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“It has been strongly impressed upon myself, as head of the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will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

Irwin Big Old Man- It’s Always Like I Had a Military Life

I think the most part the best part I liked about the residential school is when we got released to go out and play out in the yard. There was a bunch of garter snakes in the yard. I was the one that always chased everybody around. That’s why most of my punishments commenced. I’ve never been whipped by my parents till after I left residential school. I used to get whipped by a guy named Father Brown, he was kind of mad. He would just hit us with anything and smacks us in the head. Because, I guess, I don’t know if was my fault chasing everybody with garter snakes or what not… but everybody stayed away from me because of the snakes.

That’s when we were outside but inside was pretty… I think the worst bad experience, I think, of it all… It is Friday, they bring us home one the bus, but Sundays we had all had to start walking to the school no matter how cold it was on a Sunday morning or afternoon. I think that’s about all I could really think about residential school. I probably, what this lady said today at the workshop today, I only remember the little good parts and I think I blocked all the bad parts out. Cause I know there’s stuff out there like when we go out on the other side on the west side of the playground there was, like… we got to play with the girls and that was the only time we ever see them and what not, otherwise it was just like prison, as far as I’m concerned. I think the only good experience’s out of it is when I joined the army, I was already trained. I think that’s about my story. Like I said I was already trained cause we are always doing this we had to stand in line for breakfast and what not. We had to stick by rules.

So its always like I had a military life, all my life in residential. And then that is the sad part we grew up and my mom put us in residential school and then we kind of lost track of her. And then when they released us she got sick with cancer so she was in and out hospital, which made us miss part our mom’s life. I think that’s about it. I never really had a bad experience. Just when we were in the boy’s room and when the older boys were making the little boys fight each other. I guess that’s where the older generation became that’s how they all became boxers.

– Irwin Big Old Man

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