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

Rita Jane Many Guns- What I Don’t Want My Kids to Go Through

These are the things when I got older and I thought when I start having kids, “I am going to make sure my kids speak English. I did not want my kids to go through what I went through not knowing a word of English when I went to school.” That’s where I made a mistake, it’s just the opposite, my kids speak English and they don’t speak Blackfoot. It just seems they lost their language but because I wanted them to speak English when they went to school. I didn’t want them to experience what I experienced [speaker very emotional].

And not only that, I’ve seen my friends that were abused in school. I get, I get so scared. One time my friend, I don’t what she did. The supervisor, he was a man, I think his name was Mr. Hamilton, he just grabbed her by the hair and he dragged her down the stairs. I was so scared and my friend was screaming, no one helped her.

Those kind things, I think back on, what we went through school. And the other thing what I find very humiliating, I guess, degrading. When we bath, we all have to shower in front of everybody in the bathroom or where there’s about six of us at the same time we bath. I hated to go take a bath. And everyday we are given vitamins, those olive oil. We stand, line up, the supervisor just walks along and squirts them in our mouths. I hated them I just about throw up and if you get caught, you’ll get into trouble, even those vitamins if you get caught not swallowing them, you’ll get punished for it.

Now I feel good that my kids didn’t have to go to residential school to experience all this what I experienced.

– Monoot’taki, Rita Jane Many Guns

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Notes:

Oral interview with Monoot’taki, Rita Jane Many Guns. Conducted, translated, and transcribed by Gwendora Bear Chief. Old Sun Community College, May 6, 2022.