Malahat Nation is located south of Mill Bay, along the western shores of Saanich Inlet, approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Victoria, with reserve lands nestled beneath the mountain. The Nation is named as one of the most sacred sites on southern Vancouver Island.
Malahat is a proud Coast Salish community and one of the five W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) Nations. Prior to European contact, W̱SÁNEĆ ancestors of the modern Malahat (MÁLEXEȽ), Pauquachin (BOḰEĆEN), Tsartlip (W̱JOȽEȽP), Tseycum (W̱SÍ,ḴEM) and Tsawout (SȾÁUTW̱) First Nations owned and occupied numerous village sites and resource areas across a large traditional territory. That territory included the Saanich Peninsula, the western shores of Saanich Inlet from Goldstream to Hatch Point, and the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands beyond. Malahat Nation members hold family ties with the W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples of the Saanich Peninsula and with members of the modern Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group.
The name “Malahat” comes from the SENĆOŦEN word “MÁLEXEȽ” and the Hul’q’umi’num’ word “Ma’le-‘h’xe’l’,” both derived from the word for “caterpillars,” recalling a historic infestation in the area. The traditional languages spoken were SENĆOŦEN, Hul’q’umi’num’ and Samish, and the Nation continues to record and share these words and phrases, alongside the snuwuyulh — the ancestral teachings that guide the community toward a better future.
373 (as of June 2026)