Old Sun Annex

The Annex at Old Sun Community College. This Area of the School Presently Contains Various Administrative Offices. It Originally Served as the Priest’s Primary Residence During the Time that Old Sun Functioned as an Indian Residential School.

“It has been strongly impressed upon myself, as head of the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men.” – Sir John A. MacDonald, 1879

The Minister’s Quarter’s

Cropped photo of the exterior, showing a car parked in front of the annex at Old Sun. 1930s. NA-2966-4. Courtesy of the Glenbow Archives.

The annex at Old Sun Community College is currently used as a meeting space for staff. The main floor has a private office, an office with board room, and a small kitchen area. Upstairs, there are three offices, a bathroom, and an additional room. The annex’s half basement is used for storage.

When Old Sun operated as a residential school, the annex served as accommodation for the minister, who was also principal of the school, and his family. The kitchen and boardroom functioned as a private kitchen and formal dining area where the minister could entertain guests. The rooms upstairs served as bedrooms. Students at the school were not generally allowed access to the annex, except when brought there specifically by the minister.

For the creation of this archive, many of the survivors returned to Old Sun to share their memories, and were interviewed in the boardroom which used to be the dining room for these quarters. For many survivors, it takes great strength and resilience to return to the school and revisit their memories.

Use the arrow keys (left, right, up, down) or left click and drag your mouse around the screen to view different areas of each room. If you have a touch screen, simply drag your finger across the screen.

This gallery contains modern day and archival images of the annex of Old Sun. If you have photos of the annex that you would like to submit to this archive, please contact us at irsdocumentationproject@gmail.com.

Leica BLK scanning under the stairs to the basement of the annex during digital documentation of Old Sun. August 2020. Photo source: Madisen Hvidberg.

Old Sun School, annex to the right with separate entrance visible. [193-?]. P75-103-S7-188 from the General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada.

Boardroom office of the Siksika Studies department at Old Sun Community College, formerly the dining room of the minister's quarters. Photo from digital capture of Old Sun, August 2020.

Upstairs office in the annex of Old Sun, formerly a bedroom for the minister's quarters. Photo from digital capture of Old Sun, August 2020.

Entrance to the annex of Old Sun. Photo from digital capture of Old Sun, August 2020.

Old Sun School, this brick building was opened in 1929. 1930s. NA-2966-4. Courtesy of the Glenbow Archives.

Rev. Robert Crocker and family, who would have been living in the annex. 1955. NA-4817-50. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Old Sun School, annex to the right.[193-?] P7538-1022 from the General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Rev. Cole and Frazer with hens. Cole would have been living in the annex (on the left side of Old Sun) and Mr. Fraser in the maintenance house. June 1950. P7538-998 from the General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada.

Mandel Old Woman- Every Little Thing You Get Punished For

I was going to talk the other time I ran away it was blizzard, hey. Coming back to it, it was blizzard. Then one of my friends, it was my cousin, told me just bring a umm, umm a hot water with you, it will help you. At that time I just did it and would a hot water help me… it won’t help me out, maybe it just froze. And so, so it was about in the evening it was blizzarding and I planned it out. I ran, it was in the playroom, I just took off from the from the, from the playroom. I took off… started running, ran all the way, it was my, umm, the snow was going up to my waist deep. And I, and I just had a… I forget what. I think it was a thin jacket at the time. I had my runners and I was walking and running at the same time coming down, coming where I used to live, it was at the Flats.

And when I got home and my umm, my umm, my face and my hands were frozen and you know that’s how, my uncle told me my, um, put my feet in the oven. At that time I was about maybe, about five years old, and at that time… umm I didn’t care about anything. I just, at the time, I didn’t care about anything I just, I just took off. And its just its, I almost, if I, if I, I could’ve probably passed away with those two incidents when I especially with this one in the blizzard, hey. Like I, like I froze my ears, my whole body actually… my feet, my hands, my ears, and, and at that time. I could of, you know, passed away if I run away from the blizzard and that other time I was, I could of froze too again out sleeping out of nowhere. And that’s very, that’s very, umm I don’t know.

I never, want to go back into those, those umm days. I don’t know. It’s just so miserable out there. You never get to see your parents. Sometimes I have to stay at the at the residential for I say maybe, sometimes for two three weeks there, nobody’s around and umm and gee its lonely out there and I don’t know you get you never get to see your parents. And so those were some of things that happened to me. And I never, never want to go through that again.

And when you get punished you can’t, you can’t drink water or you can’t drink water at nights or you get punished for that too. You get same thing… they’ll kneel, they’ll kneel you down to the in the bedroom, that’s the bedroom that’s upstairs in the boy’s room. And you’ll kneel down for hours there too. And gee that was awful too. And still if you fall asleep you know get punished for it, you get slapped that was so awful. And you never get to see never get to see your, your umm your brothers or sisters. And the only time you get to see them is umm when you go into the dining room and you eat. And the food was very awful you can’t… you can’t very umm its, I don’t think, nothing, this you know. The food you get, umm, get tired of seeing. You don’t want. That’s why I don’t hardly like some of the food I eat now, I don’t care for them, you know. And on Sunday’s you have to go, you have in back in a certain time, you don’t go back in a certain time you get punished for that too. Everything little thing you get punished for it.

-Mandel Old Woman

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