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The "Pacheedaht" or "Pacheenaht" ("People of the Sea Foam") are a Nuu-chah-nulth people who take their name from the former village site of "p'a:chi:da" (pronounced "pah-chee-da") at the head of Port San Juan Bay on southwest Vancouver Island. The area between Sheringham Point and Bonilla Point is now recognized as Pacheedaht territory. Their territorial claims also extend into the ocean to include several offshore fishing banks. As of September 2025, Pacheedaht First Nation had 303 registered members, with 97 members living on Pacheedaht First Nation’s reserve (see also Reserves in British Columbia).
Oral Tradition and Early History
Traditions vary as to the origin of the Pacheedaht people. Some oral traditions indicate that at some distant time in the past, the Pacheedaht and Ditidaht were the same people and they lived at Diitiida (now Jordan River). Another tradition suggests that the Pacheedaht once spoke the Sooke Coast Salish language.
In the 1850s, the entire Pacheedaht population was not more than 60, the group having suffered from disease. As of September 2025, 97 members of Pacheedaht First Nation’s 303 registered members live on-reserve. A few people continue to speak the traditional Pacheedaht dialect of the Nitinat ("Ditidaht") language.
Governance, Communities and Economy
It is likely that the Pacheedaht, like their neighbours, the Ditidaht, were a local group or alliance of autonomous local groups. Each local group consisted of a number of people occupying a specific geographical area and surrounding Chiefs and their families. The local community was designated by the name of its main village's location.
In the early historical period, there were about four Pacheedaht villages, in addition to the village at Port San Juan. In the spring, the people dispersed to seasonal fishing camps where they caught halibut, red snapper and cod, and dried them for storage. Sockeye salmon fishing occurred between April and July (see also Pacific Salmon). By September, the people returned to their inside winter village to get ready for the fall salmon runs of steelhead, coho, spring, humpback and dog salmon. Beach foods constituted a significant part of their diet. Like other First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Pacheedaht were also whalers (see Whaling). Deer, elk and ducks supplemented their seafood diet. Today, Indigenous foods continue to be eaten by the Pacheedaht.
Pacheedaht First Nation members find employment mostly in the forest industry. Since 1994, the Pacheedaht, along with the Ditidaht and Ohiaht First Nations have joined together with Parks Canada in a business development to co-manage the maintenance, interpretation and marketing of the West Coast Trail within Pacific Rim National Park.
