First Nations

In 1891 the Snuneymuxw First Nation was known as the Nanaimo Indian band and was part of the Cowichan Indian Agency. The band was enumerated by W. H. Lomas, the federal government official in charge of the agency.

Lomas didn't distinguish the Snuneymuxw by name from other Cowichan Indian Agency tribes when he took the census. But he identified them by religion. The Methodist church had been active in the Nanaimo area since the early 1860s; and so when the census was taken thirty years later, nearly all Snuneymuxm people were enumerated as Methodists (as distinct from Roman Catholics or Anglicans).

According to the Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs (1892) the population of the Nanaimo band was 178. By including "Methodist" in our search field, we were able to identify 138 Nanaimo men, women, and children — representing about 78% of the community — from the 1891 census data base.

Research on this topic is still in progress. Summary notes and statistical data will be added here, later.