Old Sun Classroom

This computer reconstruction approximates how classrooms at Old Sun Indian Residential school would have appeared. This reconstruction was created using historic photographs as well as descriptions provided by former students.

“I have reason to believe that the agents as a whole … are doing all they can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense,” – Sir John A. MacDonald, 1882

Visualizing Classrooms From the Past

Old Sun Community College has undergone a remarkable transformation from an institution of oppression and coercive tutelage to one of that is playing a key role in cultural revitalization. The changing of dormitories into classrooms, and chapels into a library means there is often little within the building to remind staff, students, and visitors about its history as a former Indian Residential School.

Computer reconstruction and gaming technology provide a mean of visualizing how different areas of Old Sun might have appeared in the past. Dr. Katayoon Etemad who is a computer science researcher at the University of Calgary created this reconstruction of a classroom at Old Sun Indian Residential School as it may have appeared in the 1960’s. The model was created using historic photographs and the memories of residential school survivors who attended Old Sun Indian.

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

Old Sun, photograph of students in grade four and five classroom, 1940-1949. Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Formal classroom photo of students at their desks. Principal and teacher stand at the back - [194-?]. P7538-1015 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Duncan Winnipeg sits at a desk in a classroom. 1955-1957. NA-4817-9. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Students in a classroom. 1955-1957. NA-4817-10. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Grade 7 students in a classroom. 1956. NA-4817-11. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Making paper mache masks for Halloween. 1955-1957. NA-4817-54. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Making paper mache masks for Halloween. 1955-1957. NA-4817-55. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Sylvia Peacemaker sits between two friends in front of a quonset hut used for additional indoor teaching and recreation space. 1955-1957. na-4817-7. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives

Display of finished items and three students from woodworking class. 1945. P75-103-S7-190 from the General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada.

Junior Classroom. Posed photo of students seated at their desks with teacher (blurred) standing at the back - 1945. P75-103-S7-182 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Senior classroom. Photo consists of students sitting at their desks, in view from front of classroom to the rear- 1945. P75-103-S7-184 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Grades 3 and 4. View of classroom with students at their desks and teacher standing at rear- [194-?]. P75-103-S7-193 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Senior students. Photo consists of senior girls at their desks, boys standing against side wall, and Principal and staff member standing at rear- [194-?]. P75-103-S7-201 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Grades 4 and 5 classroom with students working at their desks- [194-?]. P75-103-S7-205 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Senior class and teacher Miss J. Rutherford. - [194- ?]. P75-103-S7-206 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Junior students - 1952. P75-103-S7-208 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Junior Classroom. Posed photo of students seated at their desks with teacher (blurred) standing at the back - 1945. P7538-1005 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Mandel Old Woman- It’s Making Me Hurt

And one thing I never knew, I never knew… I never noticed this one thing that happened to me. It was just that when we shower, and when we shower the, well his name is, umm, Mr. Bolton. I still know, I still know Mr. Bolton, umm I don’t know, to this day I still I don’t I don’t want, I still have regrets against him. I don’t know. it’s hard to forgive. I don’t know. I just… I don’t know, I just pray about it. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if he’s still alive. And anyway ,what’s an awful thing like, umm like I just found out for myself by looking at it… like that’s, that’s, I think kind of sexual, sexual abuse. Him standing there just looking at us. You know showering and touching us and, you know, our ears and… you know. We have to use a, like steel, like those hard steel brushes to scrub our, our umm like our elbows and our knees.. and you know we can’t get any cleaner than that. You know, scrubbing and there’s just red marks on our elbows, knees, and you know… that’s very awful. You know its, it’s these things, there’s lot of things that I could, you know, could keep talking, and talking. You know, the things that like.

And at nights you get hungry but what are you supposed to eat? We don’t get nothing. We’re in bed about by 4, 5 o’clock in the evening. We don’t even have playing time outside. You know just maybe half an hour… and there, he’s still staying there just watching over us over the window. And I don’t know what, I don’t know what’s going, become of that. I mean what I’m saying… Every move you know, he’s right there, and you know. We can’t do nothing. And at the same time, I never knew, he gives us um I think olive, that olive… I think it’s that olive oil or whatever. I never knew. Cod liver I should say cod liver oil. And I never knew, I never, never, that I don’t know what that does to us. I never did like that. And like umm yeah, so I didn’t like that. The soda to brush our teeth. We have, to umm… and we can’t have any rips on our clothes or anything like our runners, or like our, like our clothes they are ripped, we get punished for that.

And yeah, there’s so many things I don’t know like, umm… Just give me a minute… umm that’s kind of bringing bad memories. It’s making me hurt. Just a minute.

[long pause, speaker very emotional]

Yeah, it’s just so awful, it’s making me hurt and angry, coming back to it. I really want to finish this interview. You know I was just thinking about it.

Just give me a minute.

[long pause, speaker very emotional]

I say that wasn’t our home I mean, that was our home. We never got to see our parents.

I think I’ll just end off here.

Okay.

-Mandel Old Woman

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