Chilliwack Middle School is named after the community of Chilliwack. The school has undergone a few name changes in its history. Prior to being Chilliwack Middle School, it was once called Chilliwack Junior Secondary School (CJSS) and Chilliwack Jr. High School. Chilliwack Middle School is on the grounds of the former Chilliwack High School.
The name Chilliwack is an Anglicized version of a Halq’eméylem word Ts’elxwéyeqw meaning “going back upstream; backwater; as far as you can go with a canoe” (Carlson, 2001) and/or “as far as you can go with a paddle before having to switch to a pole” (Denman, 2008).
Chilliwack also refers to a group of First Nations Peoples, the Ts’elxwéyeqw, as well as the river in the area by the same name (Chilliwack River).
Alternate spellings:
Chilliwhack (Township of); Ts’elxwéyeqw; Chillwayhook, Chil-whey-uk, Chilwayook, Silawack.
Community: Chilliwack
References:
- Carlson, K. (2001). A Stó:lō Coast Salish Historical Atlas. Chilliwack, B.C.: Stó:lō Nation.
- Denman, R. (2007). The Chilliwack Story. Chilliwack, B.C.: Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society
Photo caption: The three buildings that made up Chilliwack Junior High School in 1961. [Chilliwack Museum and Archives photograph P3857].