IRSHDC : School : Sacred Heart (NWT) [18831]

[Fort Providence] (ca. 1946). Source: Northwest Territories Archives.

Sacred Heart (NWT)

Dates of Operation

September 1, 1906 - June 30, 1960

Description

Opened in 1867, the Sacred Heart School at Fort Providence was the first residential school in the Canadian north. Life at the school in its early years was hard: in one year there was no meat, flour, potatoes, butter or grease. The original log structure was expanded in 1912. A new three-story school was built in the 1930s. Through most its history there were 65 to 75 students enrolled in the school, but in the 1950s enrolment was around 100. The school closed in 1960. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation)

Denomination

Catholic Church

More Information

Alternate Name(s)

Fort Providence
Fort Providence Residential School
Our Lady of Providence Convent
Providence Boarding School
Providence Indian Residential School
Providence Mission Indian Residential School
Providence Mission Roman Catholic Residential School
Sacred Heart Boarding School
Sacred Heart Convent
Sacred Heart Hospital
Sacred Heart Residential School

Permalink

Map Information

Location

"Point is on the site of the residential school buildings that were at this location from 1912-1930 and 1930-1960. Prior to 1912 the school/convent was on the same property but not the same location. Some photos in the NCTR online archive show that the original school was attached to the old church. The maps from the 1910s and 1920s indicates that the cemetery was situated at 61.358288, -117.667991" (Orlandini, 2019).

Location Credit

Rosa Orlandini.The school/hostel location data was collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission / National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Morgan Hite (Atlas of Indian Residential Schools of Canada), Stephanie Pyne (Residential Schools Land Memory Mapping Project) and Rosa Orlandini (Map and GIS Librarian, York University Libraries). The location data and associated attribute data was enhanced, revised and updated by Rosa Orlandini, in consultation with the Archivists at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Location Source

Orlandini, Rosa, 2019, "Residential Schools Locations Dataset (Shapefile format)", https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/FJG5TG, Borealis, V3, UNF:6:TTc1mMvx2BlBqBgIN05xVw== [fileUNF]