The true purpose of this school, the largest building in the British Columbia Interior when built, was to disenfranchise natives of the BC Interior from their culture and their language. Run by Catholic missionaries, it instructed 5000 less than willing children from the Okanagan, Shuswap and Blackfoot Nations in addition to the area’s Ktunaxa Nation.
Unlike every other school built by the Canadian government at the time, this school was not designed by government architects but by Allan Keefer, a private Ottawa architect. Erected in 1910, this was the first "comprehensive Indian Industrial and Residential school to be built in the Canadian West". After closure in 1970 the British Columbia government embarked on an abortive attempt to repurpose the school as a facility for the mentally handicapped.
The building remained empty for twenty years before the Ktunaxa people took it upon themselves to turn it into a world class destination resort, with golf course, casino, hotel, restaurants, lounges and more.
Read more of the story of the mission, the school and the resort below.
St. Eugene Mission & School
The Oblate Order founded the first mission near the site of the current mission in 1873. The building served initially as a school, residence, and later as a hospital. Financing the new mission buildings was, in part, provided by the discovery in 1893 of a rich ore body by Pierre, a Ktunaxa First Nations member. He brought a sample of rich galena ore to Father Coccola, head of the St. Eugene Mission, and the two staked claims above the town of Moyie. Father Coccola sold the claim for $12,000 and constructed the St. Eugene Church (prefabricated in Italy) in 1897, which graces the Mission area today. Within ten years the St. Eugene Mine produced more than $10 Million. With the infusion of capital, the Mission became a large self-supporting complex, milling its own grain in the first flourmill in the region.
In 1910, the Canadian Government funded and constructed the present Mission school, presently a part of the hotel complex at St Eugene Mission Resort. Operated by the Oblates, this facility was the first comprehensive Indian “Industrial and Residential” school to be built in the Canadian West. At the time, it was the largest building in the BC Interior. The Mission instructed 5000 children from the Okanagan, Shuswap and Blackfoot Nations in addition to the area’s Ktunaxa Nation Council. The school was closed in 1970 when government policy changed to encourage public education for Indian children. In 1973, the BC Government leased the Mission with the intent of turning it into a facility for the mentally handicapped. The building was stripped of historic fixtures and artifacts, and after spending $750,000 on renovations, the project was abandoned. The following winter the pipes burst and the building suffered severe damage from internal flooding. For the next twenty years the building remained empty.
To our knowledge, the St. Eugene Mission is the only project in Canada where a First Nation decided to turn the icon of an often sad period of its history into a powerful economic engine by restoring an old Indian Residential School into an International Destination Resort for future generations to enjoy. The golf course opened in 2000 and was followed by the hotel and casino in 2003.
Today, the Ktunaxa Nation Council operates an interpretive centre within the Resort which displays artifacts and details of the history and mythology of their people.
Admission to the center is free.
From Archive.org
