UnBQ Second Floor

…to wean them by slow degrees, from their nomadic habits, which have almost become an instinct, and by slow degrees absorb them or settle them on the land. Meantime they must be fairly protected.”-  Sir John A. MacDonald, 1880

Today the second floor/third story of University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (UnBQ) houses a combination of offices, classrooms, and a staff kitchen. At the center of this floor, access to a mezzanine above the library can be gained. This space is used as a meditation room, but originally functioned as the choir house for the chapel.

When in operation as a residential school, this floor housed some teaching spaces, such as classrooms and a sewing room. The mid section of the floor was used primarily as staff quarters for supervisors, teachers, and maintenance workers who lived on-site at the school. The principle, who was often also the priest would also live on the premises, although in his own separate house alongside his family. The groundskeeper likewise had a house separate from the main school building.

Relationships between staff and students were often difficult. The students’ dormitories were on the floor above the staff, with supervisors intentionally situated between students and building exits. Students were strapped with thick leather belts from farm machinery for not following rules such as being quiet or as Verna Daly remembers, for speaking Cree or Dene, the home languages of many of the students at Blue Quills. Marcel Muskego recalls being strapped in the hallway so other students could hear his screams, and does not recall what the punishment was given for.

Generally, staff created a better living experience for themselves in the school than they did for the children they were responsible for. For example, supervisors ate in a separate room off the dining hall with ornate table settings and “great food while we ate garbage,” remembers former student Jerry Wood.

Overcrowding

Not surprisingly, overcrowding led to an increase in the spread of communicable diseases in all three schools. Most concerning was the spread of TB. At OS tuberculosis was on the rise in 1935 with five students in the hospital and the remaining student population put under observation with a rest period every afternoon (Blackfoot Agency, Vol. 6360, Reel C-8714, 1935). Two years later, the Indian Agent reported that nurses with TB experience attended the school because of the high need, but that this service must be funded by the band. The Agent questioned if this on-going medical funding to treat TB should be a departmental obligation (Blackfoot Agency, Vol. 6360, Reel C-8714, 1937). Correspondence from the Saddle Lake Agency in 1941, noted that a polio outbreak had occurred at both BQ and EIRS, and that the students returned to school on September 23 after the ban was lifted. There was no other mention or details provided about the duration or severity of the outbreak (Saddle Lake Agency, Volume 6346, Reel C-8703, 1941).

The DIA sought solutions to reduce disease transmission by looking at the bathing practices rather than addressing the problems with overcrowding. At BQ showers replaced washbasins in an attempt to limit the spread of communicable health conditions like scabies and impetigo. Ironically, the washbasins were repurposed at another school as a cost cutting measure – despite the believe that they were the source of disease transmission.

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 includes modern and archival photos of UnBQ's third floor.