In 1893, the Presbyterian Church built the Alberni Girls Home on Vancouver Island a few miles outside Port Alberni. It was taken over by the United Church in 1925. The school was destroyed by fire in 1917, 1937, and 1941 and rebuilt following each fire. The West Coast Council of Indian Chiefs campaigned for the school’s closing in the 1960s, charging that children in need of care were being dumped into the school. The school was eventually closed in 1973. In 1995 a former supervisor at the school from 1948 to 1968 was convicted of 18 counts of indecent assault against Aboriginal students and sentenced to 11 years in jail.
Remembering the Following Students:
Name | Date of Death (Year/Month/Day) |
---|---|
Annie Jack | 1903-11-12 |
Bertha Fred | 1937-02-14 |
Cyril Mussell | 1946-10-04 |
Dalton Silver | 1941-06-13 |
David Thomas | 1972-11-11 |
Dorothy Ross | 1925-12-03 |
Edward Thompson | 1946-07-27 |
Herbert Robert Green | 1951-07-16 |
Ivan Wilson | 1973-11-10 |
Jack Williams | 1905-11-19 |
Katie Taylor | 1908-12-12 |
Katy Ross | 1936-04-20 |
Lily Pearl Smith | 1945-12-03 |
Maisie Shaw | 1946-12-26 |
Mary Bob | 1937-02-14 |
Mary Elaine George | 1964-10-05 |
Mary Taylor | 1908-10-01 |
Matilda Ross | 1926-09-27 |
Maud Jackson | 1908-11-01 – 1908-11-30 |
May Ross | 1928-12-09 |
Minnie Ross | 1929-05-13 |
Mitchell Joseph | 1969-05-26 |
Nellie Klutesi | 1916-05-01 – 1916-05-31 |
Norman Bob | 1942-04-07 |
Shirley Leslie Williams | 1963-05-17 |
Taylor Santo | 1906-08-13 |
Theodore Mckay | 1941-05-22 |
Violet McKay | 1937-02-14 |
Virginia Moses | 1946-03-15 |
Yinnito Taylor | 1899-07-01 – 1899-07-31 |