Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School National Historic Site

The Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School, Lestock, Saskatchewan was designated as a national historic site in 2021.

Commemorative plaque: will be installed at the site of the Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School, Lestock, SaskatchewanFootnote 1

The Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School (1889–1997)

Generations of Indigenous children were forced to attend this school created by the Canadian government and run by the Catholic Church as part of a national policy of assimilation, which Survivors refer to as genocide. These children endured physical and sexual abuse, severe discipline, and isolation from family, community, and tradition, causing intergenerational trauma. Through hardship and tears, they supported each other, formed friendships, and engaged in acts of resistance. One of the last residential schools to close, this building, built in 1930, was saved from demolition by Survivors who re-envisioned it as a site to heal, tell their stories, remember those who died, and ensure this dark chapter in Canadian history is never forgotten.

KAYAHTĒ MUSCOWEQUAN AYĪNIW WĀSKĀHIKAN WĪKIWIN KISKINOHAMĀTOWIKAMIK (1889-1997)

Aniskotāpānak ayīniw awāsisak ē-kī otiniscik ē-kī sipwēhtahiscik ta-nitowi kiskinohamākosicik kā-ōsīhtāt Kanāta ohci kisci-okimāhkan kā-kī pamihtācik pahkwaayamihawīniwak ayamihēwikamik ohci isimamowi-itākosiwin pimatisiwi-masinahikan tā-nisitohtamihk ispayiwin. Kī-pimātisiwak ohcitaw nipahtākēwin ōki awāsisak kī-sēpēhtamok ē-kitimahiht omōsihowiniwawa, otihtinikēwin mīna maci kēskino-awāsowin kontētēskamik ē-ahiscik onīkihikwak ohci māmowi ayihkamik mīna aniskotātowin pīhta aniskotāpan kakwatakihowin ayamihtāsowin miskīsikwāpoya ohci ē-aspēmitātocik kī-otōtēmisowak ēkota ki-maskowisiwak. Kā-kī-ōsīhtat wāskāhikan kēkāc nīstanaw nistomitanaw iskwēyāc ka-kipahamihk wāskāhikan, kī-manācihtāwak wīyawaw kākī pimātisicik ta-nawē ta-wāpahtahkik isi ta-mīyo mascihocik mīna ta-acimocik otayācimona, ta-kiskisicik aniki ka-ki nipicik ēkwa tā-tāpwēwahk ōma ka tipiskāwahk Kanāta itacimikowin namōya wīhkāc tā-wanihkēhk.

KAH ITĒ MUSKOWEKWAN ANISHINĀBĒ KINĀWAMĀTĪHOGAMIG (1889 -1997)

Meh-onza onjih kagī pihmosēwāt, kaih itē kī ayā wāt anishinābē abinōcīhak, kī sōngih kagānzih indaw cī izā wāt kikināwamātīh ogamigong, Muskowekwan kā izinikātēg. Kici mōniāow ogimā-kānak (Kanāta onji) kī ōzicigē wāt sigwa inasowē wāt, anamihēyāg kā tibēn dah mowāt anam ihē ogāmik ci nanāgatō kē wāt abinōcīhah sigwa anīn ci izi kinaw-amow indaw ci nih tāgwī wāt mōniāow ih-nāng. Anishinābēg kā kī kaskīh ondācīh-ohwat imā, ogikēn dān āwāh onjitah ki kagwē, pizan ihgogoh kī kagway apih cīh indaw (kī kīzih indaw) anishinābēg. Mī ingiwē abinōcīhak kā kī kaskih ondācih owāt imā āpici kī pih kitimaowag, kī pah pahsanzē indaw, kīmōci mētawāhgan indāw, ki onji otāpin indaw ēndā wāt, andi sa goh imah kā kī sahwē nim indaw, otāpinahm awindaw kākī mīnigō ziwāt anishinābēg cīh inācih ōwāt, ōbimāhtiziwin. Ōwēti nī gān kahkinah anishinābēg kēyābpih mōnstōwag, kā kī izi kanawābamindāw, kēyābpih wīsāgap inēyindaw. Māno pigohgoh kaih izi sanagsēwat, sigwa kā pih mahwihwāt, kī wī cih itiwag, kī minō wīcīewindiwag, sigwa onjihta kī sahsībtamōg. Kīh ānjih ozitoom, mitāswāk asi nisimitana (1930) Kikinawāmātī ogāmik sigwa mīh iwē pēsig iskw āc kī kih bah igātēy. Kī tēy bah gēndamoog ingih Kā kī kaskih ondāciwat imā, mānō ci nībawīmagak ihih Kikinawāmātī ogāmik sigwa pakān cīh inābacitoong. Kīh inēndamowāt, mīh imāh ci tazih nānānda wīh igēng, ci tazī kēng, ci tazih tibācimowāt, ci nānāgahtāwēn imāhwāt ingih kāgī tahnācih onit imā sigwa cih ānjigoh mikowmindaw ānin kāh pih izi macīh ikamigiziwāt imā, wīkah ci wānīkaysīng Kanatah o’kāgīkwēwin.

Nominated by the Muskowekwan First Nation

The Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School is located on the reserve lands of Muskowekwan First Nation in Treaty 4 Territory (southeastern Saskatchewan). This site was nominated for designation by Muskowekwan First Nation. Parks Canada and Muskowekwan First Nation worked collaboratively to identify the historic values of this former residential school, and co-developed the report on the history of the school and the experiences of students for the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Truth awakens our spirit

Muskowekwan First Nation Portfolio Councillor Vanessa Wolfe and Elder Andrew "Nick" Hunter, a Survivor of Muscowequan Indian Residential School share their connection to this site. This video was developed as a collaboration between Muskowekwan First Nation and Parks Canada.

The Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School (1889–1997)

Located on Muskowekwan First Nation in Treaty No. 4 Territory (Lestock, Saskatchewan), the Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School was designated as a national historic site in 2021. Parks Canada and Muskowekwan First Nation collaborated to identify the historic values of this former residential school site and co-developed the report on the history of the school and the experiences of students. Parks Canada and Survivors co-developed the plaque text commemorating the history of the former school that was presented to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

The Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School, known locally as The Mission, is the only standing former residential school in Saskatchewan, and one of the few remaining residential school buildings in Canada. After the school closed in 1997, Survivors and community members came together to save its main building from demolition. Recognizing its significance as a site that bears witness to the history of residential schools, they re-envisioned it as a place of commemoration, healing, cultural learning, and collective memory for all Canadians. The large, three-storey building was built in 1930–1931 to replace residential school buildings dating to the late 19th century. The school’s property included a working farm, outbuildings, playgrounds, and skating rinks. At least 35 unmarked graves have been found on the former school grounds since the 1990s.

One of the last residential schools to close in Canada, Muscowequan Indian Residential School belonged to the system of residential schools in Canada that the federal government imposed on Indigenous Peoples to assimilate Indigenous children and convert them to Christianity by separating them from their families, cultures, languages, and traditions. Administrative and daily supervision at these schools was often carried out by religious organizations. Until 1969, the school was operated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Roman Catholic missionary congregation, and staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nuns) and the Missionary Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart and of Mary Immaculate. In 1981, Muscowequan Indian Residential School came under the administrative control of Muskowekwan Education Centre Incorporated.

First Nations and Métis children from Treaty No. 4 Territory and elsewhere in Canada were forced to attend Muscowequan Indian Residential School, where they faced a wide range of hardships. Some children died while attending the school. Many students endured physical and sexual abuse. They were also subjected to severe discipline and punishment. Students were forced to carry out harsh labour, and experienced inadequate nutrition and poor living conditions. School staff often separated family members who attended the school. The traditional languages and cultures of students were suppressed, and they were isolated from their home communities. Through hardship and tears, they supported each other, formed friendships, and engaged in acts of resistance. Many children ran away, with some being returned by force. In the face of threats by government officials of fines or imprisonment, Indigenous families engaged in acts of resistance such as refusing to send their children to school, withdrawing them without permission, and writing letters to government officials protesting the poor treatment of their children. The far-reaching effects of the residential school experience continue to have significant impacts on former students, their families, and communities today.

“The journey that we did not ask for is one of abuse, disease and generational trauma that was instigated by the residential school legacy. Muskowekwan has chosen to leave its school standing, in the words of the former students to ‘never let the world forget these schools existed and what happened when the children walked through those doors…some to never walk out. This plaque commemoration recognizes those children in the spirit and intent that should have been given to them the day they entered the Muscowequan Indian Residential School. Remember our children - taapwaywin (truth) and manacitiwin (respect).”

This press backgrounder was prepared at the time of the plaque unveiling in 2025.

Description of historic place

The Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School National Historic Site of Canada is located on the reserve lands of Muskowekwan First Nation in Treaty 4 Territory (southeastern Saskatchewan). The site is located on the open prairie a short distance from the Muskowekwan First Nation Band Office and the First Nation’s primary settlement, with the tiny village of Lestock just beyond. The three-storey brick building stands on a large property at the end of a tree-lined drive off Highway 15. The area immediately surrounding the building has mature trees, bushes, grass, and access roads, and nearby are several modest buildings and a small residential development. Unmarked graves were discovered behind the school building and this area has since been delineated as a graveyard. Official recognition refers to the building and surrounding grounds of the Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School.

Heritage value

The Former Muscowequan Indian Residential School was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2021. It was recognized because:

• built in 1930-31 to replace residential school buildings dating to the late 19th century, and open until 1997, this former residential school functioned within the system of residential schooling in Canada. This system was imposed on Indigenous Peoples by the federal government and Christian churches, who worked together in a deliberate effort to assimilate Indigenous children and convert them to Christianity by separating them from their families, cultures, languages, and traditions. Until 1969, it was operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a Roman Catholic missionary congregation, and staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nuns) and Missionary Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart and of Mary Immaculate. In the 1980s, it came under the administrative control of a local First Nations organization and was among the last residential schools to close in Canada;
• for over a century, children from many First Nations and other Indigenous communities in Treaty 4 territory, across Saskatchewan, and elsewhere in Canada attended this residential school. While there, they faced severe discipline, punishment and abuse, harsh labour, inadequate nutrition, poor living conditions, separation from siblings and cousins attending the school, the attempted suppression of their language and cultures, and isolation from their families and home communities. Many children ran away, some to be later returned by force. Some children died while attending the school. In the face of threats by government officials of fines or imprisonment, Indigenous families engaged in acts of resistance such as refusing to send their children to school, withdrawing them without permission, and writing letters to government officials protesting the poor treatment of their children. The far-reaching effects of the residential school experience continue to have significant impacts on former students, their families, and communities today;
• this three-storey, monumental brick building stands at the end of a long, tree-lined drive in the middle of the open prairie. It was once part of a large school property that included a working farm, outbuildings, playgrounds, skating rinks, and an unmarked graveyard. Built in the Classical Moderne-style and designed by R.G. Orr, Chief Architect for the Department of Indian Affairs, its large size, imposing main entrance, and institutional appearance created feelings of isolation and intimidation in the children who attended school there. It is the only standing residential school in Saskatchewan, and one of the few remaining residential school buildings in Canada;
• located on the lands of Muskowekwan First Nation, this building has been saved from demolition by Muscowequan IRS survivors and community members who see the school as an important witness to the history of residential schools, and wish to repurpose the site into a place of commemoration, healing, cultural learning, and as a site of memory for all Canadians.

Source : Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, December 2020.

Related links

• Residential schools in Canada
• Former Portage La Prairie Indian Residential School in Manitoba
• Former Shingwauk Indian Residential School National Historic Site
• Former Shubenacadie Indian Residential School National Historic Site
• National historic designations
• National historic persons
• National historic sites designations
• National historic events
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