Overview of Residential Schools
in Canada/Ontario/NAN Territory

Overview of Residential Schools in Canada/Ontario/NAN Territory

While residential schools have been in existence since the 1600s, the first church-run Indian Residential School (IRS) was opened pre-Confederation in 1831. This was the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ontario. By the 1880s, the federal government had adopted an official policy of funding residential schools across Canada. The explicit intent was to separate these children from their families and cultures.

In 1920, the Indian Act made attendance at Indian Residential Schools compulsory for Treaty-status children between the ages of 7 and 15. However, it is known that children as young as 4 were attending Indian Residential Schools.

The IRS system entered the lives of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) members as early as 1847 when children were forcibly removed from their home communities to attend until the 1970s. While the federal government funded these institutions, they were operated by various churches, such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Mennonite.

Many human rights violations were committed against the children who were forced to attend these and other colonial institutions such as Indian Hospitals, Sanatoriums and Day Schools. Survivors of IRS’s have testified that horrific acts of physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse took place while present in these institutions.

It is known that thousands of citizens from the NAN territory have attended IRS’s across the country. Of these so-called Indian Residential Schools, 7 former institutions have been identified as having a NAN Caretaker Community, or a community that has been identified to help lead on the healing journey for former students and intergenerational survivors. Healing initiatives have also been put in place to help survivors.

map of residential schools

Indian Residential School Timeline

The former institutions are as follows:

residential school picture 2

St. Anne's Indian Residential School

Fort Albany First Nation

Opened: 1906 Closed: 1976

Denomination: Catholic

St. Anne’s school was established in the early years of the twentieth century at Fort Albany, ON. In 1941 three boys ran away from the school it is believed that all three either drowned or died of starvation. The government took over management of the school in 1965 and of the residence in 1970. The residence was phased out in 1976, and the school transferred to the local First Nation. Four former staff members have been convicted on charges that include indecent assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault, and administering a noxious substance.

residential school picture Bishop-Horden-Hall

Bishop Horden Hall, or Moose Factory Indian Residential School

Moose Cree First Nation

Opened:1906 Closed:1976

Denomination: Anglican

Anglican missionaries established a boarding school at Moose Island on Hudson Bay in the 1850s. In 1905 the Bishop of Moosonee converted his former residence into a residential school. In 1914 that school (named Bishop’s school) was destroyed by fired and replaced with the Moose Fort school. A new building, named Bishop Horden Hall, was built in 1953. In the 1960s the classroom operations of the school were merged with those of the local public school, and the school was renamed the Horden Hall Student Residence. The federal government took over the administration of the school in 1969 and closed the Horden Hall Student Residence in 1976.

residential school picture

St. John's Indian Residential School, or Chapleau Indian Residential School

Chapleau Cree First Nation

Opened: 1907 Closed: 1948

Denomination: Anglican

The Chapleau residential school operated from 1907 to 1919 north of the town of Chapleau, ON. In 1920, a new school opened at a site south of Chapleau. In 1908, an Indian Affairs inspector said that seven of thirty-one children at the school had died in a three-month period, and parents temporarily stopped sending their children to the school. Thirteen years later, parents hired a lawyer stating that students were being cruelly treated. The school was damaged by a fire in 1944, and three years later a second fire caused further damage. The school closed in 1948.

The Pelican Lake Indian Residential School

The Pelican Lake Indian Residential School, or Pelican Falls Indian Residential School, or Sioux Lookout Indian Residential School

Lac Seul First Nation

Opened: 1927 Closed: 1978

Denomination: Anglican

Pelican Lake school was established in 1926 near Sioux Lookout, ON. Despite its location on the Canadian Shield, the students cleared a portion of the school’s 287 acres for a farm operation. In the late 1940s there was severe overcrowding in the school. In the 1950s the school increasingly served as a residence for students attending local day schools. The federal government took over administration of the school in 1969. In 1978 the school, which by then was operating solely as a hostel, closed.

Poplar Hill Indian Residential School

Poplar Hill First Nation

Opened: 1962 Closed: 1989

Denomination: Mennonite

The Poplar Hill School opened in 1962 in a small school building that had previously been operated by the Mennonite Northern Light Gospel Mission of Red Lake, Ontario. The Northern Youth Program branch of the Mission operated the residential school. Aside from elementary education, the school provided academic and vocational training for young adults. In 1969 it became the Poplar Hill Development School. The school closed in 1989.

Stirland-Lake-High-School, Residential-School

Stirland Lake High School, or Wahbon Bay Academy

North Caribou First Nation

Opened: 1971 Closed: 1991

Denomination: Mennonite

Opened in 1971 on remote Stirland Lake in Northwestern Ontario, Stirland Lake Residential School operated as a boys’ school until 1986 when the school merged with the Cristal Lake girls’ school run by the same organization, Northern Youth Programs. In 1987 students staged a protest against what they considered excessively restrictive conditions at the school. After a cooling off period following the protest, a number of students did not return. The school closed in 1991 when Northern Youth Programs decided to withdraw permanently from providing residential schools programs.

Cristal Lake High School

Mishkeegogamang First Nation

Opened: 1976 Closed: 1986

Denomination: Mennonite

Opened in 1976 on Cristal Lake in a remote part of Northwestern Ontario, Cristal Lake school operated exclusively as a girls’ school. In 1986 the Cristal Lake girls’ school merged with the Stirland Lake boys’ school, run by the same organization, the Northern Youth Programs Inc. Following the merger the Cristal Lake facility was closed, and the entire operation was moved to Stirland Lake which became co-educational. Shortly after the two schools merged, Stirland Lake school experienced a protest when students complained about the restrictive conditions at the school.

Indian Residential School Timeline

The former institutions are as follows:

residential school picture 2

St. Anne's Indian Residential School

Fort Albany First Nation

Opened: 1906 Closed: 1976

Denomination: Catholic

St. Anne’s school was established in the early years of the twentieth century at Fort Albany, ON. In 1941 three boys ran away from the school it is believed that all three either drowned or died of starvation. The government took over management of the school in 1965 and of the residence in 1970. The residence was phased out in 1976, and the school transferred to the local First Nation. Four former staff members have been convicted on charges that include indecent assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault, and administering a noxious substance.

residential school picture Bishop-Horden-Hall

Bishop Horden Hall, or Moose Factory Indian Residential School

Moose Cree First Nation

Opened:1906 Closed:1976

Denomination: Anglican

Anglican missionaries established a boarding school at Moose Island on Hudson Bay in the 1850s. In 1905 the Bishop of Moosonee converted his former residence into a residential school. In 1914 that school (named Bishop’s school) was destroyed by fired and replaced with the Moose Fort school. A new building, named Bishop Horden Hall, was built in 1953. In the 1960s the classroom operations of the school were merged with those of the local public school, and the school was renamed the Horden Hall Student Residence. The federal government took over the administration of the school in 1969 and closed the Horden Hall Student Residence in 1976.

residential school picture

St. John's Indian Residential School, or Chapleau Indian Residential School

Chapleau Cree First Nation

Opened: 1907 Closed: 1948

Denomination: Anglican

The Chapleau residential school operated from 1907 to 1919 north of the town of Chapleau, ON. In 1920, a new school opened at a site south of Chapleau. In 1908, an Indian Affairs inspector said that seven of thirty-one children at the school had died in a three-month period, and parents temporarily stopped sending their children to the school. Thirteen years later, parents hired a lawyer stating that students were being cruelly treated. The school was damaged by a fire in 1944, and three years later a second fire caused further damage. The school closed in 1948.

The Pelican Lake Indian Residential School

The Pelican Lake Indian Residential School, or Pelican Falls Indian Residential School, or Sioux Lookout Indian Residential School

Lac Seul First Nation

Opened: 1927 Closed: 1978

Denomination: Anglican

Pelican Lake school was established in 1926 near Sioux Lookout, ON. Despite its location on the Canadian Shield, the students cleared a portion of the school’s 287 acres for a farm operation. In the late 1940s there was severe overcrowding in the school. In the 1950s the school increasingly served as a residence for students attending local day schools. The federal government took over administration of the school in 1969. In 1978 the school, which by then was operating solely as a hostel, closed.

Poplar Hill Indian Residential School

Poplar Hill First Nation

Opened: 1962 Closed: 1989

Denomination: Mennonite

The Poplar Hill School opened in 1962 in a small school building that had previously been operated by the Mennonite Northern Light Gospel Mission of Red Lake, Ontario. The Northern Youth Program branch of the Mission operated the residential school. Aside from elementary education, the school provided academic and vocational training for young adults. In 1969 it became the Poplar Hill Development School. The school closed in 1989.

Stirland-Lake-High-School, Residential-School

Stirland Lake High School, or Wahbon Bay Academy

North Caribou First Nation

Opened: 1971 Closed: 1991

Denomination: Mennonite

Opened in 1971 on remote Stirland Lake in Northwestern Ontario, Stirland Lake Residential School operated as a boys’ school until 1986 when the school merged with the Cristal Lake girls’ school run by the same organization, Northern Youth Programs. In 1987 students staged a protest against what they considered excessively restrictive conditions at the school. After a cooling off period following the protest, a number of students did not return. The school closed in 1991 when Northern Youth Programs decided to withdraw permanently from providing residential schools programs.

Cristal Lake High School

Mishkeegogamang First Nation

Opened: 1976 Closed: 1986

Denomination: Mennonite

Opened in 1976 on Cristal Lake in a remote part of Northwestern Ontario, Cristal Lake school operated exclusively as a girls’ school. In 1986 the Cristal Lake girls’ school merged with the Stirland Lake boys’ school, run by the same organization, the Northern Youth Programs Inc. Following the merger the Cristal Lake facility was closed, and the entire operation was moved to Stirland Lake which became co-educational. Shortly after the two schools merged, Stirland Lake school experienced a protest when students complained about the restrictive conditions at the school.