Kootenay Indian Residential School
{{Short description|Defunct Canadian residential school}}
{{Infobox school
| name = Kootenay Indian Residential School
| image = File:St. Eugene Mission 2017.jpg
| alt =
| caption = St. Eugene's Mission (now a golf resort) in 2017
| location = Cranbrook, British Columbia
| country = Canada
| coordinates = {{coord|49.5860|N|115.7572|W|type:edu_region:CA-BC|display=inline,title}}
| former_name = St. Eugene's Mission School
| type = Canadian Indian residential school
| religious_affiliation = Catholic
| established = 1890
| closed = 1970
| school_board =
| district =
| authority = Catholic Church in Canada
| oversight =
| principal =
| head =
| staff =
| faculty =
| grades =
| gender = Coed
| age_range =
| enrolment =
| language = English
| campus_size =
| campus_type =
}}
The Kootenay Indian Residential School, composed of the St. Eugene's and St. Mary's mission schools, was a part of the Canadian Indian residential school system and operated in Cranbrook, British Columbia between 1890 and 1970.{{cite web |title=Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada |url=http://www.trc.ca/assets/pdf/Honouring_the_Truth_Reconciling_for_the_Future_July_23_2015.pdf |website=National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation |publisher=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada |accessdate=27 June 2021 |date=May 31, 2015}}{{rp|354}} The school, run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate of the Roman Catholic Church, first opened in 1890. It was replaced by an industrial school in 1912 that continued to operate until it was closed in 1970. Between 1912 and 1970, over 5,000 children from across British Columbia and Alberta attended the school.{{cite news |title=Ktunaxa regain sole ownership of St. Eugene resort |url=https://www.cranbrooktownsman.com/news/ktunaxa-regain-sole-ownership-of-st-eugene-resort/ |work=Cranbrook Daily Townsman |date=2017-06-27}}{{refn|group=nb|The Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre includes a list of students' home communities.{{cite web |title=Cranbrook(BC) |url=https://collections.irshdc.ubc.ca/index.php/Detail/entities/45 |website=Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre |access-date=30 June 2021}}}} The building has been home to the St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino since 2000.
History
The presence of Roman Catholic missionaries in British Columbia was limited until 1858, when they expanded operations into what is now Canada.{{cite book |title=Canada's Residential Schools : The History, Part 1 - Origins to 1939 |date=2015 |publisher=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada |location=Montreal |isbn=978-0-7735-9817-1 |url=http://www.trc.ca/assets/pdf/Volume_1_History_Part_1_English_Web.pdf |access-date=27 June 2021}}{{rp|98}} Their first mission opened at Okanagan Lake in 1860 and a mission in the Kootenays opened in 1874.{{rp|98}}
The first school opened in 1890, just north of Cranbrook. Operated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate it was replaced in 1912 with room for 126 students. In his 1891 submission to the Indian Affairs Annual Report school principal Nicolas Coccola commented on parental resistance to the school.{{rp|275}} He wrote: "The parents, who at the opening of the school were on the eve of breaking out into war with the whites, objected to send their children at first, but seem now highly pleased, and come and offer their children, more than we are allowed by the Government at present to take."{{cite book |last1=Coccola |first1=N. |title=Dominion of Canada Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the Year Ended 31st December. |date=1891 |publisher=Department of Indian Affairs |page=136 |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/aboriginal-heritage/first-nations/indian-affairs-annual-reports/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=7927}} The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada argued that the parent's positive feelings were temporary, pointing to comments from Coccola in 1922 in which he complained about collecting children from their home communities with no assistance from parents "unless coaxed and threatened."{{rp|275-276}}
Reverend James Mulvihill succeeded Reverend G.P. Dunlop as head of the school in 1958, following Dunlop's departure to take over as head of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.{{cite news |title=B.C. News Roundup: Kootenays |work=The Province |date=6 August 1958 |location=Vancouver |page=26}}
The Canadian government took over operation of the school in 1969 and closed the facility in 1970.{{cite web |title=Cranbrook (St. Eugene's) |url=https://nctr.ca/residential-schools/british-columbia/cranbrook-st-eugenes/ |website=NCTR |access-date=30 June 2021 |date=2021-01-22}}
Through an Indigenous-led restoration project, the school building was converted to St. Eugene's Golf Resort and Casino.{{cite web |title=About Us, Culture and Heritage |url=https://www.steugene.ca/en/about-us-culture-heritage/ |website=St. Eugene Resort |accessdate=15 June 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Mickleburgh |first1=Rod |title=Residential school goes from tragedy to triumph |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/residential-school-goes-from-tragedy-to-triumph/article4439666/ |accessdate=15 June 2020 |publisher=The Globe and Mail |date=July 24, 2012}} The golf course opened in 2000, followed by a casino in 2002 and a hotel in 2003.{{cite news |last1=Bain |first1=Jennifer |title=Inside the Cranbrook residential school that became a resort |url=https://o.canada.com/travel/inside-the-cranbrook-residential-school-that-became-a-resort |access-date=30 June 2021 |work=ocanada |date=8 January 2020 |language=en-CA}}
Unmarked graves
{{see also|Canadian Indian residential school gravesites}}
On June 30, 2021, the ʔaq̓am First Nation announced that 182 unmarked graves had been discovered using the assistance of ground-penetrating radar.{{cite news |last1=Martens |first1=Kathleen |title=3rd First Nation discovers unmarked residential school graves |url=https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/182-unmarked-graves-located-on-ktunaxa-nation-territory-in-b-c/ |access-date=30 June 2021 |work=APTN News |date=30 June 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Yates |first1=Kelsey |title=182 unmarked burials found at former residential school near Cranbrook |url=https://www.langleyadvancetimes.com/news/182-unmarked-burials-found-at-former-residential-school-near-cranbrook/ |access-date=30 June 2021 |work=Langley Advance Times |date=30 June 2021}} The Leadership of the First Nation has indicated that this was the site of a cemetery and that deterioration of the original wooden crosses over time left graves unmarked; The Leadership states: "These factors, among others, make it extremely difficult to establish whether or not these unmarked graves contain the remains of children who attended the St. Eugene Residential School."{{Cite web|date=June 30, 2021|title=ʔaq̓am Statement on Discovery of Unmarked Graves|url=https://www.aqam.net/sites/default/files/20210630%20-%20aqam%20media%20Release%20-%20Statement%20on%20discovery%20of%20unmarked%20graves.pdf}}
Notes
{{reflist|group=nb}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://thediscoverblog.com/2018/05/18/st-eugene-indian-residential-school-repurposing-an-indian-residential-school/ St. Eugene Indian Residential School: Repurposing an Indian Residential School]
{{2021 Canadian Indian residential schools gravesite discoveries}}
Category:Residential schools in British Columbia
Category:Indigenous-related controversies in Canada
Category:Educational institutions established in 1890
Category:Educational institutions disestablished in 1970
Category:Cranbrook, British Columbia
Category:Schools in British Columbia
Category:1890 establishments in British Columbia
Category:1970 disestablishments in British Columbia