FINAL REPORT ON MÉTIS EDUCATION AND BOARDING SCHOOL
LITERATURE AND SOURCES REVIEW
By, Lee Marmon
February 2010
Introduction and Overview
The study and understanding of the Métis school experience has been impeded
by three fundamental factors: (1) the unwillingness of the federal and provincial
governments thus far to formally recognize that the provinces and religious
denominations have a duty to accept responsibility for the Métis educational
experience equivalent to federal recognition and compensation; (2) the research
focus on federal residential schools largely dominated by the experience of First
Nations students as a consequence of this perspective; (3) the scarcity of Métisspecific educational research at any level.
While AFN and ITK have won notable educational victories at the national level,
the Métis provincial and religious school concerns remain unaddressed. This
unresolved controversy endures as a major social justice issue for Métis people,
as recently pointed out by President Chartier at a Senate hearing in June
2009.
Although various studies and research on aboriginal education date from the
1870s (if not before), it was only with the 1996 RCAP reports that national
attention was focused on the plight of aboriginal students in governmentsponsored schools. The formal Settlement Agreement was concluded in 2006
and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in June 2008.
It has been estimated that INAC has spent more than $100 million on its own
research to determine residential school eligibility; the National Administration
Committee gives rulings (no Métis representatives). Some 99,000 people have
applied for the Common Experience Payment; only
24,000 have qualified under the Federal Accountability Act; because of
significant gaps, much of this research has been conducted in provincial archives
to supplement holes in the federal data.
It is unfortunate that INAC/NAC has been unwilling to share any information on
how it compiles its settlement data and what sources it uses. Various groups
have attempted, without success, to obtain inventories of federal/provincial
records used. Such inventories would be of immeasurable assistance in
expediting further Métis school research.
The Final Report of this Literature Review project documents the available known
literature and archival sources with the following goals in mind:
(1) To emphasize the provincial/denominational Métis boarding school
experience, while also covering the Métis educational experience in general and
any other relevant data regarding federal residential schools. While many Métis
attended federal residential schools throughout the 19th and 20th centuries
(especially before 1910, federal funds occasionally subsidized schools primarily
attended by Métis), the term “residential school” has been associated with the
federal mandate to officially admit only First Nations people after 1910. To avoid
confusion, “boarding school” will be the preferred term to be used in the Report,
even if some “boarding” schools were officially classified as industrial, residential,
or other types of schools.
(2) To provide a comprehensive account (with brief annotations) of published
books and articles, as well as theses and dissertations, that is either Métis
specific or reflect on the Métis educational experience (between Confederation
and the founding of MNC in 1983) in a significant way. This will include the
general Métis educational experience, provincial and religious boarding schools,
as well as federal residential schools. Sources will also include Métis specific
memoirs, and literature. Although some bibliographies already exist, they
typically reflect the First Nations experience, are out of date and neglect the
provincial context.
(3) To provide a review of archival and non-textual sources (federal, provincial
and ecclesiastical) that illuminate Métis education, especially the provincial
boarding school experience. To my knowledge, no such educational archival
review has ever been attempted in depth for any aboriginal group. Although
information on relevant provincial archives (both secular and ecclesiastical) was
only obtained from Ottawa without travel time and expenses, this is a practical
goal because inventory overviews can (in principle) be obtained through
correspondence.
An archival search is particularly useful because it helps to fill the significant gaps
in the secondary literature and reveals what can be accomplished in future work.
An overview of relevant archival holdings points the way to both future historical
research and justifies future INAC/OFI funding to explore these holdings. Nontextual sources include photographs and compilations of oral histories.
(4) To provide recommendations on how MNC can proceed with the Boarding
School research/funding/compensation/recognition. This literature review is
simply the first step for broader research on Métis education and boarding
schools. Since OFI/INAC has endorsed this literature review, it provides the
framework for future negotiations with both the federal and provincial
governments.
Thus, this Literature Review is structured according to the following categories:
I. General Métis Education/Provincial Studies
II. Secondary Literature Review of Métis Experience with Provincial and
Religious Boarding Schools
III. Secondary Literature Review of Métis in the Federal Residential School
System
IV. Primary/Archival Provincial Sources
V. Church Archives
VI. Primary/Archival Federal Sources VII. Métis GMO/Community Studies
VIII. Case Studies
IX. Recommendations for Future Action and Research
X. Contacts for Future Research and Information
Appendix I. Approved Federal Residential Schools Impacting Métis
Appendix II. The IRS Federal Settlement Agreement Listing Non-Approved
Schools
I. Literature Review of General Métis Education/Provincial Studies
I have consulted or viewed citations for more than 500 books, journal articles,
theses and dissertations dealing with one or more aspects of Métis/aboriginal
education. This material has been obtained through various printed and online
bibliographies, as well as databases available at Library and Archives Canada
and detailed Internet subject searches.
Much of this material is not Métis specific, for example, Lawrence Barkwell, Leah
Dorion and Darren R. Prefontaine compiled an “Annotated Bibliography and
References” in Métis Legacy: A Métis Historiography and Annotated
Bibliography, Louis Riel Institute, Winnipeg, 2001, pp. 273-505, which provides
very few citations relating to educational issues.
Such a thorough search, however, has been necessary to familiarize myself with
the available literature to weed out that which is not germane, get a better
understanding of how Métis studies have been relatively neglected in overall
educational research and to make use of more general studies to partially fill in
some gaps dealing with Métis education.
There are various works on Native education in the homeland provinces, notably
Jean Barman et. al., eds. Indian Education in Canada, 2 vols., 1986-1987; and
J.W. Chalmers, Education Behind the Buckskin Curtain: A History of Native
Education in Canada, 1974 (which includes material on Métis schools in the
prairie provinces).
For some examples of studies of Métis education before Confederation, see
Jonathan Anuik, “Forming Civilization at Red River: 19th-century Missionary
Education of Métis and First Nations Children” in Prairie Forum 31.1(2006) pp. 116; Martha McCarthy, To Evangelize the Nations: Roman Catholic Missions in
Manitoba 1818-1870 (Winnipeg, 1990); Keith R. Widder, Battle for the Soul:
Métis Children Encounter Evangelical Protestants at Mackinaw Mission, 18231837 (East Lansing, 1999).
Journal literature written on any Métis topics before 1976 is scarce, much less
articles dealing with Métis education. This assertion is confirmed by a detailed
perusal of the Canadian Periodical Index from 1938.
To my knowledge, there is no published or unpublished account providing a
national synopsis of Métis education and there are few provincial wide studies of
Métis education. See D. Bruce Sealey, Education of the Manitoba Métis: An
Historical sketch, Winnipeg, 1977; and Howard Adams, The Outsiders: An
Educational Survey of Métis and Non-Treaty Indians of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, 1972.
Certainly the most comprehensive and broadly analytical exception to this
lacunae has been provided by Jonathan Anuik, “Métis Families and Schools: The
Decline and Reclamation of Métis Identities in Saskatchewan, 1885-1980,
doctoral dissertation in history, University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon), March
2009. This is a tour-de-force dealing with the interactions of Métis, the mission
schools (both Catholic and Protestant) and public schools in Saskatchewan.
Beyond extensive archival research covering an extensive time span, Anuik
conducted a number of oral history interviews. Anuik acknowledges the
assistance of various Métis groups and individuals, including the Gabriel Dumont
Institute and Eastern Region III of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan.
Sources for the critical period of the early twentieth-century are covered by
Father Guy Lavallee, Métis History 1910-1940: A Guide to Selected Sources
Relating to the Métis of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta (Ottawa, 1993).
The Métis National Council sponsored this guide.
There are various works dealing with school districts in northern territories with
large Métis populations that discuss the Métis educational experience. See, for
example, John W. Chalmers, “Northland: The Founding of a Wilderness School
Division,” in the Canadian Journal of Native Education, vol. 12, #2,1985, pp. 2-49
(covering the area’s significant Métis school population to 1960). One of the
latest innovations affecting Métis during this time-period was the establishment of
Community [elementary] Schools in Saskatchewan in 1980.
Some biographies exist of prominent Métis figures whose educational experience
is outlined: see, for example, Hugh A. Dempsey, The Gentle Persuader: A
Biography of James Gladstone, Indian Senator,
1987 [although given Gladstone’s ethnic background, the title is something of a
misnomer].
Kathy Hodgson-Smith prepared a paper “State of Métis Nation Learning” in
September 2005 that provides a broad perspective on contemporary
developments, trends, and issues; as does Paul Cappon, “Measuring Success in
First Nations, Inuit and Métis learning,” in Policy Options, May 2008, pp. 60-66.
II. Secondary Literature Review of Métis Experience with Provincial and
Religious Boarding Schools
I have found little dealing specifically with this topic. One of the few analyses has
been a paper presented by Jonathan Anuik at the 2009 annual meeting of the
Canadian Historical Association, “The Early History of Church-State
Collaboration for Saskatchewan’s Métis Schools: A Tale of Cognitive
Imperialism.” This was based on his 2009 doctoral dissertation at the University
of Saskatchewan, “Métis Families and Schools: The Decline and Reclamation of
Métis Identities in Saskatchewan, 1885-1980”, which is more extensively
discussed in the preceding section.
The Frontier Collegiate Institute, a northern Manitoba boarding high school in
Cranberry Portage with a significant Métis enrolment [from Gillam and Duck Bay
primarily], is the subject of A.C. Goucher, “The Dropout Problem among Indian
and Métis Students,” Calgary, 1967. Frontier Collegiate was the only high school
in the sprawling Frontier School Division (of 34 other schools), which extended
from north of Thompson to Lake Winnipeg. Some students traveled as far as 375
miles to reach the community.
There are also monographs on provincial politics and social policy (especially
Saskatchewan during the administration of Tommy Douglas and the CCF in the
1940s and 1950s and the creation of the Métis Settlements in northern Alberta in
the 1930s. One such study is a book by F. Laurie Barron of the Department of
Native Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Walking in Indian Moccasins: The
Native Policies of Tommy Douglas and the CCF, 1997 (chapter 3, pp. 29-57,
deals with the evolution of Métis policy, including schools).
There are also useful studies detailing religious missionary dealings with the
Métis (e.g., Catholic Oblates, Anglican Church Missionary Society) The
establishment of schools were a vital part of these efforts. The provincial
historical societies contain a wealth of information on various topics, including
Native education. See, for example, Robert Coquette, The Oblate Assault on
Canada’s Northwest (Ottawa, 1996); Barrry Ferguson, ed., The Anglican Church
and the World of Western Canada, 1820-1970 (Regina, 1991); Raymond Huel,
Proclaiming the Gospel to the Indians and the Métis (Edmonton, 1996); and the
issues of Etudes oblates de l’Ouest/Western Oblate Studies, 1995.
III. Secondary Literature Review of the Métis in the Federal Residential School
System
Most of the recent, literature dealing with aboriginal education concerns the
implementation of federal residential school policy and the Native [largely First
Nations] response to the schools. One somewhat dated academic essay on the
emerging bibliography is Scot R. Trevithick, “Native Residential Schooling in
Canada: A Review of the Literature, “Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol. 18,
#1, 1998, pp. 49-86, which does mention Métis but without differentiating their
experience. The two classic works are James R. Miller, Shingwauk’s Vision: A
History of Native Residential Schools, 1996; and John S. Milloy, A National
Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System: 18791986, published in 1999. The timing of both was influenced by the release of the
RCAP reports on the 1990s.
Although specific references to Métis receive short shrift in these well-known
volumes, both works are important for understanding the context of early and
usually unofficial Métis admittance to many of these schools. The survivor stories
of all Native peoples certainly has pan-aboriginal aspects but even in federal
residential schools the Métis often had significantly different experiences
because they were generally accepted on the sufferance of individual school
administrators, were largely expected to perform chores and manual labour
rather than receive formal education, frequently encountered discrimination by
both staff and First Nations students and literally fell between the cracks in
treatment and financial arrangements.
The only attempted national overview of Métis residential school students has
been Larry N. Chartrand, et.al, Métis History and Experience and Residential
Schools in Canada, prepared for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in 2006. The
report includes various articles and bibliographies and provides useful
information, but it includes considerable extraneous material not dealing with the
post-Confederation educational history of the Métis, along with omitting much
recent literature, and there is no attempt to discuss Métis provincial boarding
schools.
Other works on Métis and federal residential schools include Carol Hansen and
Trygve Lee, “The Impact of Residential Schools and Other Institutions on the
Métis People of Saskatchewan (Law Commission of Canada, 1999); Métis
Nation of Alberta, Métis Memories of Residential School: A Testament to the
Strength of the Métis, 2004; and Tricia Elizabeth Logan, “We Were Outsiders:
The Métis and Residential Schools,” master’s thesis, University of Manitoba,
2007. Ms. Logan researched materials in the Manitoba Archives and conducted
oral history interviews. Having formerly worked at the Manitoba Métis Federation
and the Métis Centre of NAHO, she is now studying in the United Kingdom.
Alberta and other Governing Member Organizations of the Métis National Council
have organized initiatives to assist the well being of school survivors.
A potentially helpful source for further information is the National Residential
School Survivors Association, which has an Métis representative (John
Morrisseau of Manitoba). Like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, its
primary mandate is to record the testimony of federal residential school survivors,
but both organizations have indicated interest in recording stories from Métis as
well as former students of provincial and local religious schools. The First
International Residential School Conference, held in Edmonton in 2001, included
Métis representatives.
For comparative purposes, AFN and ITK were contacted to determine if any
independent research on residential/boarding schools was being undertaken by
either aboriginal organization. The AFN headquarters office indicated no such
work had been or was being conducted under their auspices, although extensive
literature continues to be produced on the First Nations residential schools.
Library and Archives Canada did host an exhibit on the Inuit residential school
experience from January to September 2009 with the collaboration of the Legacy
of Hope Foundation and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.
Some interesting comparative research has also been initiated in the United
States regarding Indian boarding schools, although as it is well known; the United
States has no formal “Métis” classification of indigenous people. However, the
Turtle Mountain Chippewa of Belcourt, North Dakota have strong cultural and
ancestral links to the Red River, Manitoba Métis. Like their northern brethren, the
Turtle Mountain Chippewa were often subjected to the alienating vicissitudes of
residential and boarding schools. See, for example, Carole Barrett and Marcia
Wolter Button, “ ‘You Didn’t Dare Try to be Indian’: Oral Histories of Former
Indian Boarding School Students,” in North Dakota History, 64.2, 1997, pp. 4-25.
I received a lot of useful information from Professor Ed Sadowski at the
Shingwauk Project of Algoma University College. The Shingwauk Project not
only houses residential school records (including some transferred Catholic
diocesan materials) but also operates a Visitor Centre. The only other potential
residential school museum is located in Manitoba at Portage La Prairie. The
museum had been suspended before the summer of 2009 because of financial
difficulties (personal communication from an on-site visit) but may perhaps be
revived.
IV. Primary/Archival Provincial Sources
Depending on the community, records of provincially supervised schools may be
held by the provincial archives, private research facilities, local school boards or
(less frequently) provincial education ministries.
Ontario
•
Archives of Ontario (Toronto).
This facility contains some local school board records prior to 1968 but is only
easily accessible by individual school name (if held by the archives) and perhaps
searchable by county or town. Supposedly, the Archives hold no records of
religiously run schools. The Archives staff is willing to check for individual
schools. This information is derived from conversations with Archivist Serge
Paquet who indicates local school boards may retain significant numbers of pre1968 files.
Manitoba
•
Provincial Archives of Manitoba (Winnipeg)
Including Métis oral histories, public school records and church files. The
Department of Education was established in 1901.
St. Boniface Historical Society/Societé historique de Saint-Boniface (St.
Boniface)
The Heritage Centre is the repository for various archival records relating to the
Native and Métis educational experience that include Saskatchewan, as well as
Manitoba. These holdings include Oblate school records for St. Laurent, other
Oblate records by community and the Province of Manitoba (including some
transferred from the Deschatelets Archives in Ottawa) and at least one Winnipeg
academy. One of the most significant collections is the core of the archdiocesan
records of Keewatin-Le Pas, which includes the Oblast de Marie-Immaculate
Keewatin-Le Pas, 1846-1925, as well as other miscellaneous and more
extensive Keewatin-Le Pas records from 1918-1979. These materials were
donated in two allocations: 2005 and 2006. Some off these records relate to
residential and boarding schools affecting Métis students, but there are as yet no
finding aids for this collection. The materials are roughly alphabetized by
community and include volumes of the codex historicus (diaries of religious [inc.
Oblates]) administrators for various communities. Records after 1925 have
restricted access and require permission from the Archbishop of Keewatin-Le
Pas before examination.
The Heritage Centre is expecting future donations as well, such as the Oblates of
Mary Immaculate records for Brandon, Manitoba. Because it is the principal
francophone depository in western Canada, the Historical Society of St. Boniface
is one of the principal sources for reconstructing the 19th and 20th century Métis
educational experience in the Prairie Provinces. In addition to the textual
documents, the Historical Society also has posted some 3500 photographs of the
Keewatin-Le Pas records on its website. For further information on the KeewatinLe Pas collection and access issues, the director of the Heritage Centre, Gilles
Lesage should be consulted. The Heritage Centre Archives can be visited
Monday through Saturday for research and consultation.
Saskatchewan
• Saskatchewan Archives Board (Saskatoon and Regina).
An example of one of the relevant archival sources is the 1939 Reid Report on
Métis People found in the Robert Glen Doucette Funds. This Report dealt with
both Métis education and history. See also “Towards a New Past: Oral History
Project The Métis (R-795A-R-834B). The Department of Education has extensive
records including Ed. Add 2, File 48, Métis Schools
1938-1945; Ed Add. file 4A, Métis Schools, 1941-1974; and Department of
Education files, R
1234, #1-4, #6, #9-10, #13, covering the period 1950-1983.
• Lebret-Lestock Métis Farm Archives, Fort Qu’Appelle. This includes much
archival data on training and employment programs related to Métis education in
the 1970s and 1980s.
Alberta
•
Provincial Archives of Alberta (Edmonton)
The Archives Holds some provincial education records as well as church records
dealing with education.
•
Glenbow Museum
Very little held specifically on Métis education: mostly First Nations. However,
there are many family papers extensively explored by Jonathan Anuik in his
dissertation on Métis education in Saskatchewan that shed much light on Métis
educational experiences.
British Columbia
•
British Columbia Archives (Victoria)
Has a searchable database by “School Records”.
Although the Ministry of Education maintains an Independent School Branch, I
have been informed that there are no relevant inactive Métis-related records
dealing with provincial and educational schools in the Ministry’s stored files.
V. Church Archives
Many church schools were known as “independent” or “separate” schools for the
purposes provincial government classification. The various denominations have
approached archival record keeping in idiosyncratic ways. The most detailed
examination was conducted of the Deschatelets (Catholic) Archives in Ottawa.
This was the only ecclesiastical archival collection that could be consulted in
person.
•
United Church of Canada (central archives in Toronto contacted)
The UCC has established a Healing Fund and a prominent website dealing with
residential schools. The UCC operated 15 residential schools in the homeland
provinces between 1849 and 1996, but it is not yet clear what the role of the UCC
was with provincial boarding schools. Susan Roy serves as the primary
researcher in 2009. There are also relevant family and personal papers such as,
the John W. Nidrie fonds (1912-1927) and the Correspondence of John
McDougall, ranging from 1973 to 1928.
•
Alberta—Alberta and Northwest Conference held at the Provincial
Archives
•
British Columbia—British Columbia Conference, Bob Stewart Archives,
British Columbia Archives
•
Manitoba—Conference of Manitoba and Northwest Ontario Conference—
University of Winnipeg, Rare Book Room
•
Saskatchewan—Saskatchewan Conference at the University
of
Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Special Collections
•
Anglican Church (Archivist Nancy Hurn with the central archives in
Toronto has been contacted) The Anglican Church maintains a prominent
website dealing with residential schools, including an historical sketch and a
listing of individual schools in 16 dioceses covering Métis homeland. Some of the
schools clearly included Métis students but so it is far unclear how many schools
were operated with provincial rather than federal cooperation. St. Peter’s of
Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta is known to have been a Métis boarding school
throughout much of its history.
There are also various diocesan/ecclesiastical provincial archives spread
throughout the West including Algoma, Athabasca, Alberta (at the provincial
archives), British Columbia, Calgary, Central Interior, Qu’Appelle and Rupert’s
Land, Brandon, British Columbia and the Yukon, Edmonton (provincial archives
of Alberta), Keewatin, Kootenay, Moosonee (at the Laurentian University
archives), New Westminster, Ontario, Rupert’s Land, and Saskatoon (at the
Saskatchewan Archives Board). The Diocese of Saskatchewan Archives can be
found in Prince Albert and includes files on Indian day schools and residential
schools from the 1920s to the1980s
•
Roman Catholic Church--‐over 50 groups and geographical jurisdictions
that may maintain archives in Canada.
•
Deschatelets Archives (Catholic Oblate). These were the only church
archives investigated in depth because of its location in Ottawa (an Oblate
research facility connected with St. Paul University). This facility has a treasure
trove of information of both older secondary studies on aboriginal education as
well as original correspondence, reports and various collections of the diaries of
missionaries and administrators (labeled by the term “codex historicus”) which
could very well include primary data on various aspects of Métis education.
These codexes (and many other materials) are in French as the Oblates are a
francophone religious order but many reports and analyses are also in English.
A very useful and extensive (302 page) guide was compiled by Thomas
Lascelles, O.M.I., “Indian Residential Schools: Survey of Documents at
Deschatelets Archives,” 3 volumes, 1991. The Survey has a general hard copy
index (including the names of many individual residential schools by province
and various dated lists of all Oblate or Catholic schools with aboriginal student
populations) but perhaps more useful is a key word search of the electronic CD
copy of the Survey. The records largely span the period from the 1930s through
the 1960s and are arranged by an idiosyncratic Oblate classification system.
Additional original records formerly held at Deschatelets have been transferred to
other historical archives such as St. Boniface Historical Society. The archives
staff is extremely helpful. Some of the located Deschatelets records include:
HR 231 A18R Documents 35-38: “Religious education of Indian and Métis
children by Father Vandersteen at McKay Residential School, Dalton, Manitoba,
1969; Sister Margaret Denis, L’Education Religieuse des Indiens et de Métis,”
Archdiocese of Winnipeg, undated.
HR 261.A18R Doc. #1: L. Neufeld, “History of informal Education of Indians and
Métis in Northern Saskatchewan,” 1970, 19 pp.
HR 261.A118R Doc. 20: “Education des indiens, Métis et esquimax” (17 articles
covering various topics and time periods)
HR 6134.C73R Doc. #1: Dropout problems of Métis students in Alberta (1967)
HR 6581.C73R Doc. #5: Indianescom [the acronym for Oblate school
administration] to Indian Affairs regarding Métis teachers, Feb. 7, 1961
HR 7253.C73R Dc. 1-3: Métis education in Manitoba (1954) and Oblate
discussion of
“Education of the Métis in Saskatchewan” (undated, but refers to 1954 Métis
population data: 516 in IIe-a-la-Crosse, 269 in Buffalo Narrows and 317 in
Beauval.)
HR 7506.C73R Doc. #14: “Religious education of Indian and Métis people,” 1972
[includes critical comments by some Oblates regarding religious education for
natives].
HR 8008. C73R Doc. 113: Margaret Denis, “A Summary of the National project
for the religious education of the Indian-Métis,” 1970
HR 8052.C73C Doc. #6 et. al: letters from James Mueller, a Métis Oblate
Scholastic in Washington, 1960
Additional Deschatelets records outside the Residential schools collections
include: Codex Historicus for Ile-a-la-Crosse: 1845-1931 and 1891-1951 (two
registers)
HRE 1 C73R: deals with Keewatin diocese, including material concerning Ile-a-la Crosse, Buffalo Narrows and the Beauval Indian school
HRH: vast collection of miscellaneous material on Manitoba, including residential
and other schools
L2891.A33R1: Green Lake [Saskatchewan] Fonds: re mission school activities of
1945
The Reid Report on Native Education in Saskatchewan (summary, 1939):
includes information on schools in Ile-a-la-Crosse, Lac La Ronge, and Beauval
(interestingly, it is noted that 32 Métis children attended this school which is
generally regarded as the First Nations alternative to the Métis school in Ile-a-laCrosse)
“Provincial Education in Northern Saskatchewan: Progress and Bog-Down,
1944-1962,” in Walter D. Krill and Arthur K. Davis, A Northern Dilemma
Reference Papers, pp. 170-337, Bellingham, Washington, April 1967. These
Papers also include an abstract of the Piercy Report of 1944 for northern
Saskatchewan, which also deals with Métis education.
H.J. Vallery, “A History of Indian Education in Canada,” master’s thesis, Queens
University, History Department, 1942. This is a useful study for the state of Indian
and Métis education before the recommended reforms of the Reid and Piercy
Reports.
“The Métis in Manitoba,” compiled by the Canadian Association of Social
Workers and published by the Provincial Council of Women in 1949 and 1954.
Education is discussed in pp. 12--‐14, 20.
•
Some of the other known or potentially useful Catholic archival collections
include:
•
Alberta—Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The archivist is Diane Lamoreaux
who is happy to assist future Métis educational researchers in the labyrinthine
complexities of various Catholic religious archival collections, even though the
Alberta OMI Archives apparently have no relevant Métis materials.
•
British Columbia—Diocese of Prince George
•
Manitoba—Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas. Despite the transfer of many
records to the St. Boniface Historical Society, there are still records maintained
by the archdiocese in Le Pas. Apparently, most of these consist of residential
school files that have been retained for purposes of on-going civil action by
Native plaintiffs. The archivist is Diane Kelly. Request for information may be
submitted to the archivist, but the archbishop must approve access to any of
these records.
•
Ontario—Diocese of Thunder Bay
•
Saskatchewan—Diocese of Prince Albert, Oblates of Mary Immaculate,
Archdiocese of Regina, Diocese of Saskatchewan. Nearly 40 boarding schools
had been established in Saskatchewan by the 1930s (“Roman Catholic
Congregations of Women Religious” entry in the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan,
2007).
Although Catholic clergy ran the vast majority of private Métis schools throughout
the homeland provinces, the Church’s archives are the least centralized and
most difficult to access of all denominations. I have been informed by other
researchers that unlike the other churches, the Catholics have no coordinated
research program dealing with federal residential schools (much less provincial)
and require permission from the appropriate bishops when diocesan records are
involved.
There are also religious orders involved, such as Oblates (with a number of
secular archivists) Jesuits (central archives in Toronto), and Grey Nuns (central
archives in Montreal) with their own separate jurisdictions and archival holdings.
For future boarding school research, the Catholic schools records will be the
most important to investigate, but also the most difficult and time consuming to
access and analyze.
VI. Primary/Archival Federal Sources
Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa is the principal location for accessible
federal records. Searches have indicated some relevant Métis educational
material. This data is both textual and photographic. Rough finding aids (typically
subject-based alphabetical computer print-outs) exist for these deposited federal
records.
Group (RG) 10—Department of Indian Affairs
As indicated by the title, this record group deals primarily with First Nations.
However, there are some listings by individual schools and programs possibly
relevant to Métis school research. Unfortunately, there are significant gaps in the
records preserved from the 1930s to 1950s that reduce the usefulness of the
surviving information. However, the surviving files are voluminous and much of
the relevant school information is not designated in the file names. All files are
microfilmed unless otherwise indicated. A detailed guide to residential school
records is currently being prepared by Archivist Jessica Squires for the National
Library and various finding aids were personally searched by this researcher.
Potentially relevant records from this record group of Indian Affairs include:
•
School Files, 1879-1953, vols. 6001-6491. A microfilmed index can be
found in reel C-9641 and a finding aid is represented by F.A. 10-17 (38 pp.).
Some school files have restricted access. These are arranged first by agency
and then by names of the school.
•
Central Registry Files, 1906-1965, vols. 6835-6877. This includes
admission and discharge of pupils at student residences, 1952-1965. Finding
aids include F.A. 10--‐24, 10--‐128, and 10-129.
•
School Branch, Letter Books, 1893-1897, vol. 1070. Copies of letters sent
by Deputy Super-intendant General concerning Indian school affairs. F.A. 10-1 is
available for reference.
•
Sault Ste. Marie District Office, General Administration Records, 1935-1980. Includes information on school buildings and training of teachers. Consult
F.A. 10--‐58 and 10-72.
•
Kamloops Agency, British Columbia, Kamloops Industrial School, 18931925. Register of Admissions, vol. 11416. Microfiche. F.A. 10-62 is available.
•
Pine Creek Boarding School, Register of Admissions and Discharges,
1895-1956, vol. 9244. Consult F.A. 10-32.
•
Meadow Lake Agency, Saskatchewan, General Administration records,
1898-1972, vols.
11504-11510, 11537, 12382-12384. Includes information on residential schools.
No microfilm; see F.A. 10--‐84.
•
Half-Breed Education—Central Registry, Black Series, Mantowapah
Agency, 1887, vol. 3788.
See F.A. 10--‐13, pt. 1
•
RG 15- Department of Interior (Inc. Dominion Lands Branch)
This is the primary federal collection of Métis-related materials. Although better
known as the location of Métis scrip and post-Confederation land records, there
are scattered miscellaneous materials relating to Métis education, which are
accessible by both alphabetical subject listings and community files.
Finding Aids 15-5 and 15-6 have alphabetical listings referring to “half-breeds”,
including educational matters. Relevant files relating to education have a date
range from 1879-1901. This includes records of the Board of Education for the
North West Territories (Saskatchewan, Alberta and northern Manitoba); Board of
Education, Regina, 1888 (F.A. 15-5 and 15-6); land grants for schools and
education; and an 1890 file, Rev. A. B. Baird re Education of Half-breed children.
The National Archives also contains other miscellaneous records referring to
Métis education, including textual records of Howard Adams (from 1938-2001);
multiple media and graphic material in the Irene Spry Fonds (dated and collected
from 1920-2000); Inc. MG 30; Projects Completed Files, 1957-1976 (MG 28);
Archbishop Langevin of St. Boniface to Wilfred Laurier, March 4, 1900
concerning the education of Father Lacombe (Métis) on microfilm reel C-773;
photographs of Métis children at the Anglican All Saints residential school at
Shingle Point standing next to an Inuit child,
1930 (Indian and Northern Affairs Departmental Library Albums, RG 85).
Besides the records collected by INAC, it is anticipated that the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission will eventually have its own archives.
VII. Métis Governing Member Organizations/Community Studies/Native Studies
Faculty
Governing Member Organizations have been be contacted but there is no
indication that there is much recent or on-going research dealing with Métis
residential/boarding school experiences. Some inquiries received no reply. Initial
examination indicates the MGOs typically have Health or other departments
mandated to deal with collecting information on residential schools and the
experience of survivors. To what extent this work includes information on
provincial boarding schools remains unclear. It will also be productive to
investigate individual communities where significant Métis boarding schools were
located to determine if surveys and other unpublished documents or reports have
been compiled at the Métis district level. Additionally, Native Studies faculties
can provide other potentially invaluable sources of data through the on-going
research of professors and their students.
•
Ontario
The Métis Nation of Ontario has no research/documentation program
•
Manitoba
The Manitoba Métis Federation created the Métis Survivor Family Wellness
Program in 2001 to be operated out of the Southeast Regional Office, the
Thompson Regional Office, The Pas Regional Office, and the MMF Home Office
to deal with residential schools. MMF sponsored a paper prepared by Lara
McCabe, “Métis sex-trade Workers and the Residential School Legacy,”
2009{?]. Lawrence Barkwell, a scholar of the Louis Riel Institute, was contacted
concerning any on-going research on the Métis boarding/residential school
experience and indicated he was not aware of any work in progress.
University of Manitoba—Faculty of Native Studies
•
Saskatchewan
Métis Nation-Saskatchewan libraries and resource people at Gabriel Dumont
Institute have been contacted. Although, the Publications Department of GDI is
active in many areas, there are no current plans to investigate/publish Métis
educational histories.
First Nations University, Department of Indigenous Studies
University of Saskatchewan, Native Studies Department and History
department—oral histories of Métis histories of Métis are being compiled and ongoing Métis community research. Jonathan Anuik of the Department of History
recently completed his dissertation.
•
Alberta
Métis Nation of Alberta: The MNA published Judy Daniels, Ancestral Pain (2003)
and Métis Memories of Residential Schools: A Testament to the Strength of the
Métis (2004). The Métis Education Foundation also exists to preserve, promote
and disseminate historical and cultural information.
University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies
University of Lethbridge (inc. Dept. of Education)
•
British Columbia
Métis Nation of British Columbia (inc. Kelly Lake and Williams Lake). No
information received from Métis nation of British Columbia. For early Kelly Lake,
see Gerald S. Andrews, Métis Outpost: memoirs of the First Schoolmaster at the
Métis Settlement of Kelly Lake, B.C., 1923-1925 (Victoria, 1985)
VIII. Case Studies
A. Ile-a-la-Crosse (Saskatchewan)
The boarding school here is particularly controversial because it had both
intermittent federal and provincial backing and has been denied recognition
under the Residential School Settlement Agreement. Class action lawsuits were
threatened in 2005 and 2006 to redress the matter. [Other Métis lawsuits against
school systems and/or government education policies can be found in the annual
issues of the Métis Law Summary, edited by Jean Teillet]. The school has served
as a notorious example of both abuse and lack of equitable federal action
(especially after the Conservative Party promised and then reneged to include
the school under the federal Settlement Agreement).
Métis education in the community dates back more than 150 years. The
settlement had a Catholic mission educational program by 1847 and the notable
Grey Nuns arrived in 1860 to begin their long-term instruction.
I have held discussions with Don Favel who interviewed 2000 school survivors in
the area in 2009 through government support obtained by MP Rob Clarke. I also
spoke with Mr. Clarke’s administrative assistant to obtain further information on
the project and was informed that Mr. Clarke’s office does have a copy of the
Report materials and the government’s finding that Ile-a-la-Crosse School was
ineligible for recognition. These items, however, are not for any form of
distribution and the administrative assistant was unable to locate the documents.
Mr. Favel attended the school for 8 years in the 1950s when it was almost
exclusively Métis (with First Nations students attending school at Beauval). He
provided the dates of operation of 1904-1976, and estimates fewer than 1200
graduates survive. Mr. Favel and other citizens of the community have long
attempted to locate and access surviving school records with little success so far.
The principal difficulty has been the dispersal of the relevant Catholic school
records between St. Boniface, St. Albert, and Le Pas and the necessity to
acquire access permission from each diocesan authority. Such permission has
not been forthcoming because the religious authorities have claimed that the
particular diocesan archives have insufficient information, point to other diocesan
archives as more relevant record holders, claim First Nations approval must be
obtained, or do not respond at all. Mr. Favel believes that there is a Mormon
Church research group located in one of the Border States that has compiled
information but he has no further contact information.
Professor Brenda MacDougall, recently appointed Chair of Métis Studies at the
University of Ottawa, has done extensive research on the Ile-a-la-Crosse
community, including an essay “West Side Stories” [an exhibit that included
information on the boarding school, pp. 93-95] in Susan Sleeper-Smith, ed.,
Contesting Knowledge: Museums and Indigenous Perspectives.
Additional research: Philip Taft Spalding of the University of Washington
completed a doctoral dissertation on “The Métis of Isle-a-la Crosse”, 1970. A
bicentennial history was published in 1976 including specific educational
information on the catholic boarding school: Robert Longpre, ed., Ile-a-la- Crosse
1776--‐1976: Sakitawak Bicentennial (Ile-a-la -Crosse, 1977). Leslie Erickson
wrote “At the Cultural Crossroads: Sara Riel and the Grey Nuns in the Canadian
Northwest, 1848-1883, Master’s thesis, University of Calgary, 1997 (chapter 3,
pp. 108-144 deals with the mission school at Ile-a-la Crosse in the early years
after Confederation).
The National Library and Archives also holds manuscript materials relating to the
school: reports and correspondence, 1877-1882 (in RG 10 and RG 15). See
Finding Aid 10-13. The settlement has textual records from 1920-1934 in RG 15
(Finding Aids 15-5 and 15-6).
The Keewatin-Le Pas records in the Archives of the St. Boniface Historical
Society [Manitoba] should also be consulted for relevant material on Ile-a-laCrosse.
Clearly, this is an extremely important school to research and should be a priority
to document as much as possible. Records dealing with the Beauval First
Nations School may also shed some light on contemporary and comparative
developments in Ile-a-la -Crosse. See also Paul Hurly, “Beauval, Saskatchewan:
A Historical Sketch,” in Saskatchewan History, 33.3, 1980, pp. 102-110.
See also the various relevant records cited in the discussion of the Deschatelets
[Oblate] Archives in Ottawa.
B. St. Paul des Métis (Alberta)
This was a Métis colony established in an isolated area of eastern Alberta 200
kilometers outside of Edmonton by the Métis priest Father Lacombe in 1896. A
vibrant boarding school was central to the planning, duly constructed in 1897 and
apparently received federal funding. Pupil enrolment may have been as high as
90 children. All was obviously not well with the student population, as disgruntled
students burned the structure in 1905. The colony lingered until 1909 in a
declining condition until the colony was abandoned and the Métis were replaced
with Franco-Canadian immigrants.
For further information, see the entry “St. Paul des Métis” in the online
Encyclopedia of Alberta; George F. Stanley, “Alberta’s Half-Breed Preserve: St.
Paul de Métis, pp. 75-107 in A.S. Lusssier and Bruce Sealey, eds. The Other
Natives (Manitoba Métis Federation Press, 1978). Primary archival school
sources include the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, St. Paul, and Codex Historicus:
4, in the Provincial Archives of Alberta.
There is also manuscript material in the National Library: Saddle Lake Agency,
correspondence regarding the school (also known as Egg Lake), RG 10, Black
Series, 1898-1906 (see F.A. 10-13)
C. Fort Qu’Appelle Industrial School (Saskatchewan)
This school became an Indian Residential School but many Métis were known to
have attended it.
Bibliography: Jacqueline Gresko, “Everyday Life at Qu’Appelle Industrial School,”
in Western Oblate. Studies 2, 1992, pp. 71-94; ibid. “The Qu’Appelle Industrial
School,”, master’s thesis, Carlton University,
1970; Loise Moine [a Métis student at the school in the 1930s], My Life in a
Residential School, 1975; Fort Qu’Appelle and Lebret Historical Society, Rural
Schools in the Fort Qu’Appelle Area 1898--‐1925,
1980.
Archival material at the National Library is extensive on this school, or at least
identified schools in the Fort Qu’Appelle community. There are 24 separate
manuscript files dealing with the Industrial or Boarding school with date ranges
1882-1897-[1908], and 1910-1962 (in RG 10 and RG 15). These sources include
reports, inspections, returns, land grants, inventories, employee lists and issues,
personnel files, correspondence regarding establishing schools and building
work, vocational shops, supplies, the principal Father Hugonnard and
photographs.
Beyond these case studies, little has been written or found on individual
residential/boarding schools, with significant or identified Métis student
populations. Beyond the class action suit regarding Ile-a-la- Crosse, however,
another one is in preparation for the Montreal Lake/Timber Bay School, also
located in Saskatchewan near La Ronge. The Ottawa lawyer Michael Swinwood
has been retained to represent the plaintiffs (apparently both First Nations and
Métis) in this suit.
IX. Recommendations for Future Action and Research
(1) Urge INAC through the Protocol Agreement with MNC to provide inventories
of School records used to determine eligibility for recognition and compensation.
Particularly significant would be to ascertain the extent to which provincial versus
federal records were used to make determinations of eligibility. Since OFI/INAC
has under-written this literature review, this would appear to be a reasonable
request. Moreover, it would be impossible to duplicate the federal government’s
extensive research effort with a practical expenditure of either funds or time.
(2) Interviews and Oral History projects should be undertaken with federal,
provincial and community assistance to supplement the dearth of secondary
documents or easily accessible Métis educational archival sources.
(3) Research of provincial education archives (such as the Saskatchewan
Archives Board, Manitoba Archives, etc.) should be undertaken to gain a broader
understanding of the Métis educational experience. It is impossible to do this
effectively long-distance as many potential sources may only become clear in the
context of other records.
(4) Given the dispersal of ecclesiastical records (particularly the Catholic religious
records) and the impact of mission schools on Métis in the homeland, it is
fundamental to obtain a better understanding of the relevant religious repositories
to consult. Accesses to many of the diocesan and archdiocesan records require
the specific approval of the presiding bishop or archbishop. It may be necessary
to enlist the support of MNC, GMOs and/or government agencies and individuals
to facilitate this process.
(5) Beyond providing better recognition and understanding of Métis community
schools and the legacy of the residential/boarding school experience, one of the
end results should be the compilation of school histories available to the
concerned Métis communities.
X. Some Contacts for Future Research and Information
Manitoba:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Winnipeg office, has a multi-year mandate
through 2014 to interview residential and other school survivors and compile
research data. Their mandate is to include Métis and their boarding school
experiences as well as the federally sponsored residential schools. As of early
2010, the TRC has filled a number of staff positions. John Milloy, who has written
extensively on the history of residential schools, is the new director of Research,
Historical Record and Report Preparation. Ryan Moran is Director of Statement
Gathering and the National Research Centre. Information on upcoming activities
can be accessed through the website: Truth and Reconciliation Canada. The
office can also be contacted by calling 204-984-5885 or toll-free at 888-8725915.
Louis Riel Institute, Winnipeg.
Best contact is Lawrence Barkwell, who has extensively researched many
aspects of Métis history and has gathered some unclassified material on
residential schools and Métis education.
Faculty of Native Studies, University of Manitoba. Renate Eigenbrod teaches a
course on literary works dealing with residential schools, including authors like
the Métis writer Maria Campbell and attends various international conferences
dealing with the subject. She is a good contact for the expression of the cultural
impact on Métis survivors and the growing network of literary scholars
researching the residential/boarding school experience. The Truth and
Reconciliation Commission will be sponsoring a conference on Creative
Aboriginal Writers in June 2010. The University of Manitoba also publishes a
number of titles on native and Métis history.
Ontario:
Brenda MacDougall, Chair of Métis Studies at the University of Ottawa. In
addition to her broad mandate dealing with Métis history, she is well versed in the
community and culture of Ile-a-la-Crosse.
Jonathan Anuik, History Department, Lakehead University (Orillia Campus).
Professor Anuik has conducted extensive archival research and oral history
interviews throughout the homeland provinces dealing with the 19th and 20th
century educational experiences of Métis.
Saskatchewan:
Gabriel Dumont Institute. GDI is the principal educational and research facility for
the Métis people of Saskatchewan. The Institute publishes various works and
maintains two libraries.
Appendix I. Approved Federal Residential Schools Impacting Métis as of 2008
The IRS Federal Settlement Agreement has recognized the following schools
with known or likely significant Métis student populations:
British Columbia: Caribou (St. Joseph’s, William’s Lake) Alberta: Lac La Biche
(Notre Dame des Victoires)
Lesser Slave Lake (St. Perer’s/St. Peter’s?)
Manitoba: Churchill Vocational Centre
McKay (The Pas, replaced by Dauphin) Pine Creek (Camperville)
Ontario: Bishop Horden Hall (Moose Fort, Moose Factory) Cecilia Jeffrey
(Kenora, Shoal Lake)
Fort Frances (St. Margaret’s) McIntosh (Kenora)
St. Joseph’s/Fort William
St. Mary’s (Kenora, St. Anthony’s)
No doubt other approved schools with significant Métis populations will be
revealed from this list once further research is completed.
Appendix II. The IRS Federal Settlement Agreement Listing Currently
Disapproved/Pending Approval
Schools
These schools of the homeland provinces (as of May 2008) are presented in
provincial alphabetical order. If the community location is known, this is indicated
by parentheses. Some may be duplicate names or misspelled based on the
available transcript. No doubt many older schools without surviving students are
not represented but the Final Report will attempt to list as many of these as
possible.
Schools identified exclusively as day schools or with no governmental or religious
affiliation have been eliminated from the list. Institutions not identified as schools
have also been removed. Schools rejected as having either provincial or religious
affiliations are so indicated; all others are under pending review.
Known Métis schools that have already been identified by initial research or carry
the word “Métis” in the name are asterisked. Many schools can also be identified
clearly as having significant number of Métis students by virtue of the
communities known to have substantial Métis populations. Other schools will be
added to the known Métis list if and when information becomes known. Some
schools, by location, can be assumed to have almost exclusively First Nations
people representing the Native school population. Other schools on the list
clearly have no significant numbers of Native people, much less Métis.
The goal for the Final Report (or subsequent research) is to present to OFI/INAC
a sanctioned list of identified Métis schools to achieve survivor recognition and
compensation comparable to the federally approved schools. There may be
some provincially organized/funded schools to be promoted and researched that
have not been previously been submitted in this list.
Alberta (2 designated Métis, 11 provincial, 2 religious, remaining status pending)
Alberta College (Edmonton)--religious/provincial
Alberta Institute for Girls--provincial
Alberta School for the Deaf (Edmonton)--provincial
Anjac (Lac La Biche)
Anzac School/Dormitory (Anzac)
Athabasca Public School (Athabasca)--provincial
Atonement Home (Edmonton)
Baptist School Home (Mudare)
Bethany Home for Children (Wetaskewin) Blackfoot
Boyer River Residential Day School Boyer River)
Canadian Union College (College Heights)
Cayley School (Cayley)--provincial
Clarence Jaycox Mission (Loon River)
Convent St. Croix (Donnelly)
Convent St. Jean Baptiste (McLennan)
Don Bosco Home (Calgary)
Driftpile Church School (Driftpile)
Drumheller Composite High School (Drumheller)
Duclos Residential School (Bonyville)
Ermineskin High School (Hobbema)--provincial
Fairview
Faithful Companions of Jesus Convent (Edmonton)
Father begin (Fort McKay)
Father Lacombe Home (Calgary)
Father R Parent School (Chard)
*Fishing Lakes Métis Settlement
Fort McMurray (St. John’s)
Friendenstal (Friedenstal)--religious
Friends of Jesus Christ Convent (Calgary)
Good Shepherd Home/School (Edmonton)
Grey Nuns Sacred Heart (Edmonton)
Grouard Vocational High School (Grouard)
Heart River School (Imperial Mills)
Holy Cross Convent (Spirit River)
Jasper Place Composite High School (Edmonton)
Jasper Residential School (Edmonton)--provincial
Kateri School (Trout Lake)
Kermaria (Pincher Creek)
Koinonian Christian School (Cremona)
Lac La Biche Mission (Lac La Biche)
Lacombe (Orphanage)
Home Midnapore Lake Dell School (Wetsterose)
Leverne (Stanoff)
Life Values School (St. Paul)
Little Buffalo Mission/Lubicon
Lake Mission (Little Buffalo)
Little Flower/Mission School (Fox Lake)
Matomid Home (Edmonton)
McCoy High (Medicine Hat)--provincial
McLennan Mission (McLennan)
Medicine Hat High (Medicine Hat)--provincial
Midnapour Residential School (Calgary)
Moosehorn Lodge (Grouard)
Nanton Junior and Senior High School (Nanton)--provincial
Nasa Group Home (Calgary)
Oakhill Boys Ranch (Bonnaccorde)
O’Connell Institute [Mapleridge] (Edmonton)--religious
Our Lady of Peace (Edmonton)
Pakan School (Goodfish Lake)
Parkview Advantist Academy (La Combe)
Peace River Convent (Peace River)
Pensionnat Notre Dame de Fatima (Guy)
Poundmaker [Red Deer Industrial, Youville] (St. Albert)
Prince Rupert Residential School (Prince Rupert)
Providence School (McLennan)
R.B. Stienhauer School (Saddle Lake)
Routhier Public School (Falher)--provincial
Sacred Heart Convent (Falher)
St. Joseph’s Academy (Grand Prairie)
St. Joseph’s Convent (Red Deer)
St. Joseph’s Home (Mundare)
St. Joseph’s School (Edmonton)
St. Kevin’s--provincial
St. Martyr’s Canadian Parish (Tangent)
St. Mary’s Catholic School (Edmonton)
St. Mary’s Girls Home (Edmonton)
St. Mary’s (Standoff)
St. Mary’s Boys School (Edmonton)
St. Mary’s Catholic School (Beaverlodge)
St. Mary’s Catholic School (Fort Vermillion)
St. Mary’s Residential School (Cardston)
St. Marys Separate School (Fort Vermillion)
St. Michael’s (Edmonton)
St. Rose School (Falher)
St. Theresa School (Edmonton)
St. Theresa School (Slave Lake)
St. Theresa School (Wabasca)
St. Therese de l ‘Enfant Jesus (Tangent)
Sterling Elementary (Stirling)
Stirling School (Stirling)
Sunchild Mission (Sunchild)
Tangent Convent (Tangent)
The New Church of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin (Fort Chipewyan)
*Utikama School (Peavine Métis Colony)
Vermillion Agricultural School (Vermillion)
Wabasca School (Wabasca)
William Roper Hall Home (Calgary)
Woods Children Home (Calgary)
British Columbia (39 provincial, 10 religious)
Acho Dene School--provincial
AD Rundle School (Chilliwack)--provincial
Aldergroug Senior Secondary--provincial
Annunciation School (Prince Rupert)
Assumption School (Powell River)
Booth Memorial High School (Prince Rupert)--provincial
Brannen Lake Reform School for boys (Tolfin)--provincial
Burns Lake District School (St. Francis)--provincial
Calidonia College (Prince George)--provincial
Camonsen College (Victoria)--provincial
Campbell River Indian Day School (Campbell River)
Carson Graham (North Vancouver)--provincial
Cedard Lodge Boys School (Cobble Hill)
Chases Secondary School--provincial
Chemanius School (Chemanius)--provincial
Cloverdale Elementary School (Surrey)--provincial
College Heights Catholic High School (Prince George)
Duncan Day School (Duncan)
Durieu Convent (North Vancouver)
E J Dunn School (Port Alberni)--provincial
Eleventh Avenue Elementary School (Port Alberni)
Essondale (Coquitlam)--provincial
Fort Nelson (Fort Nelson) Francois (Francois)
G W Carlson (Fort Nelson)--provincial
Gitanyow Independent School (Kitwanga)
Gitwinksihlkw (Gitwanga Village)
Grassy Plains Elementary School (South Bank)--provincial
Hazelton High School (Hazelton)
High McRobert Junior Secondary School (Richmond)--provincial
Home Placement in Vancouver (Vancouver)
Hot Springs Cove School (Hot Springs)
Huchboyd (Richmond)
Immaculate Catholic School (Burns Lake)--religious
Jericho Hill School for the Deaf (Vancouver)--provincial
John Barsby Junior High (Nanaimo)
John Field Elementary School (Hazelton)--provincial
Johnston Heights Junior Secondary (North Surrey)--provincial
Kanada Salvation Army Residence (Prince Rupert)
Kawakis School
Kitwanga Day School (Kitwanga)
Kuper Island (Chemainus Island)--provincial
L. A. Matheson Secondary (Surrey)--provincial
Len Sheperd Secondary School (Surrey)--provincial
Lilooet Dormitory (Lilooet)
Lilooet Secondary School (Lilooet)
Lumby Primary, Elementary and Secondary Schools (Lumby)--provincial
Makalata Residential School
Maple Ridge secondary School (Maple Ridge)--provincial
Maryhill Junior Secondary School (Port Coquitlam)
McPherson Park School
Mission Indian School (Mission)
Mission Secondary School (Mission)
Mont Perval (Duncan)
Motney School--provincial
Mount View Senior Secondary School (Victoria)
Nanaimo District Senior Secondary School (Nanaimo)--provincial
Native institute of Canada (Cornell)
North Delta School (North Delta)--provincial
North Surrey Senior Secondary (North Surrey)--provincial
Notre Dame School (Dawson Creek)
Old Koksilah (Duncan)
Prince George College/O’Grady Catholic School (Prince George)--religious
Prince Rupert Residential School (Prince Rupert)
Princess Margaret School (Penticton)
Providence Crèche
Providence St. Genevieve (New Westminster)
Prud’homme Convent (New Westminster)
Queen Charlotte Island (Queen Charlotte Island)
Queen Elizabeth (North Surrey)
Queen Margaret School (Sioux Lookout)--provincial
Queen of Angels School (Duncan)
R C Palmer (Richmond)--provincial
Redford Elementary School (Port Alberni)--provincial
Ridley Home for Girls (Prince Rupert)--religious
R.L Angus [Earl Angus]--provincial
Roosevelt Elementary School (Prince Rupert)--provincial
S J Willis (Victoria)--provincial
Sacred Heart (Prince George)
Sacred Heart (Victoria)
Smithers Residential Assessment Program (Smithers)
Southbank (Burns Lake)
St. Angela’s Academy (Surrey)
St. Anne’s Academy (Duncan)--religious
St. Anne’s Academy (Kamloops)
St. Anne’s Academy (Nanaimo)
St. Anne’s Academy (Victoria)--religious
St. Anne’s Mission (Williams Lake)
St. Christopher’s (North Vancouver)
St. Edmunds (North Vancouver)
St. Josephs Catholic School (Smithers)--religious
St. Joseph’s Catholic School (Vanderhoof)--religious
St. Joseph’s Elementary School (Smithers)
St. Joseph’s Catholic School (Chemanius)
St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic School (Victoria)
St. Louis College (Victoria)
St. Maria Goretti (Fort St. James)
St. Mark’s University of British Columbia (Vancouver)
St. Mary’s Catholic School (Prince George)--religious
St. Mary’s Convent (Duck Lake)
St. New Euphrasia [Good Shepherd] (Vancouver)
St. Patrick’s Catholic School (Maple Ridge)
St. Peter’s (New Westminster)--religious
St. Thomas Aquinas (North Vancouver)--religious
Templeton High School
Terrace Residential School (Terrace)
Thunderbird Elementary School (Vancouver)--provincial
United Church Residence for Boys (Prince Rupert)
Upper Sumas Elementary School (Upper Sumas)
Vancouver Technical High School (Vancouver)--provincial
Vancouver Vocational (Vancouver)
Victoria Girls’ Group Home and Boys’ Group Home (Victoria)
West Whalley (Surrey)--provincial
Westwind Academy
William Beagle (Surrey)--provincial
Williams Lake Elementary School (Williams Lake)--provincial
Willington School for Girls (Burnaby)
Woodlands Residential School (New Westminster)--provincial
Manitoba (27 provincial, 11 religious)
Alternate Class (Thompson)
Argyle High School (Winnipeg)--provincial
Assiniboia (Brandon)
Assiniboine Academy residence (Winnipeg)
Balmoral Hall School (Winnipeg)--religious
Berens River Roman Catholic Mission [Our Lady of the Snows] (Berens River)-religious
Birch River Reserve
Bloodvein River School
Brookland Junior High (Winnipeg)--provincial
Burtwood Elementary School (Thompson)--provincial
Charlebois Catholic Residence (The Pas)
Charleswood Collegiate (Winnipeg)-- provincial
Christ the King School (Camperville)
*Cranberry/Frontier College (Cranberry Portage)-- provincial
Crane River School (Crane River)
Cross Lake (Cross Lake)
Cumberland Pemmican Portage School (Cumberland House)
Dauphin McKenzie Junior High (Dauphin)--provincial Deerwood
Elementary School (Thompson)--provincial
Duck Bay School (Duck Bay)--religious
Duke of Marlborough (Churchill)--provincial
Ecole Precieux Sang (Winnipeg)--provincial
*Frontier School Division (Dauphin River)--provincial
Glenlawn Collegiate (Winnipeg)--provincial
Gordon Bell High School (Winnipeg)--provincial
Grant Park High School (Winnipeg)--provincial
Hector Thiboutot School
John Pritchard (Winnipeg)--provincial
Junior Collegiate Boarding School (Winnipeg)--religious
Keewatin Community College (The Pas)--provincial
Kildonan East School (Winnipeg)
Langevin Boys School [Mason Chapel] (Winnipeg)
Leonard School
Letellier Manitoba School (Winnipeg)
Lord Robert School (Winnipeg)--provincial
L’Orphelinat St. Boniface (Winnipeg)
Lynn lake Elementary (Lynn Lake)--provincial
Lynn Lake High School (Lynn Lake)--provincial
Manitoba Development Centre (Portage La Prairie)--provincial
Manitoba Home for Boys (Portage La Prairie)
Manitoba Home for Girls (East St. Paul)--provincial
Margaret Barbour School (The Pas)--provincial
Marion School (Winnipeg)--provincial
Mary Duncan School (The Pas)
Mary Mount Girl School (Winnipeg)
Mason Chapel (Winnipeg)
Montral Lake Children’s Home [Timber Bay] (Montreal Lake)
Natimeek School (Cross Lake)
Ninette Residential School [Pembina House] (Ninette)
Pelican Lake Training Centre (Pelican Lake)--provincial
Philomene Chartrand School (Camperville)
Pine Falls (Pine Falls)
R D Parker Collegiate (Thompson)--provincial
Red Brick School (The Pas)
Rossville United Church Indian Residential School (Norway House) Saggitawak
United Church School
Sandy bay Group Home (Sandy Bay)
Seven Oaks Youth Centre (Winnipeg)--provincial
Sheppard’s School
Simonet (St. Laurent)
Sisters of the Good Shepherd School (Winnipeg)--religious
South Indian Lake School (South Indian Lake)
St. Adolphe Catholic School (St. Adolphe)
St. Agness School (Winnipeg)
St. Ambroise School (St. Ambroise)
St. Agnes Primary School
St. Anne’s (Winnipeg)
St. Anthony’s College
St. Benedict’s (Winnipeg)
St. Boniface College (Winnipeg)
St. Charles Catholic School/Convent (Winnipeg)
St. Eustache School (St. Eustache)
St. Francis Xavier [Grey Nuns convent] (Winnipeg)
St. Francois Assisis [?] Convent (Cayer)
St. Hebert’s Convent
St. John’s High School (Winnipeg)--provincial
St. John’s Cathedral Boys School (Selkirk)
St. John’s Minor Seminary (Fort Alexander)--religious
St. Joseph (Cross Lake)
St. Joseph College (Ottterburne)--religious
St. Joseph’s Academy (Winnipeg)--religious
St. Joseph’s Vocational School (Winnipeg)--religious
St. Laurent (St. Laurent)
St. Mary’s Convent (Winnipeg)
St. Mary’s Convent (Sifton)
St. Mary’s School (Winnipeg)--religious
St. Mary’s School for Boys (Winnipeg)--religious
St. Norbert Girls’ Convent (St. Norbert)
St. Rose Collegiate
St. Rose Convent (St. Rose)
St. Thomas Aquinas/St. Thomas Elementary (Duck Bay)
St. Vincent de Paul (St. Amelie)
Technical Vocational High School (Winnipeg)--provincial
Tempina residential School (Brandon)
Teulon (Teulon)
The Pas Collegiate (The Pas)
Thibert School (Cayer)
Thompson District
Timber Bay Children’s Home (Montreal Lake)
United Church School--Nelson House (Nelson house)
Westwood School (Thompson)
Yellowquill Residential School (Portage La Prairie)
Ontario (27 provincial only, 13 religious) given the location of many of these
schools, it is unlikely many represent substantial self-identified Métis students,
unless significant immigration can be determined.
Algonquin College (Ottawa)--provincial
Algonquin Composite School (North Bay)--provincial
Brookside Training School (Coburg)--provincial
Carmelite Convent (Toronto)
Cecil Frazer Training School (Sudbury)--provincial
Champlain School (Alfred)--religious
Colvert Training School (Toronto)--provincial
Convent of Mary Immaculate/Bishop Smith Catholic High School (Pembroke)-religious
CPRI Institute (London)
Cristal Lake (Stirland Lake)--religious
Deslaurier Group Home (Sault St. Marie)
Father Moss School (Sioux Narrows)--provincial/religious
Fisher Park High School (Ottawa)--provincial
Foyer d’Youville (Sudbury)
Gloucester High School (Ottawa)--provincial
Grandview Training School for Girls (Galt)--provincial
Hillcrest high School (Ottawa)--provincial
Hornepayne Public School (Hornepayne)--provincial
Immaculate Heart of Mary (Garden River)
Iroquois Falls (Iroquois Falls)
Kawartha Lakes Reform School (Lindsay)--provincial
MacArthur High School (Ottawa)--provincial
Madonna St. Mary’s/ St.Mary’s Convent (Barry’s Bay)--provincial/religious
Maryvale Vocational (Windsor)--provincial
Moose Factory Group Homes (Moose factory)
Northern Lights Gospel Mission School (Red Lake)
Notre Dame de Lourdes (Sturgeon Falls)--religious
Ontario School for the Blind (Brantford)--provincial
Ontario School for the Deaf (Milton)--provincial
Ontario Training School for Girls (Toronto)--provincial
Pelican Falls Residential School (Pelican Falls)
Pine Ridge School/Ontario Training School for boys (Bowmanville)--provincial
Project Dare (Britt)
Queen Elizabeth High School (Sioux Lookout)--provincial
Regina Mundi College (London)--provincial/religious
Sacred Heart (Peterborough)
Savant Lake Public School (Savant Lake)--provincial
Schollard Hall/North Bay College (North Bay)
Sioux Narrows Public School (Sioux Narrows)--provincial
Sprucedale (Haggersville)--provincial
St. John’s Reform School--provincial/religious
St. John’s Training School (location?)
St. John’s training School (Toronto)--provincial/religious
St. John’s Training School (Uxbridge)--provincial/religious
St. Joseph School (Pentetangishene)
St. Joseph’s Girl College (North Bay)--provincial
St. Joseph’s Training School (Alfred)--religious
St. Luke Anglican Church (Hornepayne)
St. Mary’s Grade School (Cornwall)
St. Mary’s Training School/Academy (Toronto)--provincial
St. Mary’s Academy (North Bay)
St. Mary’s Convent (Combermere)
St. Matthew’s Secondary School--provincial
St. Patrick’s High School/College (Ottawa)--religious
Stirland Lake/Wahbon Bay Academy (Stirland Lake)--religious
Victoria Public School (Renfrew)--provincial
Villa St. Joseph (Coburg)
Woodroffe High School (Ottawa)--provincial
Saskatchewan (15 provincial, 11 religious)
Academy Presentation of Mary/Rivier Academy/Sion Convent (Prince Albert)-religious
Alex Wright School (Nipawin)
Angus Merasty/Queen Elizabeth (Prince Albert)
Assiniboia Girls Residence (Assiniboia)
Assumpta Academy (Battleford)
Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Wilcox)
Balcarres High School (Blacarres)--provincial
Battleford Baptist Boarding School/Bert Johnson (Battleford)
Big River High School (Big River)--provincial
Boarding School at La Ronge (La Ronge)
Boarding School at Prince Albert (Prince Albert)
Boucher/Notre Dame de la Providence (Prince Albert)--provincial/religious
Briercrest College (Caronport)
Cando Residential School
Carlton High School (Prince Albert)--provincial
Caronport High School (Caronport)
Carpenter High School (Meadow Lake)--provincial
Celbrine Hall (Saskatoon)
Center School (Prince Albert)
Churchill High School (La Ronge)
College Mathieu Du Gravelburg
Convent of the Child Jesus (North Battleford)--religious
Creighton (Creighton)
Crescent lake (Yorkton)--provincial
Cumberland House School (Cumberland House)
Debdin High School (Debdin)--provincial
Delmas residential School/Thunderbird IRS (Battleford)
Ducharme School (La Loche)--provincial
Duck Lake Convent (Duck Lake)
Duquette School--provincial
Forget School (Forget)
Fort Qu’Appelle Indian Residential School (Fort Qu’Appelle)
Free Methodist Hostel (Moose Jaw)
Green Lake School (Green lake)--provincial
Ile-a-la Crosse Mission Boarding School/Holy Family, St. Joseph (Ile-a-la
Crosse)-religious
International Bible College (Moose Jaw)
Joe Duquette School (Saskatoon)
Johnson Frost Home (Biggar)
Kaniswapit Central School (Fort Qu’Appelle)
Kilbin Hall Residential School (Saskatoon)
King Edward School (Moose Jaw)--provincial
LP Miller High School (Nipawin)
La Loche Old School (La Loche)
Les Filles de Providence (St Louise)
Luther High School (Regina)
Marcelin Convent (Marcelin)--religious
Mathieu College (Gravelburg)
Mistamin High School (Mistamin)--provincial
Molaosa School
Montmarte Convent School (Montmartre)
Montreal Lake/Timber Bay (Montreal Lake)
Moosejaw Residential training School (Moose Jaw)--provincial
Mullengar School
Notre Dame (North Battleford)
Notre Dame College (Prince Albert)
Oasis School (Prince Albert)
Old Laloche School (Laloche)
Osborne School
Our Lady of LaSalette (Forget)
Paisec (Prince Albert)
Pemincan (?) Portage (Cumberland House)
Presbyterian Fellowship House (Prince Albert)
Prince Albert Indian Student Education Centre (Prince Albert)
Queen Mary School (Prince Albert)
Ranch Ehrlo (Regina)
RC School (Onion Lake)
Regina Collegiate (Regina)
Rossignol School/Holy Family (Ile-a-la Crosse)
Round Lake (Round Lake)
Roy Willson Center (Sedley)
Sacred Heart Academy (Regina)--religious
Sacred Heart Convent (Montmarte)
Sacred Heart School (Whitefish Lake)
Saskatchewan Training School (Regina)
Saskatoon School for the Deaf (Saskatoon)--provincial
Saskatoon Technical Collegette (?) (Saskatoon)
Sedley School (Sedley)
Sion Academy (Moose Jaw)
Sion Academy (Saskatoon)
Spalding High School (Spalding)
St. Andrew’s Convent (Wapella)
St. Angela’s Academy (Prelate)--religious
St. Ann’s (Prince Albert)
St. Chad’s Girls School/Qu’Appelle Diocesan School (Regina)
St. Chad’s Anglican Residential School (Regina)--religious
St. Gabriel’s High School/Convent (Biggar)
St. George School (Prince Albert)
St. Hubert Mission Convent (St. Hubert)--religious
St. Joan of Arc Academy (Swift Current)
St. John Parish (Ile-a-la Crosse)
St. Joseph Convent (North Battleford)
St. Joseph School (Prince Albert)
St. Joseph’s Convent (Forget)
St. Joseph’s (Rosetown)
St. Joseph’s College (Yorkton)
St. Joseph’s Convent (St. Louis)
St. Joseph’s School (Saskatoon)
St. Joseph’s School (Vibank)
St. Karen’s
St. Louis Convent (Prince Albert)
St. Lukes Home (Meadow Lake)
St. Mary’s High School (Prince Albert)-provincial
St. Mary’s School-religious
St. Michael College (Duck Lake)
St. Michael’s (Prince Albert)
St. Pascal School (Green Lake)—see 100th Anniversary of St. Pascal School,
1893-1993 (Green Lake, 1993)
St. Phillips Residential School (Kamsack)
St. Raphael’s Convent (Wolseley)
St. Thomas College (North Battleford)-provincial/religious
St. Ursaline Academy (Bruno)
Stanley Mission Group Home
Stobbarts School (Duck Lake)--provincial
The Orange Benevolent Home School (Indian Head)
Val Marie convent (Val Marie)--religious
Vawn Convent) (Vawn)
Victoire Convent (Victoire)
Victoire School
Victory Baptist (Prince Albert)
Wolseley Public School (Wolseley)--provincial
Wolsley Convent (Wolseley)
Yorkton School (Regina)