We welcome you to the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.

The records on our site emerge from the cultural and physical genocide that the Canadian government and churches conducted through the Indian Residential School System, including the ongoing impacts.

Bearing witness to these records may become overwhelming. If you are a Survivor or an Intergenerational Survivor and would like support, you can call the 24-hour National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at:

1-866-925-4419

Please click the button below for other cultural and mental health resources.

Wellness Resources
St. Mary's School Building (1914-1943). Source: The Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Algoma University.

 

St. Mary's (ON)

Dates of Operation
September 1, 1897 - June 30, 1972
Description
Opened in 1897 at Rat Portage in northwestern Ontario this school was first known as the Rat Portage Boarding School, then the Kenora Boarding School and then St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic School. From 1938 it was known as St. Mary’s School. Early in its history, the local band negotiated an agreement that students would not be converted to Catholicism against their parent’s will. A fire destroyed one of the school residences in 1938. During the 1960s, the school began to integrate its students into the local day school system. The school closed in 1972. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation)
Denomination
Catholic Church

More Information

Alternate Name(s)
École Saint-Antoine
Kenora
Kenora Boarding School
Kenora Indian Industrial School
Kenora R.C. Indian Residential School
Rat Portage
Rat Portage Boarding School
St. Anthony
St. Anthony's
St. Anthony's Roman Catholic School
St. Mary
St. Mary's Industrial School
St. Mary's Student Residence
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Map Information

Location
"Point is on the site of the main school building that was part of the St. Mary's Residential School" (Orlandini, 2019).
Location Credit
Morgan Hite and 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]

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