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).

Notes:
The content of this page is pending approval by Old Sun Community College.

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

Celeste Bull Bear- A Visit to the Dentist

The other time is I had a real bad toothache, on my left I mean on my right side and it was really swollen and they didn’t do anything about it. I went home for the weekend. I came back I was in a lot of pain. When I got back, I was telling the supervisor that my mouth was really sore and they checked it and that day they sent me to that dentist in Crowfoot School. I still remember that dentist, I could still picture him. How he looked, he was tall, he had a bald head, he had rims, round rims and he was tall, he had a white, you know, his white jacket that he wore. And there is another one in there, he was dressed like that, he was really small, kinda small and black hair. They were both white guys.

When they were checking my teeth, here I had an abscess, it was really bad. He just went ahead and pulled it out. He didn’t even freeze it, he just started pulling it out. I remember, I was just screaming, I was just crying, and I was telling him to quit because it really hurt. He just told me to shut up, and the same time he started pulling, you know really pulling. I could just feel it coming out and could just feel, hear those… I don’t know what they were. I could just hear them, when they were pulling it out, and I started screaming again. And I got his hand away from my mouth and he just hit me on my arm and told me, “you be quiet, you’re ok, there’s nothing wrong with you.” And that other guy was just standing there, watching what he was doing.

Finally, I remember that time I kind of, I don’t know… in those days I didn’t know what or how to explain it, but now it just felt like I almost blacked out because of the pain and what I heard. My mouth was just bleeding that time, and all they did was just gave me those white gauze and put them in my mouth. And I got sent back. And I was, oh, I was in pain all that week. Now, you know, I should be scared of dentists but I’m not. I’m not scared of them.

And my dentist was looking at my teeth that time, and she told me she wanted to put a partial where that was. She said, “it’s a big gap. It’s really deep and we’ll try and put those partials in here.” When I went back, she told me, “it can’t be done,” and I told her”Why?” And she said, “well something happened. I don’t know, but I don’t. Why we can’t do that, something happened. That big gap between your back teeth and your… umm it seems like you went through a trauma.” My teeth. And that’s when I shared the story with her, but she didn’t know anything about residential school, so I explained it to her. I told her what happened that’s when she told me,”you know when somebody has an abscess, you’re supposed to wait for the swelling to go down, you’re supposed to wait. And then after that they freeze it and they’ll take it out.” I think she was horrified what that dentist did. So, he really, I don’t know, he really did something to my teeth.

– Celeste Bull Bear (Bear Chief)

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Notes:

Oral interview with Celeste Bull Bear (Bear Chief). Conducted, translated, and transcribed by Gwendora Bear Chief. Old Sun Community College, March 28, 2022.