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“It has been strongly impressed upon myself, as head of the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will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.

June Spotted Eagle- I Don’t Think He Liked Me

This other story it happened in the dinning room. Ah, every Tuesday night there were movies for everybody huh. In the evening between 7 or 8. Then the parents used to come and watch. The kids could sit with their parents. Then when the movie is going to end, we just know when the movie is going to be over, we hear God Save the Queen. When we hear it, the kids start crying because they know the parents will be leaving.

And I remember one time with my mom and my father I snuck upstairs with them on the boy’s side, those stairs, I snuck upstairs with them. I was thinking, “I’m just going home with my parents.” But anyways at the hallway Mr. Cole caught me. He just grabbed me, lifted me up and carried me to the dormitory even though I was bawling and kicking my feet. I know my one shoe fell off and I lost it, but I did find it later. I know sometimes Mr. Cole lets some kids go home with their parents but he never allowed me to go, I don’t think he liked me [laughter].

One time at grade 2, we were in the classroom. It used to be in the old library, it’s not one anymore for along time. Just across, there was a classroom, grade 2 with Mr. Warm, our teacher’s name. We still all sitting. That, that Mr. Cole came into the room. I just felt a pinch on my ear, and he just touched my ear with his big hand. And it hurt. I didn’t even do anything.

As we got older, maybe Grade 8 or 7 in that Quonset that was separate from the main building, we used to have dances every Thursday evening. It was fun, they used to play that song Splish, Splash [laughter]. One time we went to a concert- on not a concert, a track and field at Kainai, St. Pauls school. We slept there ‘cause it was late, too late to come back. So we stayed there. There we had a dance with them, the Kainai kids [laughs] and Mr. Cole- oh, not Mr Cole, Mr. Miller. They kept asking him, “do you have Splish, Splash?” [laughs].
“No, we don’t, we never heard of that song.” And I still hear it now and I still like that song, I still hear it sometimes [laughs]. Well it’s, as I got older well, when I was still here (at Old Sun Residential School), it wasn’t that bad… not like when I was young.

That’s all.

– June Spotted Eagle