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Blue Quills (Sacred Heart)

 -  1898 -1990

Religious Entity: Catholic

Roman Catholic missionaries established a boarding school at Lac la Biche in 1891. The school buildings were moved to the Saddle Lake First Nation in 1898 and the school was renamed Blue Quills. The school was relocated once more in 1931, to a location near St. Paul, Alberta. When the federal government announced that it would be closing the school in 1970, Saddle Lake First Nation members occupied the school in protest. Their occupation ended with an agreement that saw Blue Quills become Canada’s first residence and school controlled by First Nations people. The high school and its residence closed in 1990.

Blue Quills Sacred Heart building
Group of students and teachers on stage at Blue Quills Sacred Heart
Blue Quills Sacred Heart church


Remembering the Following Students:

NameDate of Death (Year/Month/Day)
Adolphus Janvierca. 1940
Albert Mechawes1942-04-27
Alice Cardinal1924-03-15
Angela Red Crow1901-01-01
Annie Katchimut1937-06-06
Archie HalfNot known
Bella Rain1926-02-09
Caroline Kinose1944-11-12
Caroline Minoose1944-11-12
Eliza Oseemeemas1910-01-01
Florestine Cryer1938-01-11
Francis Janvier1945-02-06
Gabriel Crane1936-03-10
Harry CardinalNot known
Harry Lapatac1929-08-01 – 1929-08-31
Henry Norest Katism1930-03-25 – 1930-03-31
John Anderson1943-09-23
Johnson Large1925-01-06
Joseph Cardinal1936-03-09
Martin Paskweyak1940-01-29 – 1940-02-05
Mary Agnes Houle1945-08-01 – 1945-08-31
Mathilda Large1935-11-16
Nancy Janvier1938-01-29
Pierre Cardinal1933-06-01
Suzette Cryer1934-02-20
Victoria Marjorie Large1942-11-17
William Delver1940-07-30