Ahousaht Nation (Canada)

First Nation

Last modified: 2024-08-10 by rick wyatt
Keywords: ahousaht nation |
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image by Valentin Poposki, 25 April 2007

• The flag
• Variant flags

See also:

• Index to North American Native Bands and Nations
• British Columbia
• Canada

The Flag

Ahousaht First Nation is in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of Nuuh-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council. Ahousaht is a small community predominantly composed of First Nations people from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation. It has about 1,800 members, almost half of which live in the reserve of Maaqtisiis.

From www.ahousaht.com/index.htm (no longer available):

General Information:
Twenty-five reserves on 591.80 hectares. The main communities on Marktosis I.R. No. 15, on Flores Island. The island is off the west coast of central Vancouver Island and is only accessible by float plane or boat.

History:
Reserves allotted in 1889 by Commissioner O'Reilly. Ahousaht is from a Nootka word probably meaning "facing opposite from the ocean" or "people living with their backs to the land and mountains." The original home of the Ahousaht Band was on the exposed western shore of Vargas Island. In 1951 the Ahousaht and Kelsemaht bands merged to form the present First Nation.

The flag contest was first developed in our language program, Sidney Sam Sr spoke about having a flag to identify who we are and where we come from. The decision was made to have a design contest on Aboriginal Day 2006. We had many local artists enter their creative designs. The community received 20 drawings and all had a chance to view the designs and vote on their favourite.

The winner of the flag design contest: Josephine Mack, 15 yrs old.

Variant Flags

image located by António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 July 2024
Flag also in photo, located by Valentin Poposki, 27 August 2019

The tribe members also use a flag without lettering.
Valentin Poposki, 27 August 2019

image located by António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 July 2024

There is yet another variant, which seems to be intermediary between the two reported above: it does lack the thin border all around, but it does include text — still anglicized as "Ahousaht" but not including the word "nation". See examples:
https://www.lafarge.ca/sites
https://www.facebook.com/ahousahtadmin/photos
António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 July 2024