Qu' Appelle Indian School

HISTORY of the QU' APPELLE INDIAN SCHOOL LEBRET, SASKATCHEWAN. THE HISTORY OF THE au· APPELLE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL Lebret, Saskatchewan. £/n fulfiLment of the 'LECfUe1.t b!J the f.J:::u:-pa'Ltment of Education on the oaaa1-ion of the §olden JubiLee of the q.J'Louince of da1-katahewan. 7955 * ~e fteat miMion~ piOJUl,(Ze!Ul, men I§ a-nd .WOme-n, .w£o 6pen! Uiei!t ~' in. I Uie eWi¥on a-nd Uie Ji"Li6:tia-n~a §~ tion of Uie gf-nd.ia-n 'Dlation, a6 a i ~e,n of ~ctum a-nd flatitude. i I ACKNO W LEDG MENT To the Schlastica te of the Sacred Heart, Lebret, for the loan of their Archives and the work of the frontispiece. To Reverend Father Guy de Bretagne , Scholasticate , Lebret, to Rev . Father R2ymond Dion, Mr. Eric C :~ rlson, gr .. ll & 12 teacher , Sister Greyeyes and Sist er Boucha rd for their help and encouragement. To Reverend Father Jean Paul Aubry , Scholasticate,Lebret ,Sask. for the photos. To Mr. L.Joubert for a r t icles on Father Robidoux,Fr.Dumont, Father Gelinas , and the Brothers. To Ernest Scott , grade 1 2 student , for the <.rticle on Sports . To Garald Starr and Ge rry Anaquod for their work on the Gestetner . To Mr. Florent Verrault , f ormerly a t ea cher a t Lebret India n School - now a promi nent profe ssor in the grea t Society of J e sus - for note s t aken on the school work. CONT ENT S 1 The Beautiful Va lley of Q;u ' Appelle . .. .. .. 7 Its Situation Its Beauty 11 Lebret ................•..............................• 8 The Choice of the Indian School Origin of the Name Lebret 111 The Foundation of the QuVAppelle Re sidential School •••• 9 Background The Church Gives Plans The Government Gives Funds Bishop Tache Intervene s lV The First School •..•...••...........••...•..••••.•••.•• 10 V Father Hugonard, First Principa l .•........•.....•.••.••• 11 Recruitment of Pupils Attitude of Parent s Conversion Success of the School A gymnnsium is built T !.~. e Congreg2tion of r~~c.i'Y Ex-:puDils Vl Fire Destroys the Be s utiful Buildings •••••..••••...•••. 12 An Unexpected Incident Temporary Quarters Father Hugonard RGturns From Sister BaulneYs Le tter From Father Golenvs Lotter Vll Restoration of the School .••••...•..........•.•... , ••. 13 RG-ostablishment Doubtful New Hopes for a new School Vlll O,Pening.o •••••••o•••o••••oeo~»•••••o•••oo oo ••••••••••••• 14 lX The Indinns of the QuV Appe lle Va lley •••.•.•..••••••••• 15 Alliances Occupations Trec. ty X The Q u'A~p e lle Indian Treaty • • • ~ • • • • • • • 0 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • . 16 Ba ckground The QuiAppelle Trea ty Prominent Chiefs Signitaries Xl Laborers of the Past ....•.••...•••••.•.•••..•••.•••• 17 The Sisters Government O.fficinls Iv1r. Gr nho. m, Mr . ~Lurrison, l·rr .C hristiansen, 3 Xll N1r . 0 strander •..•..•.••.••• o •• o o • ••••••••••••••• o • • 18 Old Timers, l\Jir. Zenon Lafleur, ba ker wtr . Harrison, t ea cher and a ccountant ~IT . Condon, Iflr. Salamon, shoemakers Mr. Sworder, !~;tt Blanch, a ccountant •.•.••.••..••.• , . 19 Mr. Edward Doll, t eacher and Supervisor Xlll The System of Education Proves Efficient .••.•.•••••••••• 20 I t s Aim and Objectives Personality Unfolds XlV Father Hugonard the Great Missionary •...••....•....••• 21 His Career Illness and Death ········••o•······················· 22 Poem, 11 Sleep Gallnnt Warrior '; Brother Reginald O.M.I.23 . XV Father Hugonard v s Successors ••.•..••••.••....• o •••••••• 24 XVl Memorable Incidents ••...••••.•...........••••••.••••••• 24 Convention A Gr eat Page o. nt r~onwnent Ere cted ....•.•..••.•••••••••••• .•••••••••••. 2.5 Distinguish Visitors JCVll The Second Fire .•.•.....•••..•.••.•••••...•••••••.••• L-6 Destruction of the School Temporo.ry Quarters At the Scholasticate The Girls 'il. ccommodation The Convent Offers Hospita lity Re .s t or a t i o rl • . • • • c. • • • • • • • • .. • • • • • • " • • • • • • • • • • • ., • • • • • • 2 7 Opening of the School XVlll The New Indian School, 1936 • • . • • • • • • • . • . • . • . .. • • 28 A Modern Institution Father Leonard Le a ve s ......••.....•• . .....•.....•• 29 A New Principal Improvement • . • . • • • • • • • • • . • . • . • • • • •. • • • • . • • • • • • • • 3 0 The Annua l Picnic Fsw more High School Students Governor-Genernl Visits the New School 1938 The Governor Congratulate s Sr. Ma riani ••..•••••••••• 31 Sister Greyeyes, a Cree Native XlX Father L:Jviolette & Former Missionary .•••••..••..•••••• 32 The Beloved Father of the Sioux Band lv1CJ. ster . Editor of the Indian Missionary Author ofH'fhe Sioux Indians of Cnnadn 1J Father Laviole tte Le a ves in 1948 XX Father Guy de Bretagne . • . • 33 A Great Missionnry Educa tor 4 XlX 1943 Father Piche vs Nomina tion a s Principa l •.•••••••••• 34 Missionary at Last His Personality ].1usic .............................................. 35 Senior GirlsV Choir The Nusical Fe stiva l Drama The Lebret India n Band The Gr ey Nuns Centenary •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 36 Governor Gener a lis Visit 1944 The Obla t e Cente nary :XX The Cadet Corps •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 37 :X:X:J. The Missionary Association of 1-Tary Imma culate •••••••.•• 37 The M.A.M.I. Organizntion Activitie s XXll The Prime Mi ni s t er of C8no da Visits the School •••••• ·••• 38 The Reception He l eave s for t he Schol nsticate Y..Xlll Father Lebleu O.M.I ............................ ~ •••••••• 39 Mi ssi onar y and Bursar XXlV He lp from the SeminBr y •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 39 Friends in Nee ds ar o Friends Indeed X'A'V The Indi an Ho spi t a l The Medica l Health Unit •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 4Q Y~Vl Rev.Fnther Di on Mi ssi onar y a nd Bursar •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 40 Liturgica l Al t ar s The school farm Re crea tiona l Fucilitios XXVll Rev. Fe:'l t her Omer Ro bi do ux •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 41 Their Aim & Obje ct ive s SPORTS Hockey •• .••..•••.•.•.••.• ~ ..••.••.••..•••••••.••.•••••• 42 Ba s eball Bo. s ket Ba ll Tr a ck end Field The Tom Lo ngboat Me da l. Other Sports Gra duation ••••••••••.••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••• 43 Tee-Pee Ti di ngs ••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••• 44 Our Missionarie s and the Oblat e s Brothers Father Gc lina s ••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••• 45 · Fc; ther Lionel Dumont Br other Ker oriant on Brother Eugene Morim Brother Le o Pa ul Girnrd I • I .. .;_ The Beautiful Valley of Qu'Appelle Its Situation The Qu 9Appelle River which wa s once a great river coveri ng all the valley , gr adually dried up and formed an area of natural beauty wi th i ts unspoi l ed characteristic landscape . The hills , which rise almost abruptly f r om the side of t he lake, a re steep , and they are steeper a s we go towards its mouth near Lazare , r~~= ani toba . 'The valley itse lf is about 300 f eet deep .The north hills which r e ce ive the sunshine everyday a re scorched and bare , except in the hollows . The sout h hills ar e covered with grass and trees . Its Beauty VJhe n the spring .sun melts the snow on the hi lls and in the slopes , many rivulet s form t h~e ir way through , running noisely down the va lley , t o the lakes . As the season advan ces,then a touch of summer green i s furnished by the trees alcng the shore of the lakes . La ny a windi ng road l eads to shady green meadows to the foot of the hills a long t ho five adjoining l a ke s . The scene a long these highways is magnificent . A fra grance a nd brightne ss from the glowing wild-berry tree s in blossom is seen along the side of the hills . Sunlight and shadow between the trees , in the earl y morning a nd nt evening , produce effe ctive contrasts of light a nd shade in the deep bltie and purple waters of the lake s . The beautiful pa r k s a nd l akes r esorts opene d a ll smruner, the rustic summer houses , artistica lly built with imitation-logs, give t he de light of magnificent scenic beauty , and provides ideal havens for rost and recreation. In the fall the color of the l eaves deepen s a nd ther e comes a season of b eauty singula r a nd sad .Thc bushes are clothed with brown touched with tints of gol d , r e d and gr een , giving them a bril lia nt tone . You can rela x in the enjoyment of tha t inspir ationa l and pea ceful environment . 7 LEBRET The Choice for the Indian School The reason why the Oblate Fathers chose the place for the Indian school near tho lakes in the Q1VAppelle Valley is that the place call ed Mission (now Lebret) was from the start the very centre of all the missions in the south of .Saskatchewan. The Mission had been establish ed in 1866 to assist the population which was attracted by the Hudson Bay Co. at Fort Qu 1Appelle. It ~a s from the Qu~Appella Mission that the missionaries visited scattered groups of Metis and Indians, which later on became missions and parishes: Willow Bunch, Wood Mountain, Cypress Hill,and Moose J&w in the south; in the north, from Lestock to Quill Lake; to the east, Crooked lalce (Marieval) Fort Ellice (St Lazare)and Fort Polly (St Philip) down to Ca rlyle and the .Assiniboine. After the visit of Bishop Provencher, Fr.Ritchot, and & few others, the Oblate Missionaries had been the first- priest to come and take a permanent residence in the Valley • .At that time the Indians of the southern part of Saskatchewan wore nomads, travelling, here and there, until the peace Treaty No. 4 was signed in 1874, where they were given reserves and properly the Mission was chosen as the site of the Indian School. Origin of the Name Lebret Fathe r Lebret a rrived in 1884 to toke charge of the Mission~ After the build ing of the railway through South Qu ~ Appelle, Father· Lebret asked Otta wa to have a Post Office, hero in the Mission Housc,for the place ,sin ce the village was growing rapidly.

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