Coqualeetza Indian Hospital

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The Coqualeetza Indian Hospital was a tuberculosis sanatorium, and later general hospital, for Indigenous peoples in British Columbia. Located in Sardis, BC, on the territory of the Stó:lō peoples, the hospital was converted from the Coqualeetza Institute residential school and officially opened on September 2, 1941.[1][2] It was initially operated by the Department of Mines and Resources' Indian Affairs branch, but was taken over in 1946 by the newly created Department of National Health and Welfare.[3]

On November 19, 1948, a fire broke out at the hospital, which newspapers claim destroyed nearly two-thirds of the building's structure.[4] The following year, numerous Members of Parliament in BC's interior lobbied to have the institution moved to their respective home towns.[5] However, the hospital remained in Sardis and by 1957 it was "the only fully accredited hospital in the Fraser Valley."[6]

The hospital officially closed on September 30, 1969, amidst claims that "modern drug usage and detection techniques" had brought tuberculosis under control and that "any continuation of Indian Hospitals would only lead to further segregation" of non-Indigenous settlers and BC's Indigenous peoples.[7]

Significance[]

In 1943, it was claimed that Coqualeetza accounted for just over 21 percent of the country's in-patient tubercular care for Indigenous peoples.[8] Largely due to the implementation of occupational programming for patients, the Chilliwack Progress claimed in 1946 that Coqualeetza was "the first complete tuberculosis unit of its kind ... in Canada[.]"[9]

The site is now used by Stó:lō Nation.

References[]

  1. ^ "Conversion of Coqualeetza To Sanitarium Half Completed". Chilliwack Progress. 5 Feb 1941. p. 1. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  2. ^ Kelm, Mary-Ellen (1998). Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia, 1900-50. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 124. ISBN 9780774806787.
  3. ^ Lux, Maureen (2010). "Care for the 'racially careless': Indian hospitals in the Canadian west, 1920-1950s". Canadian Historical Review. 91 (3): 407. doi:10.3138/chr.91.3.407.
  4. ^ "...all that remains". The Chilliwack Progress. 24 Nov 1948. p. 1. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Sardis Fights to Keep Institution: Battle on For Coqualeetza". The Chilliwack Progress. 16 Feb 1949. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Coqualeetza Hospital Accredited". The Chilliwack Progress. 28 Aug 1957. p. 9. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Coqualeetza Hospital Will Be Closing September 30". The Chilliwack Progress. 10 Sep 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  8. ^ "Dr. JD Galbraith Speaks to Kin: Coqualeetza Important in Tuberculosis Fight". Chilliwack Progress. 17 Nov 1943. p. 8. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Big Occupational Program at Coqualeetza Hospital". Chilliwack Progress. 6 Nov 1946. p. 11. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
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