Old Sun Community College Third Floor

The Third Floor of Old Sun Community College (OSCC). Click on the triangle to load the point cloud. Labels on the point cloud indicate past room functions during Old Sun’s time as a residential school. Important rooms on this floor include the junior boys and girls dormitories and the boys and girls Infirmary.

“When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who has learned to read and write.” – Sir John A. MacDonald, 1879

Bedtime prayers in the girls’ dormitory, Old Sun School. 1955-1957. NA-4817-22. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Residences for both staff and students were located on the third floor during the years Old Sun operated as a residential school. An infirmary and nursing station was also situated here. The junior boys’ dormitories could be found on the south side and the girls on the north. Students between the ages of 4 and 13 stayed in the school’s junior residences. The number of beds in these dorms likely changed through the years, but to accommodate the maximum capacity of 142 students in the 1960s the dorms would have had around 30 beds (see the section “Overcrowding” below).

There was a small sink and a bathroom attached to each dormitory, and a series of storage cupboards were placed along the walls adjacent to the doorway. Upon arriving at the school, children were stripped of their personal belongings and assigned a number with corresponding school uniform. The clothing worn by the children to the school would be bundled up and stored in the wall cupboards until the children returned home.

Old Sun School, Gleichen, Alberta – Hospital room and “Mumps” cases. – 1944. P7538-1007 from the General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada.

The dormitories on either end of this floor have since been divided into two classrooms. During Old Sun’s time as a residential school, however, they would have each been one single large room. Adjacent to each dormitory was a bedroom for a staff member. These bedrooms had a window that looked upon the dormitory so that staff could monitor the behavior of students. Rooms located further down the hallway were used as staff quarters along with the dispensary/infirmary (see point cloud and VR tour). If students were sick, they were kept isolated in the infirmary – sometimes for as long as several months.
Today, the rooms on this floor are used for teaching classrooms for the college, staff offices, and the staff room.

Notes:
The content of this page is pending approval by Old Sun Community College.

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. Your keyboard's arrow keys can also be used. Travel to different areas of the third floor by clicking on the floating arrows.

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

Jr. Girls' Dormitory during the filming of a documentary, with the addition of window coverings and nicer quilts on the beds. Old Sun IRS, 1952. Photo Source: Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Girls praying on their beds - 1952. P8471-11 from The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Set up of survey network during the digital documentation of Old Sun Community College in August 2020. Photo Source: Madisen Hvidberg.

The west side of the Junior Girl's dormitory, now a science classroom. Photo Source: Madisen Hvidberg.

The east side of the Junior Girls' dormitory, now a classroom. Photo Source: Madisen Hvidberg.

Staff sitting area, previously used as the infirmary for Old Sun IRS. Photo Source: Madisen Hvidberg.

The east side of the Junior Boys' dormitory, now a classroom. Photo Source: Madisen Hvidberg.

Jr. Boys' Dormitory during the filming of a documentary, with the addition of nicer quilts on the beds. Old Sun IRS, 1952. Photo Source: Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Sewing class on the third floor of Old Sun IRS, 1950-1966. Photo Source: Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University.

Jr. Boys' Dormitory during the filming of a documentary, with the addition of window coverings and nicer quilts on the beds. Old Sun IRS, 1952. Photo Source: Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University

Junior boys resting - [193-?]. P75-103-S7-167. The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada

Junior boys' dormitory, Old Sun School. Children saying bedtime prayers. 1955-1957. NA-4817-24. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Bed time for junior boys, Old Sun School. 1955-1957. NA-4817-25. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives .

Laser scanning data can be used to create “as built” architectural plans which can support repair and restoration work to Old Sun Community College. This plan was created using Autodesk Revit and forms part of a larger building information model (BIM) of the school. The Revit drawings and laser scanning data for this school are securely archived with access controlled by the Old Sun Advisory Committee.

Some of the threats faced by Indigenous students attending residential schools came from the buildings themselves. The architectural plans contained in this archive, which have been constructed using the laser scanning data, illustrate how poorly these schools were designed from a safety perspective. There were three specific areas that placed the health and safety of students at great risk: Fire Hazards and Protection Measures; Water Quality, and Sanitation and Hygiene. As you explore the archive, you will find more information about the nature of these hazards and their impact on students.

Eileen Black- The Teachers Were so Cruel

Ok my name, my English name is Eileen Black. My Siksika name is Isitsimani, it was given to me when I was young, and I grew up with this name. I was never given a different name. I grew up and was raised when I was young by my father and mother a who were members of the Horn Society, the Horns. The way of life they lived we were taught to be kind and respect people and to listen. Now I am sitting here in, I forget how to say Old Sun in Blackfoot. Interviewer said Natosapiois (Old Sun School) So that makes sense Natosapiois the Old Sun School.

I was still young, I think maybe I was 6 years old when I started, when I was brought here to start school. Ah, then I was still very young… I couldn’t understand I couldn’t understand why I was not at home anymore with my mother. I was brought here [Old Sun], I had never been in a house this huge. We came here for church in the chapel on Sundays and then we were brought here to start school. There’s so much I don’t remember, I can’t remember. I don’t know if it’s because when I finished, that’s not quite the word I want to say but when I finished here, I’m thinking of what happened to me at the residential school.

There were many things that I saw in the classrooms especially. Ah my classmates, the way they were treated bad not only by the teachers but by the others who stayed at the residential school. I couldn’t understand, I could never understand, I used to think we were all from the same tribe. Yet they were so bad and mean by hitting, pinching, and because of them I was treated bad by them. When we see them in church with their parents, they would act so innocent about the bad way they acted.

The teachers were so cruel, so mean, and so bad. It seems like they thought at the snap of a finger we would just understand English. I was raised with the Blackfoot language and we hardly ever spoke English at home. English, we hardly spoke English ‘till the teachers. If we did not pronounce properly this language, they wouldn’t speak to us in a gentle way instead they would just shout. Shout at and yell at you. They had those, I hated those big wooden rulers [laughs], they used to slap our hands and tell you, “don’t say that! You say it this way.” Some would bluntly say, now a days we know that’s not acceptable, they tell us, “you are stupid. You are stupid, you don’t know anything, and you are not going to ever learn anything. You are so stupid in English.”

So how could we… how could we [clears throat]… how could we understand what we are being taught when they speak to us in this manner? Because all the time we were scared, Myself, I was scared all of the time. I was scared I might say the wrong thing and then get slapped on my hand and get… especially that, her name was… I did not know her well but I was in class with her. Her name was… I would see I was around her enough to know when she used to pinch us, specially our ears… Mrs. King or Miss King. And I used to think how that I understand about residential school, they were so cruel. And had a big nose. I wish I knew how to talk back to her and tell her that.

I think of how in the past I was a mean person, and I know where this behavior comes from. Where it comes from, being a mean person, is because of the bad experience I had at residential school. I used to think if I had ever met that Miss King, I think, I think would have slapped her face at that time. I think I would have hit her and I would not tell why or who I am. I would just slap her hard and tell her “how does that feel?” But along the years I learned, ah, I learned ah… to forgive. It was really hard for people like that, to pray for them. Because I was taught when I was young to pray for and to forgive. That is our way of life and how we were taught. They stressed for us to follow those ways and teachings, in our cultural way of life. And so that is one the things I had to work on for that Miss King, and she was not the only one, forgiveness.

So, I have learned to forgive. I have learned to forgive but I can’t say I forgotten, ‘cause we are never going to forget this, ever. If you have gone through the residential school experience, it is something that you will always remember but you have to work on, on that forgiveness. You have to forgive yourself because a lot of times us, we blame ourselves. Me, I blamed myself instead of the other way around. I blamed myself ‘till I understood. So now I can… I let that anger go. I let that hate go. And her… that’s her dealings with the Creator. Now I have to look after myself me and I was able to continue and able to continue try hard.

– Isitsimani, Eileen Black

[read more]