MILLER BAY INDIAN HOSPITAL1946-1971

First Nations and Tuberculosis in Northwest BC

Started as RCAF hospital in 1944 though never used as such

Tuberculosis and Canada’s Indigenous Peoples

• Evidence of TB before European contact

• Effects of colonization promoted spread (overcrowding, starvation)

Contrasts in Treatment and Prevalence of TB in Canada(BC), 20th century

• Tranquille sanitoriumopened in 1906, closed in 1958

• By 1939, TB death rate falling, “treatment was under control”

• Much support and publicity from service clubs, volunteers, Canadian TB Association

Aboriginal• Miller Bay opened in 1946,

closed in 1971

• In 1939, death rate 5-10 times higher than for non-First Nations people.

• Only funding from Indian Affairs (federal government)

Non-aboriginal

“Old Cahoose”

• Dr. Galbraith in Bella Coola

Opening of “Indian Hospitals” in BC

Coqualeetza—Sardis (former residential school, destroyed by fire) 1941

Miller Bay—initially for both TB and VD (STI’s) 1946

Nanaimo 1946

September 16, 1946

Hospital Layout

Treatments

Before TB drugs• Bedrest

• Lung collapse

• Major chest surgery

After TB drugs appeared• Combinations of

medications

• Rest depending on extent of disease: Strict rest periods observed

• Shorter hospitalization needed

Miller Bay Indian Day School

Schooling at Miller Bay

Bedside teaching Classroom (later)Occupational therapy—handicraftsMusic: Guitar, harmonica, choirAdult educationOn the job training

“Irregular Discharges”

• Higher rate at Miller Bay than at other 2

• More women than men

• Younger age group (below 35 years)• “Coercion” and “police methods” used in

early years

Patient experiences in mid-1950s

• Patient and Staff survey 1954—Women’s ward

• Led to staff changes, Patient’s council, newspaper produced by patients

• Dr. Fiddes—change in policy re mothers and newborns

Working at Miller Bay

Accommodation

Early 1960s

Educational and employment opportunities

Recreation for Staff

• Recreation Hall moved from Seal Cove Airforce Base to Miller Bay –later used by patients also

• Bus transportation to Prince Rupert

• Families of staff—children went to school in Prince Rupert

Phasing Out and Closure

• More diversified in 1960s—less TB

• Became extended care facility by late 1960s; school phased out

• Final closing 1971; patients transferred

1970-2015

• Used as fish farm, petting zoo, residence for mill workers

• Fire destroyed buildings which were then demolished

• Paintball site• Gradually disappearing under the brush

Then and Now

REFERENCES

Kelm, M. (1998). Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia 1900-50. Vancouver: UBC Press.McCuaig, K. (2002). The Weariness, the Fever, and the Fret: The Campaign Against Tuberculosis in Canada, 1900-1950.Lux, M. (2001). Medicine That Walks: Disease, Medicine, and Canadian Plains Native People, 1880-1940. University of Toronto Press.

Books on “Indian” HospitalsMeijer Drees, L. (2013). Healing Histories: Stories from

Canada’s Indian Hospitals.

Lux, M. (2016) Separate Beds: A History of Indian Hospitals in Canada, 1920s-1980s.

Geddes, G. (2017) Medicine Unbundled: Dispatches from the Indigenous Frontlines.

Harrison, C. (2017) Miller Bay Indian Hospital: Life and Work in a TB Sanatorium.