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

Mandel Old Woman- We Went Back and He Strapped Us

Hello this is Mandel. I’m going to tell a few stories what happened to me at Old Sun.

It happened at uh, it happened at the dorm, the boy’s room. It started out; I was really lonely. I was lonely for my parents so we decided to uhm… There was about four of us and so we decided to run away, hey. So, we planned it out and we, uhm, we planned it out so as soon as it got dark, we already had it planned and we took some pillows and put them on the beds so, just to say, that we were sleeping. Then there was a closet where we put all our clothes in there and we busted it, that closet, and we took our clothes. Then we dressed ourselves up and then we ran down the stairs, we took off.

Took off, and we ran past the, around the graveyard and there we slept there until it was daylight. It was around during fall; it was very cold. We were just hugging each other. We had… we didn’t know where to go so then we decided to go back. I was really scared everyone was really scared of the supervisors. So, we decided to go back to the, to the, to the school. We were standing beside the bar and there was this one of the supervisors, his name was Mr. Richard, he caught us and then he told us to put our hands together put our hands together and walk in a row, so we walked back. There was that old white building, he brought us down there into one of those rooms. That was the old that white building with that old kindergarten where people go to class over there.

So, he took a whip out and he told us to pull our pants down. Then he told us to bend down and he start, I don’t know it was some kind, I don’t know what it was, it some kind of thick leather. I don’t know how many times, about ten to fifteen times on the back of our, on our back. So, then he told us to pull our hands back out and he did that and same with me. He strapped us on each hand and those things were very painful at the time, when he was… Some of the people were crying, my roommates, the people I ran away with. We were just shaking all that time and gee. Out there when we were out there, we almost froze that’s why we decided came back but he caught us like I told you, he caught us. And we went back and he strapped us.

Then he brought us in to the dining room and there everybody was going back to school. So, we were sitting there just shaking and that was it. It was the loneliness that caught us that’s why we ran away, its very lonely out there. We can’t, I don’t know, we can’t stand. We never get to see our parents, never once two, three, times a week and its lonely and yeah but that’s why we ran away.

-Mandel Old Woman

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