returns, but this has not been done consistently. This project is an iterative, ongoing one. If you are aware of other community names that we should include in this list, or would like to comment on those we have updated, please email us at irshdc.reference@ubc.ca.

Ahousaht (BC)

Dates of Operation

1895-1940

Settlement Agreement Dates

The Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement recognized only the following as the dates of operation for Ahousaht Residential School: October 1, 1904 - January 26, 1940.

Description

The Ahousaht School was located on Flores Island, on the western side of Vancouver Island. Originally a Presbyterian-run day school, it received federal government funding starting in 1904. It was taken over by the United Church in 1925. It was “an offence to speak either Chinook or Siwash” at the school. An inspector’s report from 1936 noted that every staff member carried a strap and that the children “never learned to work without punishment.” When the school was destroyed by fire in 1940, a decision was made to replace it with a United Church day school that opened in June of that year. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation)

Denomination

Presbyterian Church, United Church of Canada

More Information

Alternate Name(s)

Ahousaht Boarding School
Ahousaht Day School
Ahousaht Indian Boarding School
Ahousaht Indian Residential School
Ahousaht Indian School
Ahousaht Residential School
Ahousaht School
Ahousaht United Church Residential School
Ahousat
Ahousat Day School
Ahousat Indian Day School
Ahousat IRS
Ahousat Mission
Ahousat School

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Map Information

Location

"Point is on the site of the Ahousaht Indian Residential School building that closed in 1940. The main school building no longer exists. The property is situated south of the community of Marktosis" (Orlandini, 2019).

Location Credit

Rosa Orlandini. The school/hostel location data was collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission / National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Morgan Hite (Atlas of Indian Residential Schools of Canada), Stephanie Pyne (Residential Schools Land Memory Mapping Project) and Rosa Orlandini (Map and GIS Librarian, York University Libraries). The location data and associated attribute data was enhanced, revised and updated by Rosa Orlandini, in consultation with the Archivists at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Location Source

Orlandini, Rosa, 2019, "Residential Schools Locations Dataset (Shapefile format)", https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/FJG5TG, Borealis, V3, UNF:6:TTc1mMvx2BlBqBgIN05xVw== [fileUNF]