School transformed

Page 2

After sitting vacant for more than 30 years, a former residential school has been resurrected on the St. Mary's Indian Band reserve near Cranbrook.

While significant refurbishing was completed to turn the residential school into a four-star resort, certain features were kept to serve as a reminder of the building's previous use. The stone facade, containing crosses on all four sides, and the thousands of bricks inside are as sturdy today as when they were formed during the original construction in 1910. Along the main hallway that separates the dining room and the lounge are three dozen black and white photographs portraying the former school's activities.

The highlight of the historical renovation, however, will be the completion this spring of the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Interpretive Centre. As the only Aboriginally operated museum in the Kootenays, the centre will house two art galleries.

Overseeing the entire project is Chief Sophie Pierre of the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council, which owns the resort. St. Eugene's was one of the few residential schools that was spared the wrecking ball, and although there was some initial hesitation by the community towards turning this piece of tragic history into a tourism site, Pierre said that destroying the building would not have healed the wounds.

"That wouldn't have been a type of healing because it wouldn't have addressed what the individuals were feeling," said Pierre, herself a student at St. Eugene's Mission School for nine years.

The new hotel is magnificent, with the Rocky Mountains encircling St. Mary's reserve.

St. Eugene's Mission School closed its doors 1970 but on Jan. 10, 2003 the building reopened, completing the third and final phase of a $40 million tourism project. With 125 rooms, including 25 premium suites, the Delta St. Eugene Mission is now welcoming the public into this century-old building.

Tours are conducted by Isaac Birdstone. One of about 30 graduates of the last class in 1970, Birdstone never envisioned that St. Eugene's would become a place of hospitality.

"I never thought I'd see the day that there would be elevators, and cement under the floor," he said.