Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School

Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School (Q.I.R.S) or Qu'Appelle Industrial School was a Canadian residential school in the Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, also called the Lebret Residential School. As one of the early residential schools in western Canada, it was operated from 1884 to 1969 by the Roman Catholic Church for First Nations children and was run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Grey Nuns. The education of the students was insisted upon by the Chiefs before signing treaties. Churches were already supplying some education to the Indigenous population and a common Western value was that "All true civilization must be based on moral law, which Christian religion alone can give." Further, partnering with churches helped the government keep costs low as personnel worked inexpensively as "missionaries." At this location, children had visitations with Chiefs and families, as requested, and all students went home for the summers. As of November 8, 2021 Star Blanket Cree Nation started searching for unmarked graves using ground-penetrating radar. and they have located none as all burials were done in the community cemetery which included all members indigenous and white, etc. and are recorded in the burial records. It was located on what is now the Wa-Pii Moos-toosis (White Calf) Indian Reserve of the Star Blanket Cree Nation adjoining the village o

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