Our team is initiating an ongoing feature where we will present an overview of as many of the 143 Indian Residential School buildings for which we can find photos, paying attention to architecture and settings with a tidbit or two of factual added value.
The windows are the eyes of each building which served as a school and home for scores of Indigenous children with early ones operational from the late-1800s with some running as hostels into the 1990s. Mind you, most children were attending day schools in their communities from the 1950s so most buildings’ role shifted to that of a domiciliary, a place for meals, sleep and weekend recreation.
Shingwauk Hall, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, 1878-1990, Anglican
We’ll start with Shingwauk Hall, named for Chief Shingwauk who encouraged the idea of “teaching tipis”. He was a proponent of education because he wanted his people to be able to compete in the white man’s world.
