Qu'Appelle Industrial School

The Qu'Appelle Industrial School was built in 1884 to fulfill one of the conditions of Treaty 4, which had been signed 10 years earlier. It was the first residential school in the west, and Father Joseph Hugonard was the first principal. This was likely because Lebret/Qu'Appelle was established as the main centre of Catholicism for the Metis and First Nations people in the region - Lebret/Qu'Appelle had been a Catholic mission since 1865. There were fifteen students in attendance the first year. The Grey Nuns of Montreal served as teachers at the school until 1975. In 1935, the Lebret Indian residential school was built to replace the industrial school. In the following years, several additions were made to the school including a large gym, classroom block sections and a secondary school section in 1951. This residential school was signed over to First Nations school board administration in October 1973, after which point in time it was called "White Calf Collegiate." This collegiate remained open until 1998.