Indigenous Peoples - British Columbia
[Please refer also to our Indigenous/Métis Genealogy research guide for more information on researching Indigenous people in Canada.]
First Nations, Inuit, Métis are collectively referred to as Indigenous peoples.
An important note on bias and colonial records language in historical records:
Language in historical records reflects the culture of the times in which they were written. As such, you will see terms we would not use today such as “Indian”, “Native”, and racial slurs such as “Half-Breed”, used for Indigenous peoples, “Racial Origins” used for heritage, and “white” for Caucasian people. While we strive to develop new relationships with Indigenous peoples based on recognition of their rights, respect, and cooperation, family historians will need to look for and use these types of historical terms when searching historical records.
Some things to keep in mind when searching for Indigenous people in British Columbia:
Civil registration began in 1872 but many records from reserves or smaller communities may not have made it to the government body. At the time of the vital event (birth/baptism, marriage, death), it was the job of an Indian Agent to record the information and send it to the government agency.
At baptism, often names were changed from their birth names to a new Western first name only, with the last name noted as “unknown.” The next generation of this family sometimes took on the parent’s new Western first name as a surname. Here is an example of a baptism from BC Archives;
Census Records
See page 7-1 of Canadian Family History Resources for more information on how to search census records for Indigenous peoples’ information.
Of note, when searching online census records for indigenous peoples, please be aware that the term “Indian” is sometimes used as a racial descriptor in the “racial origin” columns. You can also do a broad search using location and “Indian” in either keyword or race search boxes. When the head of household was white but his wife was not, often times the entire family’s racial origin would be classified as white.
Online
BC Archives has an index of baptisms 1836-1888 which include many Indigenous peoples. Please note that originals are not available for this collection and your next step to research further would be noting the source – school, church denomination – to see if they hold any records. Please also note that names have most likely been changed many times, or misspelled. Baptisms often occurred at a later age, often just prior to marriage.
The BC Archives has various records related to residential schools including records of religious congregations that worked at the schools, photographs, newsletters, annuals, government records.
Below are some online resources available for Indigenous family history research.
- British Columbia Assembly of First Nations – Band list search:
- Library and Archives Canada Indigenous Heritage site
- Métis Nation BC
- Fraser Valley Métis Nation
Listed below is a small sampling of Indigenous family history books. When searching in the catalogue for books on this topic use the keywords “Indigenous peoples – British Columbia”.
Barman, Jean. Invisible generations: living between indigenous and white in the Fraser Valley. Library call number: 305.8970711 BAR 2019
Pearson, John. Land of the Royal Kwantlen: a history of North Surrey, BC Library call number: 971.133 PEA 1960
Andrews, G.S. Metis Outpost: memoirs of the first schoolmaster at the Metis settlement of Kelly Lake, BC. Library call number: 971.187 AND 1985
Morin, Gail. Company Men. [A series of over 30 volumes of genealogies of men who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company, many of whom married indigenous women.] Library call number: 929.37127 MOR 2017
Microfilm
Cloverdale Family History department holds all British Columbia Baptisms 1836-1888 indexes on microfilm. This same collection is available online at BC Archives.