Old Sun Chapel

This computer reconstruction approximates how the chapel at Old Sun would have appeared at Old Sun Indian Residential School. It was created using historic photos as well as descriptions provided by former students.

“We instill within them a pronounced distaste of the Indian way of life so that they will be humiliated when reminded of their origin. When they graduate from our institutions, the children have lost everything except their Native blood”. – Bishop Vital Grandin, 1875

3D Computer Reconstruction of Old Sun’s Chapel

Angie Ayoungman (front) and Gwendora Bear Chief (back) point out changes to be made to the virtual reconstruction. October 2021.

Computer science researcher Dr. Katayoon Etemad used historic photographs and survivors accounts to recreate the appearance of the chapel during the 1960’s. Etemad would provide members of the Old Sun Advisory Group with different versions of the model. Members would then suggest changes and send the model back to Etemad for revisions. This “back and forth” process eventually resulted in a closer approximation of how the chapel would have looked to staff and students.

The Prevalence of Religion at Indian Residential Schools

Residential School Survivors describe being indoctrinated with religion, being punished for speaking their language, and being mocked for practicing their culture. Felix Mukego who attended BQ IRS explained: “they try to indoctrinate you with religion. Pound in you a fear of God or whatever God is supposed to be. Made you pray maybe 7 times a day. Made you go to church every morning, whether you like it or not. On your hands and knees. On a cold cement floor to say your Catholic prayers” (Muskego, 2014).

This image gallery shows historic and modern photos of Old Sun College's library. Click on photos to expand and read their captions. If you have photos of that you would like to submit to this archive, please contact us at irsdocumentationproject@gmail.com.

Chapel of Old Sun ca. 1952. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Canon Gibbon Stocken conducting service at Old Sun School. - [ca. 1949]. P75-103-S7-198 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Chapel interior, Old Sun Residential School. 1955-1957. NA-4817-65. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Choir at Christmas, Old Sun School. Nativity scene in foreground. Possibly in the chapel. 1955-1957. NA-4817-28. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Mrs. Water Chief (right) and Mrs. Gunny Crow (left) on the steps of Old Sun after leaving church held in the school chapel. 1955-1957. NA-4817-66. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Women and children leaving Old Sun after church in the chapel. Despite community members attending services held in the Old Sun chapel, students were not allowed to speak with them. 1955-1957. NA-4817-67. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Students in the chapel of Old Sun during the filming of a documentary, ca. 1952. Photo Source: Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Siksika community members in the chapel of Old Sun during the filming of a documentary, ca. 1952. Photo Source: Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Community members in chapel during filming of a movie. 1952. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University.

Staff in chapel during filming of a movie. 1952. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University.

Students outside standing in front of the school chapel. 1950s. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Old Sun chapel 1952. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Canon Gibbon Stocken and Chief Paul Little Walker at the front of Old Sun chapel [ca. 1949]. P75-103-S7-197 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Irwin Big Old Man- On Our Knees for Half a Night

My name is Irwin Big Old Man, I was stationed… not stationed, I was locked up in Old Sun Residential School, and I stayed in the boy’s room. But now the junior boy’s room is a good room. It is a science room where they are teaching Health. And anyways there when I first came, my bed was right beside the supervisor’s room and I was a brat and I was always getting yelled at. I was always on my knees beside my bed.

The following years they took me away from the supervisor’s room, close to her bedroom. They put me by the emergency exit, which was a lot better and quieter so. I never really seen or experienced anything bad in there. One night we all had a big pillow fight, everybody in there. We all got caught and the supervisor, do we go with names or no? Anyways the lady, Miss Bolton, she made us stand on our, I mean kneel down, on our knees for a good half of the night. The guys were passing out and a lot of us guys the next day couldn’t even walk because of the cement floor and being on the knees and what not.

For that the Junior boy’s room was never really see anything. But the bad part was downstairs in the rec room the junior boy’s rec room downstairs, down, I don’t know what’s in there but that’s the shower room, bathroom and everything by the dining room. That’s where everything we see, like the older guys would encourage, made, the little guys to beat each other up. The supervisors they never did nothing. They just sit back and watched and they actually cheered us on.

-Irwin Big Old Man

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