The earliest Indian administration in British Columbia was undertaken by Hudson`s Bay Company officers and James Douglas.

There was one house here in 1892 when the surveyors marked out this reserve of about 130 acres.

This place, 7a7ukw, was a well-known area where our people carved dugout canoes. The red cedar growing here was particularly good for canoe making. The people lived at 7a7ukw while making canoes but they did not stay here all the time. This was a camping area.

The canoes made up at 7a7ukw were brought down to the ocean in two special ways. Carl Edgar and his brother, the late Martin Edgar, remembered one method: they were told that Ditidaht people lowered the canoes on ropes down alongside Tsusiat Falls. Joe Edgar talked about how some people slid their canoes down a canoe run between the bottom end of Tsusiat Lake and the beach on the west side of “Hole Point” (Tsusiat Point).

There used to be a trail that connected 7a7ukw with “the Flats” which is our Indian Reserve No. 7 at the southwest end of Nitinat Lake.

It is west from the entrance to Nitinat Narrows. A long time ago, there used to be a large Ditidaht village at tsuxwkwaada. The late Joshua Edgar used to say that the people who lived here were known as strong and fierce warriors. People up and down the coast were afraid of them! This village was also a place where the people lived when they went out halibut fishing and fur seal hunting. As well, whales were towed to this village after they had been harpooned by our whale hunters.

There were five houses at tsuxwkwaada when the surveyors marked out the 235-acre reserve here in 1892. In 1901, 25 people were living here in four houses. But by 1914, there were only three houses at tsuxwkwaada.

The late Martin Charles remembered going to tsuxwkwaada when he was very young. He went with Old George Gibbs who had a house there. He remembered the old man catching halibut so large that one fish could fill a canoe!

Ditidaht people often refer to this place as “Nitinat” or “Whyac.” The elders like to call it by its real name, waayaa.

Waayaa was the main Ditidaht village for many years. It was so large, that the houses here were right next to one another. They were so close that you could hear your neighbours talking in their house next door! People lived here until the 1960s when they moved to Malachan. There are still a couple of old houses at Whyac, although they are overgrown with salmonberry bushes. But when the 132-acre “Whyac” Indian Reserve No. 3 was surveyed in 1892, there were many houses here. In 1901, there were sixty-three Ditidaht people living in twelve houses at waayaa and in 1914, there were fourteen houses here. At least fifteen houses were here in the 1930s.

Many of our families lived at waayaa at one time or another. Some of the people who lived here in the 1930s were: the late Martin Charles, Mary Thompson, Dan Daniels, Harry Joseph, Gallic Dick, Old George Gibbs, Bobby Joseph, Ernest Johnson, Joe Shaw, Walter Shaw, and Mack Robinson.

In earlier times, a stockade was built around the village of waayaa. This was to protect the village from attack by our enemies. In 1864, some explorers led by Doctor Robert Brown made a visit to our village of waayaa and saw this stockade. It impressed one of the explorers so much that he drew a picture of it. Dr. Brown described the village this way:
Most of the Nitinaht villages were fortified with wooden pickets to prevent any night attack, and from its situation, Whyac, the principal one (built on a cliff, stockaded on the seaward side, and reached only by a narrow entrance where the surf breaks continuously), is impregnable to hostile canoemen.

Tluu7uus was an important Ditidaht village. Lots of fish and beach-foods were obtained near here. People continued living at tluu7uus until the 1960s, just as they did at Whyac. Many of our people still go here to camp in the summer time, simply because it is so beautiful and quiet.

There were seven houses at Clo-oose when the 237-acre Indian Reserve was surveyed here in 1892. By 1901, there were fifteen houses at tluu7uus, and 69 people lived here. In 1914, there were sixteen houses at Clo-oose, and in the 1930s there were about twenty houses here.

The late John Thomas explained how the people living at tluu7uus in the early days used fish weirs and traps. A weir is like a fence that goes across the stream and stops the salmon. They placed these in the Cheewhat River nearby so that they could catch salmon. You can still see the remains of these fish weirs in the Cheewhat River today.

Some of the people who had houses at Clo-oose in the 1930s were: James Thomas, Leo Thomas, Henry Tate, the late Joshua Edgar, the late Effie Tate, Gillette Chipps, William Jackson, George Robertson, Nichol Chester, Mabel Shields, and Annie Lazar.

The cemetery is known as tlaasabaks which means ‘temporarily set on the beach.’ It takes its name from the sandbar that extends out from the shore here. Small trees grow on this sandbar every year but are washed away in the big winter storms. That is why the trees are only temporary.

This was another place where the Ditidaht people obtained salmon. The 1892 survey of this 26-acre reserve shows a house and a fish weir here.

Tom tl’iishal, who was Ida Mills great-grandfather, once had a house here at ts’a7akwuu. He had a fish weir and trap in the river where he caught salmon. Another man who had a house here was Henry Chipps.

The Ditidaht people obtained cedar bark and spruce roots up the Cheewhat River. They also got red cedar for canoes here, and yew wood for making bows. As well, the people picked blueberries and huckleberries in the upper Cheewhat area and dug edible roots known as tlitsapt.

It is hard to land a canoe here in rough weather, but there are certain spots on the beach where it is safe to go.

This was a Ditidaht village where people lived during the halibut season. People also lived at Carmanah year-round. There were three houses at this 158-acre Indian reserve in 1892, and in 1901, 51 people lived in eight houses here. There were six houses at Carmanah in 1914.

The last people who lived year-round at kwaabaaduwa7 were members of the Knighton family; this was in the 1920s. Ditidaht people continued going to Carmanah in the summertime during the 1930s and 1940s. A few families still like to camp here.

The Ditidaht name for this reserve is hitats’aasak which means ‘inside area.’ It was named this because the village is just inside the Narrows. This same place is also known as da7uua.

It is said that at one time there was a very large village here at hitats’aasak and that those who lived here were our original people. These original people were called da7uua. Later they became known as “Ditidaht.”

A long time ago, hitats’aasak was an important winter village for the Ditidaht people. It was also an area where salmon were caught and smoke-dried. Salmon are still caught near here today. In the fall time, you can see hundreds of salmon in the lake offshore from the reserve. Some of our fathers and grandfathers set nets here and then bring the salmon home to Malachan to be cut up.

There were seven houses at “the Flats” in 1892 when this 168-acre Indian reserve was surveyed. In 1914, there were six houses here. Among those people who used to live at “the Flats” were Henry Tate, Philip Joseph, Sam Williams, Alfred Livingstone, Old George Gibbs, Police Charlie, and George Robinson.

Today there are three houses at hitats’aasak; one of them belongs to Mike Thompson, another was owned by the late Martin Edgar, and the third is a float-house belonging to Carl Edgar, Senior.

Hobarton was a well-known place to catch and smoke sockeye salmon. People stayed here during the fishing season. In the old days, our people used fish traps to catch the salmon in Hobiton Creek. Sockeye salmon are still caught at Hobarton today.

There were four houses at xwubit’ad when the 50-acre Indian reserve was surveyed here in 1893. There was one house here in 1914. Today the Ditidaht Band has a fisheries building at Hobarton, and our Fisheries Officer, Sam Edgar, stays here sometimes. Among those who used to have houses at Hobarton were the late Joshua Edgar, Peter Dick, Old George Gibbs, Harry Joseph, and the late Martin Edgar.

There was one house at uuyiyi7s when the 104-acre Indian Reserve was surveyed here in 1893.

“Oyees” was a well-known place for making dugout canoes as there were excellent red cedar trees in this area. The people used to camp here while making canoes. They also obtained cedar bark here and cedar planks for making houses. As well, salmon were caught here.

There was one house here when this 13-acre reserve was surveyed in 1893.

This was a place where people caught and smoke-dried dog salmon. They camped here at “Doo-bah” during the fishing season. Jimmy Smith used to have a smokehouse here. Red cedar for canoes and house planks was also obtained at duba, as the cedar in this area is very good.

A long time ago, people stayed at Malachan only during the fishing season. The Ditidaht used to fish at night for dog salmon and hunt ducks off from balaats’adt using the light from pitch torches.

There were two houses at balaats’adt when the 66-acre Indian Reserve was surveyed here in 1893; there was one house here in 1914. This house was owned by Molly Chipps who was Frances Edgar’s mother.

Today there are about 130 Ditidaht people living at balaats’adt. Although Joe and Frances Edgar have lived at Malachan since the late 1940s, it is only since the 1960s that a lot of people have lived here. Among the first people to move from Clo-oose and Whyac up to Malachan in the 1960s were Stanley Chester and the late Webster Thompson.

This was a place where the Ditidaht people used to stay during the fishing season. Many years ago, some people would also spend the winter here. There were five houses at ilhuu when this 77-acre reserve was surveyed in 1893; there were also five houses here in 1914. Today there is one house here.

A long time ago, the Ditidaht people built a special “underwater fence” in the bay at the northern end of ilhuu. This fence was made of small trees and was constructed so that the tops of these trees were just under the water’s surface. If enemy canoes tried to come here, they would be stopped by this fence.

The secret ceremonies of the tluukwaali, known as the “Blackface Society” (or the “Wolf Dance”) used to be danced here at ilhuu. This was many years ago. In these ceremonies, humans dress in wolf skins and pretend they are wolves. It is a very sacred ceremony to our people who belong to this secret society.

There were two houses at up’aachi7a when this 71-acre reserve was surveyed in 1892. In the 1920s, there were four houses here.

Today, a lot of people know wak’it-tsaas as “Red Rock.

A long time ago, wak’it-tsaas was a place where our people caught and dried salmon in the fall. They used a fish weir and trap to catch fish here. There was one house at “Wok-it-sas” when the 40-acre reserve was surveyed in 1892. At that time there was also a fish weir and trap here. In 1914, there were three houses here and the fish trap was still in use.

Among those people who used to have houses at wak’it-tsaas were Peter Dick, George Thompson, and Old Jimmy Chester.

There is a bridge here at the lower intersection of the one-way road.

Shuuch’abisapuu was another area where the Ditidaht caught and dried salmon in the fall. It was an especially good place for coho. The Ditidaht used a fish weir and trap here in past years, but gaffs and spears were used in more recent times. There was one house at “Chu-chum-mis-a-po” and also a fish weir here when this 92-acre reserve was surveyed in 1893. In 1914 there was also one house here. The Shaw family used to have a house here.

This was another place where the Ditidaht people caught and dried salmon in the fall. There were four houses at “Sa-ouk” when this 160-acre reserve was surveyed in 1893 and there were two houses here in 1914. Among those who used to have houses here were Harry Joseph and George Thompson’s father.

Ts’aa7ukw was as far as it was possible to go up the Nitinat River by canoe. Just past here there is a waterfall. The water become very rough and not even the salmon can get past it. The people had to leave their canoes right here and walk on the trail to get to Cowichan Lake.