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The Oblates and the Residential School System
In 1844, the Red River Colony was still in its infancy. Its bishop, the Most Reverend Provencher,
was desperately looking for a religious order that could offer him aid in his work. Thanks to the
support of the bishop of Montreal, he finally gained the favour of the Missionary Oblates of Mary
th
Immaculate. On June 25 , 1845, two missionaries, Father Pierre Aubert O.M.I. and
Brother Alexandre Taché O.M.I., started the long canoe ride that would bring them to the
missions of Western Canada.
There was an enormous amount of land to cover, as the Diocese of Saint Boniface extended over
the entire territory west of the Great Lakes at the time. Fortunately, reinforcements arrived
quickly. The Oblates thus became the principal male religious order in Northern and Western
Canada and founded numerous missions throughout this territory. On April 24th, 1851, the first
provinces and vicariates were created out of these missions. The territory was divided in two,
with one half forming the Province of Canada East and the other, the religious vicariate of the
Red River. The Red River was thus a distinct administrative unit.
Between 1868 and 1983, the territory of the vicariate of Red River, and later the Oblate
Province of Manitoba, included the southern part of Saskatchewan, the south of Manitoba (from the
northern shores of Lakes Winnipeg and Winnipegosis to the American border), a part of Ontario west of
Thunder Bay, and, for a time, parts of Minnesota and North Dakota. In 1904, it was made into a Province
which would be known as the Oblate Province of Manitoba.
The Oblates are most known for their efforts in evangelizing First Nations peoples. In addition to
founding missions in as many Indigenous communities as possible, they also took up the cause
of education. Their first industrial school opened in Lebret in 1884. They would open ten other
industrial and residential schools in the late 19th century and first half of the 20th. Moreover,
several Oblates spent years studying the customs, languages, beliefs, and ways of life of First
Nations peoples. The result was the publication of a large number of works written by members of the
congregation who contributed to a better understanding of the continent’s first inhabitants.
Moreover, the Oblates’ order took the administration of several important educational institutes, such as St Boniface College and Collège Mathieu in hand. They thus oversaw the education of a Catholic elite in Western Canada. They pursued their efforts in education through the media. In fact, they were responsible for numerous publications. In 1907, they founded the West Canada Publishing Company in order to give Catholic publications a solid foundation. Many Oblates would also publish historical, anthropological, ethnographic, and scientific works which often numbered among the most significant of there era. In addition, Father Aimé Lizée, O.M.I. was among Manitoba’s first filmmakers and left a legacy of several films of Oblate missions in Western Canada. The Oblates founded many parishes in their territory and contributed to Manitoba parish life. They played an important role in a number places, helping many Catholic immigrants from places like the Ukraine, Germany, and Italy settle into their new country, for example. The Oblates also served as chaplains in various religious communities, as well as hospitals, the Armed Forces, and prisons. They also dedicated themselves to rehabilitation therapy for alcoholism and to personal growth. In 1948, Father Lomer Laplante, O.M.I. founded the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate (M.A.M.I.) in Winnipeg. This organization is an association of lay Catholics involved in the Oblates’ work through prayer and charity. In 1959, M.A.M.I. devoted themselves to the fundamentally Christian training of their members and collaboration with the Oblates in their vocations and missions. The Oblates’ presence greatly impacted the evolution of the territory. On the heels of the first voyageurs, they established contact between Indigenous Peoples and those of European descent, and were often the ones responsible for maintaining that contact throughout our history. Furthermore, the Oblates played a key role in all of Western Canada’s Catholic communities. Several Oblates gave their names to numerous communities, streets, institutions, monuments or buildings in Western Canada. In 1884, the first industrial school run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate opened in Lebret. Others followed. Twelve schools for Indigenous students were opened over the following years. In the early 1970s, the Oblates withdrew from school administration, with most schools shutting down. Near the beginning of the 1970s, Linda Opoonechaw, a high school student from Saskatoon, gave an account of the residential schools’ history in a speech she gave for a public speaking contest. Her speech was followed by commentary from André Renaud. RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS: Assiniboia ; Camperville ; Fort Alexander ; Fort Frances ; Kenora ; Lestock ; Marieval ; McIntosh ; Qu'Appelle ; Saint-Boniface ; St Philip's ; and Sandy Bay.
History of the Congregation: The congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate was founded in 1816 by Reverend Eugène de Mazenod in Aix-en-Provence, France. The congregation chose the evangelization of the poor and most abandoned as their primary purpose. Members dedicated themselves to preaching missions (a type of parish retreat) as their main work, and they quickly spread beyond France. The first Oblates in Canada arrived in the Diocese of Montreal in 1841. In June, 1845, there were 16 Oblate priests in the country, of whom 11 were French, 4 were Canadian, and 1 was Irish. Having arrived in Red River accompanied by Brother Alexandre Taché, O.M.I. in 1845, Father Pierre Aubert, O.M.I. would become the first superintendent of the Oblates in Western Canada. Born in Digne, France in 1814, Father Aubert stayed in Red River until 1850. He was curate of St Boniface and vicar general. He also took care of the Wabassimong and Rainy Lake missions. He then returned to Bytown (Ottawa), where he became vicar general of the Diocese of Bytown. One of the first Oblates in Western Canada, Brother Alexandre Taché, O.M.I. had not even completed his training when he arrived in Red River. However, he quickly distinguished himself and the Most Reverend Provencher, Archbishop of Saint Boniface, made him his successor. Archbishop Taché, O.M.I. was thus Saint Boniface’s second bishop and first Archbishop. He played a key role in numerous aspects of Western Canada’s history. Over the years, the size of the Oblate Province of Manitoba was reduced by the creation of more vicariates. In 1864, the regions of Athabasca and Mackenzie were made a vicariate. Then, in 1864, the Apostolic Vicariate of Saint-Albert was created. In 1926, the Province of Saint Mary, made up of German and Polish Oblates, was created, though this did not affect the size of the Oblate Province of Manitoba’s borders. With the 1983 restructuring, the Vice-Provinces of Keewatin of the Hudson Bay were incorporated into the Oblate Province of Manitoba. The Oblates were often pioneers in the study of Indigenous languages. Some of them invented syllabic scripts while others compiled dictionaries or grammars, or translated the Bible or liturgical texts into Indigenous languages. The Oblates were responsible for a large number of publications. Their first publication, the Missions de la congrégation des Missionnaires Oblats de Marie-Immaculée first appeared in 1862. In 1907, they took charge of the North West Review founded by Archbishop Taché in 1885. They also founded many newspapers such as the Gazeta Katolicka (in Polish), the West Kanada (in German), the Canadian Ruthenian (in Ukrainian), and La Liberté (in French). In 1905, the Oblates began publication of the magazine L’Ami du foyer which reached 5,000 subscribers in 1908. Father Gontran Laviolette, O.M.I. founded the magazine The Indian Missionary Record which, aimed at an Indigenous audience, ran until 1987.
Photographs
Drawing of Father Alexandre Taché, O.M.I. in 1851 by
Henri Julien
A drawing by Henri Julien of Father Alexandre Taché, O.M.I. He is depicted in 1851 at 28 years
old. One of the first Oblates in Western Canada, Brother Alexandre Taché, O.M.I. had not even
completed his training when he arrived in Red River. However, he quickly distinguished himself
and the Most Reverend Provencher, Archbishop of Saint Boniface, made him his successor.
Archbishop Taché, O.M.I. was thus Saint Boniface’s second bishop and first Archbishop. He
played a key role in numerous aspects of Western Canada’s history.
Frontispiece of Dom Paul Benoît’s book Vie de Mgr Taché, archevêque de Saint-Boniface,
Montréal, Beauchemin, 1904, volume 1Father Pierre Aubert, O.M.I. Having arrived in Red River accompanied by Brother Alexandre Taché, O.M.I. in 1845, Father Pierre Aubert, O.M.I. would become the first superintendent of the Oblates in Western Canada. Born in Digne, France in 1814, Father Aubert stayed in Red River until 1850. He was curate of St Boniface and vicar general. He also took care of the Wabassimong and Rainy Lake missions. He then returned to Bytown (Ottawa), where he became vicar general of the Diocese of Bytown. Archives of the Société historique de Saint-Boniface, General Collection of the SHSB, SHSB 10
PDF Documents Indian Record Index Index de l'Indian Record The Indian Missionnary Record magazine was founded in 1938 by Father Gontran Laviolette, O.M.I. and was aimed at Indigenous readers until 1987. An index has been compiled of the whole publication.
Testimony from Linda Opoonechaw Témoignage de Linda Opoonechaw, début '70. At the start of the 1970s, Linda Opoonechaw, a Saskatoon high school student, presents a summary of the history of residential schools as part of a speech she gave for a public speaking contest. Her speech is followed by commentary from André Renaud. This text was taken from the Lectures delivered under the Quance Lectures in Canadian Education, entitled Education and the First Canadians by André Renaud, O.M.I., 1971, Gage Educational Publishing Limited, Toronto, p.67-72
Ne brûlons pas les étapes - The Oblates and the Residential School System Ne brûlons pas les étapes - Oblats de la Province oblate du Manitoba et les écoles résidentielles par Gilles Lesage With the permission of: Cahiers Franco-Canadiens de l'Ouest, Vol. 7, issue 1, 1995, p. 5-44 Ne brûlons pas les étapes (“let’s not cut corners”) by Gilles Lesage Archives of the Oblates of Manitoba Winnipeg (Manitoba) SUMMARY This article discusses the so-called “Indian” schools run by the Oblates of the Oblate Province of Manitoba from 1884 to 1970. A brief survey of the creation of the industrial schools, their development, and the evaluations of them done over the approximately eighty-five years of their existence permits the author to broach fundamental questions about the relationships between white and Indigenous peoples. Indigenous education includes three principal actors: Indigenous peoples themselves, the federal government, and Christian churches. Once the Oblates became involved in the government’s mission of assimilation, they relied on the era’s firmly entrenched ideas of social Darwinism. For them, their work in “Indian” schools was part of a missionary strategy whose main goal was conversion and the salvation of souls. On the whole, the Oblates were not satisfied with their results. In the end, concerns for social justice won out over the preoccupation with children’s Christian education.
The Oblates and the Residential School System Photographs PDF Documents
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