The Alert Bay Mission was established by the Rev. A.J. Hall in 1879 on Cormorant Island off the north-east shore of Vancouver Island. In 1882 a residential school for boys and girls was established at the Mission House. In November 1929, a large new residential school building was opened with capacity for 200 students and dedicated, St. Michael’s Indian Residential School. It was the largest residential school under Anglican administration. By the 1950s most of the students went to school in local and native schools and St. Michael’s took on an increasing role as a hostel. 1968 was the last complete year of Anglican administration with 163 students in residence. In April 1969 Indian Affairs took over St. Michael’s Hostel and renamed it Alert Bay Student Residence. The hostel closed December 31, 1974 and the building was acquired by the Nagis First Nation. The building still had many bad memories associated with it and so it was demolished. Alert Bay residential school survivors gathered for the demolition ceremony on February 18, 2015 to witness it’s destruction.

Fonds consists of “Stop! Stop! : Our historical issue,” an historical issue of the school’s newsletter which includes short essays on its origins and a few photographs of the building and surrounding areas taken about 1940.

Photocopy.