McMillan Island

OverviewEdit

McMillan Island is located in the lower Fraser River, north of Fort Langley and south of Maple Ridge, and separated from the former by Bedford Channel. It has a total land area of 1.78 square kilometres.

GeologyEdit

It is composed primarily of settled silt and debris from the Fraser River and shaped by the erosive power of the river. Geologically it was (10000 years ago) a peninsula on the shore of what is now Maple Ridge. Erosion wore down the peninsula until it became an island, although one much larger than the current McMillan Island. Once there was a channel worn between this large island and the mainland, the water flow slowed and silt and debris settled on the south side of the island, eventually connecting it to what is now Fort Langley. The water eventually broke a small section of the original island off, resulting in the current McMillan Island.

Human geographyEdit

There is a bridge across the Bedford Channel to the island along Glover Road, the main road through both Fort Langley and McMillan Island. There are several docks on the island, including the docks from the former Albion Ferry. There are very few buildings on the island. Those that are there include approximately 22 dwellings and the Kwantlen Nation's Band Office.

Kwantlen territoryEdit

The island is a part of the Kwantlen First Nation's traditional territory. This reserve is the location of their main village which relocated here once Fort Langley was built, partly to dominate trade with the fort and also for protection from attack under the shelter of the fort's guns. Their former main village was at Qayqyat, or Kikait, opposite New Westminster on the Fraser's southeast bank there, at a location also known as Brownsville in today's Bridgeview neighbourhood of the City of Surrey.

Their territory overlaps with that of the Kwikwetlem, Tsawwwasen and Katzie nations, and extends up the Fraser as far as the Stave River; beyond that is the territory of the Matsqui nation. Most of the band's reserves are on the north bank of the Fraser.

Albion FerryEdit

A dock on the north side of the island was formerly the southern-bank terminus of the Albion Ferry. However, with the opening of the Golden Ears Bridge, ferry service has ceased.

PopulationEdit

As of the 2006 census, the island has a population of 63 persons - up from 59 in the 2001 census. The majority of the population (85%) are members of the Kwantlen First Nation band government, because the entire island is covered by McMillan Island Indian Reserve No. 6. This reserve is under the governance of the Kwantlen First Nation.