Whitefish Lake Indian Residential School (IRS) was located within Treaty 8 territory on the northeastern shore of Little Whitefish Lake northwest of Edmonton. It operated from 1908 - 1950 (42 years).
Other names identifying the residential school include Whitefish Lake Anglican Residential School, St. Andrews Mission, Church of England school at Whitefish Lake, St. Andrew’s Indian Boarding School, St. Andrew’s Mission Boarding School, Whitefish Lake (C.E.) Boarding School, Whitefish Lake (St. Andrew’s Mission) Boarding School, Whitefish Lake Indian Boarding School, Whitefish Lake C.E. Indian Day School #769, and Sovereign Indian Day School #728 (no dates identified).
The Government of Canada was responsible for funding the school, which was managed and operated by the Anglican Church under Diocesan control up to 1923, after which it was under the control of the Missionary Society of the Anglican Church in Canada (M.S.C.C.). In 1949, the Indian School Administration of the Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada provided administration for the school.
In 1910, a Memorandum and Draft Agreement for the Church of England in Canada, including St. Andrews IRS [Whitefish Lake], was signed; the memorandum explains terms of the agreement, authorized pupilage, and amount of per capita grant per school. In 1911, a School Operating Agreement was signed. In 1922, an agreement between the Board of Management of Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada and the Authorities of the Diocese of Athabaska regarding responsibility for the funding was signed.
No information is available on what grades were taught.
No information regarding students from other reserves exists except the following statement, which states that in 1949, the vast majority of children attending the school were from the local village, and “only one child came from outside the village.”
Student enrolment statistics are not available before 1919. The student enrollment statistics from 1920 to 1950 (which include five missing years) indicate enrollment was never higher than 51 students, which occurred in 1940/41 and was never lower than 29, which happened in 1923/24.
There is mention of a day school, but there are no day-school student enrolment statistics available.
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