Indian Residential School records: Research guide

Use this guide to get an in-depth look at how to research and gather information about Indian Residential Schools. The records discussed in this guide are about schools that First Nations and Inuit attended, although many members of the Métis Nation also attended residential schools.

Harmful content

We understand that archives can be painful for Indigenous people. Reading old records about genocide, assimilation and oppression, with biased and hurtful language, can cause distress and harm.

To read more or find support, see the notice about harmful content in LAC's collection.

Historical language

In your research, you may encounter historical language referring to Indigenous Canadians that is considered offensive today. Please read the notice about historical language in LAC's collection.

On this page

Before you start

There are various kinds of records relating to residential schools in LAC's holdings. It is useful to learn what the different records contain — and what they do not — in order to target your research.

Define your topic

Some examples of what you can search for and how to find related information:

A person's attendance
You can trace a person's attendance at a residential school by focusing on written records listing student names.
Student and staff enumeration
Census records unveil student numbers in residential schools and staff details. Search the Canadian census by name and school location during attendance years.
Administration of a specific school
To study the administration of specific schools, you can check government records on school establishment, supplies and buildings. These records, along with most of the records related to residential schools, are in Record Group 10 (RG10). RG10 covers the Indian and Inuit Affairs Program. For a brief overview of records at LAC, see the Common types of records related to residential schools in Record Group 10. You can search for these records in Collection search.
History of the school system
For the early history of the school system, you may need to consult the archives of private individuals or organizations (e.g. churches) and published holdings at LAC. For more information, see Related links.
Photos, films, and maps
You can search by medium or format using Collection search.

Terminology

Aboriginal peoples
A collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. Subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes three distinct groups of Aboriginal peoples. "In this Act, ‘aboriginal peoples of Canada' includes the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada." Each group has unique and diverse heritages, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. Today, people mostly use the term "Aboriginal" in a legal context. It's no longer considered appropriate when referring to people. For more information, see the definition for "Indigenous peoples".
Accession
A group of records transferred to LAC, but not yet added to LAC's permanent collection. Accessions are as accessible to users as permanent records.
Box
A physical container that holds archival records that are part of an accession, but not yet part of the permanent collection held by LAC. See also the definition for "volume."
Collection Search
Throughout this guide, you will see references to Collection Search and finding aids. Collection Search is LAC's database search tool. It contains descriptions of fonds, sous-fonds, series, sub-series and accessions of records, and it sometimes describes individual files. Most of these descriptions mention a finding aid and whether it is available on paper or electronically.
Finding aid
Either a list of files found in volumes or boxes, or a general reference tool explaining how to find records or conduct research.
Fonds
A collection of records that originate from the same source. Fonds include documents, regardless of form or medium, created and/or accumulated and used by a particular individual, family or organization in the course of its activities or functions.
Indian

According to subsection 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 "aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the Indian [First Nation], Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada." "Indian" is also a historical term used to describe the hundreds of distinct nations of Indigenous Peoples throughout North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. It traces back to Christopher Columbus in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries during his expeditions to find Asia. Widely used by explorers and missionaries, the term was later adopted by the Government of Canada and incorporated into the Indian Act, 1876. It is often used in the context of historical government departments, documents, policies and laws.

Today, the term "Indian" is used mostly in a legal sense. Most other uses are discouraged and considered offensive.

Indigenous peoples
Refers to the First Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation. It refers to the original inhabitants of a territory. Here, the term refers to people classified as Indigenous under international law. It is most appropriate to refer to Indigenous peoples by the proper names of their communities or nations.
Records
Archival material containing information in various formats: textual documents, photographs, maps, video and sound recordings, etc.
Record Group (RG)
The records of a government entity (such as a department) and its predecessor agencies. Recently acquired record groups only have an R number (instead of RG), and other Record Groups have both an RG and R number (such as RG10 and R216 both referring to Indian and Inuit Affairs Program records).
Sous-fonds, series, and sub-series
Sub-divisions of a fonds; a means to organize the records to make information easier to find and access. Records in a sub-group are related to each other, or to a function or activity.
Textual records
Usually refers to records containing written or typed paper documents.
Volume and box
A physical container which holds archival records that were processed and are part of the permanent collection held by LAC. See also the definition for "box."

Archival collection

Understanding the records

Tracing changes in the administration of a Band, First Nation, or Indian Residential School

To locate records held at LAC about a specific school, it is helpful to know the agency or district responsible for the school at a particular point in time. Records are usually organized according to the specific office of the department who created or received the documents.

Tools to trace changes in administration
  • Guides to the evolution of administrative agencies and districts by geographical region can help track changes in the administrative structure of a specific agency or district – see the Related links section for a list. These guides are available online in Collection search. Finding aid 10-12 is an example of information found in the guide to Western Canada.
  • Lists of agency and district codes, pre- and post-1966, contained in finding aid 10-96 (available on paper) can help identify the agency or district responsibility code number.
  • File History Cards also provide a list of Bands, including the name and responsibility code of the agency or district. It can be accessed in the "Bands – Alphabetical – Old Number" section of the File History Cards, 1872-1984 webpage.

To find relevant records, you can use the list of agency/district names to find keywords to use in Collection search. You can also determine relevant subject codes for file numbers when identifying which filing system was in use by the department at the time. These filing systems and their respective finding aids are explained in the following section.

Filing systems

To locate records about a specific school, it is helpful to know which file classification system was in effect at a particular time and to understand how it worked.

CIRNAC/ISC's central filing system experienced a number of changes between 1872, when it adopted its first central registry system, and the mid 1980s, when it converted to the current block numeric system. There were four significant stages of filing systems within CIRNAC/ISC that are briefly presented below.

Red Series and Black Series
Dates in use Description Example of file number School Records in the Filing System
About 1872-1923 Numeric filing systems that assigned consecutive numbers to each document or file as it was created. An index was eventually created listing the files and their file numbers by subject (see finding aids 10-8, 10-10, 10-11 and 10-13 in the Related links). CIRNAC/ISC opened the Black Series in 1882 for correspondence from Western Canada, with Central and Eastern Canada remaining with the Red Series. Later, a basic subject classification system was built into the Red and Black Series. The name of these series is based on the colour of the letterbooks used by the records office at the time. File number "61,319" was the 61,319th file in the series. For schools, the subject number was the registration number of the first piece of correspondence pertaining to that school.
First Series, Thousand Series, School Files Series, Land Sales Series and Engineering and Construction Files Series (sometimes referred to as the Duplex Numeric system)
Dates in use Description Example of file number School Records in the Filing System
About 1923-1950 Often referred to as "duplex" numeric systems because file numbers are comprised of two elements: first is a numeric code assigned to a subject and second is a numeric "responsibility code" (agency or district code). First Series: file number "75-18" where "75" is "Agent's Reports" and "18" is Maniwaki Agency. See below for more information on the School Files Series. Of additional interest will be First Series file numbers 34 (Ex Pupils, Assistance), 103 (Tuition) and 150 (Schools – Miscellaneous Matters). See Thousand Series block 42000 (School Matters) and finding aid 10-376 in Related links for a complete list of file numbers.
School Files Series

Many records of residential schools can be found in School Files Series - 1879-1953 (RG10).

This series is actually a sub-series consisting of files dealing with all aspects of school administration for First Nations by CIRNAC/ISC throughout Canada. It was one of the five subject-based classification systems outlined in the previous section. However, it was only in use for a short time and the file numbering is inconsistent. For that reason, it is more useful to search these records by name of agency, district or school.

Although this sub-series contains only records relating to schools and education, not all departmental headquarters central registry files relating to schools and education for the years 1879–1953 are found in this sub-series. The Red Series, Black Series, First Series and Thousand Series also contain files relating to schools and education in this period.

The School Files Series is listed in our online search tool, Collection search.

In addition, most of the records in this series were microfilmed. They can be found on reels C-7908 to C-7963, C-8134 to C-8219, C-8639 to C-8803 and C-9801 to C-9811. Most of these reels have been digitized in the School Files Series - 1879-1953 (RG10) and can be browsed online.

A few additional microfilm reels are available on the Department of Indian Affairs : School files series page from our partner website, Héritage Canadiana.

Finding aids to the School Files Series

There are multiple parts of finding aid 10-17 describing the content of the School Files Series in different ways (see the Related links section for more information):

The listing of content is also provided in Collection search when consulting the lower-level descriptions of the School Files Series (under "Record Information – Details").

Open and restricted files in the School Files Series

In the 1970s, some files were restricted (closed) in their entirety and were not filmed. Although the rules have since changed and some of these files may now be open, there are no microfilms available of their contents.

However, if only parts of a file were restricted, those specific parts were taken out and the rest of the file was filmed. A note was added at the end of the copied file to alert users to the fact that the microfilm does not show everything from the original file.

Modified Duplex Numeric System
Dates in use Description Example of file number School Records in the Filing System
About 1950 to 1985 The modified duplex numeric system replaced the previous subject-based systems. It also organized files according to the responsibility code and a subject number, but the subject number blocks became more detailed. The agencies were given new responsibility codes in 1966 (see the 1966 Agency Renumbering section below). File number "157/25-1", where 157 is the agency code for Queen Charlotte Agency, and 25-1 is the subject code for "Indian Education – General"

Block 25 refers to "Indian Education"

Block 6 refers to "School Buildings"

Block 1-13 refers to "Organization and Administration – School Establishment"

Block 27-8 refers to "Transportation – School Children".
Block Numeric System
Dates in use Description Example of file number School Records in the Filing System
About 1985 to the present Organizes files by file number assigned to a program or activity. A second and third number can be added to specify the subject. File number "E4332-15" where E refers to "Indian and Inuit Affairs Program", 4332 is the subject code for "Housing, On Reserve" and 15 specifies "Housing Policy Review"

Block 4700 numbers includes mostly subjects related to education.

Block 4900 includes subjects related to school buildings.

For more information on each filing system, including research strategies, lists of subject and agencies responsibility codes, please consult finding aids 10-376 and 10-96 – see the Related links section.

In some cases, files in the older system were closed and new ones opened in the new system. In many other cases, files were moved and reclassified under a new number. However, the files migrated in this way were not necessarily relabelled, so a search for specific files must take into account both the older and the newer file classification systems.

1966 agency renumbering

Responsibility centres (agencies and districts) were assigned new codes in 1966. This means that researchers need to include both the old and the new agency code in their list of search terms if they are searching over a period of time that includes 1966.

For example, Simcoe Agency's responsibility code changed from 24 to 475 in 1966. A researcher looking for Indian Residential Schools records from Simcoe Agency over the period covering 1962-1968 may want to search under both codes.

A further series of reorganizations between 1966 and 1976 resulted in the merging of several agencies and districts. Some centres maintained their codes from 1966, while others acquired the codes of centres with which they merged.

Researchers can consult responsibility centre code conversion lists in finding aid 10-376 to determine agencies and districts' codes.

Education district codes

For a brief period during the use of the modified duplex numeric file system (about 1950 to 1985), "education districts" were established. This meant that school records were filed according to an education district code rather than the usual responsibility centre code. The education districts were soon abandoned and school records were again filed by responsibility centre code.

The education district code that was associated with each agency or district is listed on the responsibility centre code conversion list for 1966 in finding aid 10-376.

Searching the archival collection

The first step to using Collection search is to develop a list of possible search terms that are likely to return desired results. (See "Common types of records related to residential schools" below for examples of keywords.)

Gather relevant information by:

  1. identifying the name of the school, and the agencies and districts responsible for it, for example:
    • Sacred Heart Residential School
    • Peigan Agency
  2. determining relevant topics and types of documents, for example:
    • Admissions and discharges of students
  3. choosing a date range, for example:
    • 1920–1940

With these relevant keywords, go to Collection search and start your research. The Advanced search link gives you more search options. For additional research tips, see Using Collection search.

Common types of records related to residential schools in Record Group 10 (RG10)

The following table provides brief descriptions of some of the various types of records related to residential schools in Record Group 10 (CIRNAC, ISC and its predecessor departments). It is not an exhaustive list of all residential school-related records at LAC or elsewhere. These types can also be used as keywords to search for records in Collection search.

Common types of records related to residential schools in Record Group 10 (RG10)
Record Description
Admission/Discharge Form Standard form completed monthly by the principal. Includes personal details of admitted or discharged students and a statement of the reason for a late admission or any discharge. Correspondence between parents, staff and/or the Department regarding admissions is also sometimes found on these files.
Application for Admission Standard form includes personal details of the applicant, including Indigenous/original name and English name, age, band, identification of parents, statement about the applicant’s health, religion, language, previous school attendance. Reverse of form includes details of a physical examination. 
Application for Educational Assistance Standard form submitted to the Department for financial assistance to offset the cost of education in extenuating circumstances. Includes basic information about the pupil, parent/guardian, and the superintendent’s notes detailing any reasons for assistance. Also includes estimated amounts for compensation determined on a case-by-case basis. 
Application for Leave Correspondence between teaching staff and the Superintendent requesting temporary leave from teaching duties. 
Application, Employment Files include correspondence between prospective teachers and the Department (inquiries about vacancies, qualifications, working conditions); standard application form for teaching positions; explanations of classification of teaching staff. 
Audit Report Completed annually to determine total actual operating cost of a given school. Reports were submitted so that schools could be reimbursed by the government up to an allowable amount. They include information about salaries (administrative, teaching, support), and expenditures for food, supplies, extracurricular activities, building repairs and maintenance, etc. 
Building Maintenance (various) Various types of records. Consists mostly of correspondence received by the superintendent regarding repairs to school properties. Other records include order forms for maintenance supplies, estimates for labour and material for specific repair projects, invoices for work completed. Architectural drawings and photographs may also be included. Inspection Reports are also useful as they include narrative statements about the physical condition of schools and recommendations for improvements where deemed necessary. 
Daily Register A list of names and attendance records of individual students, often by school, and then by class and/or year. 
Death of Pupils in Residential Schools Correspondence re: deaths of pupils (students); statements of the principal, attending physician and Indian Agent re: death of pupil; narrative accounts provided by witness of events leading to accidental deaths. 
Inspection Report Comprehensive report prepared by inspector. Includes a form for assessing the state of classrooms/learning environment, appearance of children, health/sanitation, and extracurricular activities, as well as a form for assessing the state of common facilities, grounds, supplies of water, electricity, teacher’s residence, etc…. The reports are narrative, and include sections for recommendations. Submission correspondence may be attached. 
Medical Record Receipts for prescription eye glasses, drugs and miscellaneous medical supplies for Indian Residential School students; correspondence re: the medical/dental care of students between school administration, care providers and government officials. 
Nominal Roll A list of students by name enrolled in a school or in schools in a district or agency. 
Principal’s Monthly Report Completed by the principal and submitted to government officials. Documents the names of resident students, their date of birth, band, grade and number of days in residence for the quarter. 
Pupil Withdrawal Form A form filled out by officials to document the withdrawal of a student from a school. 
Quarterly Return Contains names of students, information about their age, gender, band, grade level, class standing, date of school entrance and details about their attendance. Prepared by the principal, reviewed by the agent and submitted to government officials. 
School Committees Minutes from the meetings of school committees, which consist of teachers, administrators and families of students. 
School Establishment Report containing basic information about the initial establishment of an Indian Residential School at a specific site. 
School Supplies Receipts for supplies and furnishings; correspondence between school administration/teaching staff and government officials re: requests for supplies. 
Semi-Annual Report Prepared by the superintendent. A narrative account of the operations of the Agency in general. A progress report on major projects. References to Indian Residential School related matters may be included in the context of the Agency as a whole. 
Staff Residences Correspondence containing details about occupancy, maintenance, rental fees/accommodation deduction, amenities. Records include correspondence containing details about principals’ residences. Architectural drawings may also be included. 
Transportation of Students Correspondence containing details about the transportation of students to and from Indian Residential Schools. Includes trip details and invoices from service providers. 
Training of Teachers Correspondence documenting the ongoing training of Indian Residential Schools teachers. 

Specific fonds and collections

Government records

The tables below list selected records from other main government groups of records related to specific holdings at LAC about Indigenous peoples:

  • Northern Affairs
  • Administration Program files of CIRNAC/ISC
  • Citizenship and Immigration (the parent department of "Indian Affairs" until the 1960s)

There are many other examples. For instance, some records of interest may be contained in records dealing with First Nations and Inuit health care services, and in many record groups of other government departments than CIRNAC/ISC.

Records from Northern Affairs, Administration Program files of CIRNAC/ISC and Citizenship and Immigration
Reference number and title of collection Types of records Some examples of volumes or files
RG10
Department of Indian Affaires and Northern Development – Indian and Inuit Affairs Program 		Photographs: Accession 1976-281 NPC, includes photographs from Indian Residential Schools See search results in Collection Search for details of photographs.
RG11
Department of Public Works

Some school building files, plans, and blueprints can be found with keyword searches or in finding aids to specific accessions. See lower level descriptions, linked accessions and finding aids available for the following:

Finding aids may show a plan and item number. This is an example of file from the Western Region, in Building plans of Central Records Office, Design and Construction Branch (see finding aid 11-340 linked in the description):

  • Title: Norway House, MB - Nickaway School with Teacherage, 1931-1979
  • Reference: RG11, Accession BAN 2004-01078-9, Plan Sac no. 031, Item no. 440.
RG22
Administration Program, CIRNAC/ISC 		Deputy Minister's Office registry system, 1922-1985: Funding, curriculum and administration of Indian schools. Vols. 330-442, 496-497, 632-669, 829-851

Architectural and technical drawings:

See lower level descriptions in Collection Search for details of specific plans.
RG29
Medical Services Branch, Department of Health 		Records from the "Indian and Northern Health Services" program (now known as the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch), including some records related to health in various Indian Residential Schools. The records include Case files of Indian and Northern Health Services arranged by name (Finding aid 29-56).
Family allowance lists of students attending Indian Residential School are found within the Income Security Programs Branch records. Some files will be listed under file no. 11-5 and have titles like "Administrative Rulings – Indian", followed by the name of the agency.

Example of file:

  • Title: Administrative Rulings - Indian - Clandeboye Agency - Residential School Lists", 1952-1955.
  • Reference: RG29, BAN 2005-00768-4, Box 5, File no. 11-5-15.
Sanitation files in file block 22 documenting the inspection of sewage, water and sanitation facilities in the residential schools, and are particularly concerned about the quality of the drinking water. Especially relevant is 22-8, which relates to Indian reserves, hospitals & schools. Files can be found in the Public Health Engineering Division as well as in the Health Protection Branch.

Vols. 2533, 2562-2566, 3816-3820.

See also examples of files from accession BAN 2005-00813-3:

  • Title: Indian Reserves, Hospitals & Schools, General, 1940-1960.
  • Reference: RG29, BAN 2005-00813-3, Box 1, File no. 22-8
  • Title: Marius, Manitoba - Sandy Bay Indian Residential School", 1949-1960.
  • Reference: RG29, BAN 2005-00813-3, Box 2, File no. 22-8-10
RG85
Northern Affairs Program

Files regarding Inuit and First Nations social and economic conditions, general, after 1920. Includes schools.

Such files can be found in the following sub-series and sub-sub-series:

Vols. 567-613, 654-669

Vols.614-626

Vols. 627-653, 1129-1130

"Native education" files, including general files, records on policy, funding of church and territorial schools, curriculum, and files relating to specific schools, c. 1906.

Such files can be found in the following sub-series and sub-sub-series:

See also liaison files with the individual churches.

Vols. 535-546, 641-646, 1130, 1260-1261, 1339, 1434

Accession 1985-86/220

Photographs:

Northwest Territories and Yukon Branch: Photographs, Accession 2003-02187-6 / 1973-357 NPC

 See lower level descriptions of this sub-series in Collection Search for details of photographs and access to finding aids.
RG26
Indian Affairs Branch Solicitor's Files 		Lawyers' working files on a wide variety of legal and policy issues, c. 1945-66. These include drafting regulations on Indian schools and estates. Vol. 70
RG91
Yukon Territorial Government 		Files related to schools funded by the Department of Indian Affairs, 1926-48, in series of Subject files and sub-series of Main series of numbered files. Only microfilm copies are available at LAC: They refer to material in original vol. 9 file 1491A (Title: Indian Affairs and Schools), now on reel M-2834, vol. 11 file 2335 (Title: Indian Affairs – School Carcross) now on reel M-2835, and vol. 74 file 79 (Title: Indian Education) now on reel M-2882.
Selected important finding aids for research on Indian Residential Schools
Finding aid number and title Description

10-8, 10-10, 10-11 and 10-13

Red and Black Series

Finding aids 10-8 (Black Series) and 10-11 (Red Series) – see the Filing Systems section – are indexes created by the Department of Indian Affairs while these series were still in departmental custody, organized by subject and available on microfiche.

Finding aids 10-10 (Red Series) and 10-13 (Black Series) are subject-based indexes created by Library and Archives Canada in the early 1980s, organized by subject or by volume number.

Individual descriptions of the files listed in these finding aids are available in Collection Search.

10-17

School Files Series

This finding aid, divided into 3 parts, provides a listing of the files in the School Files Series with the associated reel number.

One part of the finding aid is organised by microfilm reel number and is available online. The other parts of this finding aid are available on paper in the Reference Room at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa or through the digitized microfilm reels on Héritage Canadiana. They are organized respectively as an alphabetical index of subjects (online reel C-9641) and by box number (online reel C-9642).

For more information on this series, please see the School Files Series section. The majority of the records on microfilm can be browsed online.

10-583

Central Registry Files Related to Indian Residential Schools

 This finding aid refers to an accession of Central Registry files related to Indian Residential Schools (Accession number: BAN 2014-02388-3) commonly called the "Historical Collection of Indian Residential School Records" from CIRNAC/ISC. The records span from around 1900 to 2002 with the bulk of the records being from 1954-1985.
Finding aids for administrative history research on Indian Residential Schools
Finding aid number and title Description: Modified duplex numeric system

10-376

Headquarters Central Registry

This is a paper finding aid, which gives narrative explanations of the various filing systems used in the headquarters central registry between 1872 and 1950. For each filing system, it provides useful research strategies and includes lists of subject codes for files and responsibility codes for agencies and districts. Available in English only.

This finding aid provides instructions to use ArchiviaNet to search online, which is no longer available. Please see instructions in section Using Collection Search instead.

10-96

Headquarters Central Registry

 This is a paper finding aid, which provides researchers with additional background on CIRNAC/ISC and its predecessors' central registry system. It can help researchers identify search terms for online research. Available in English only.

10-202

British Columbia

 This finding aid lists changes in the administration of Indian agencies in British Columbia between 1875 and 1990. It also provides a brief administrative history of each agency. It can be used to identify the official name of an agency responsible for a particular area at a particular time. It is available in both English and French.

10-12

Western Canada

 This finding aid lists changes in the administration of Indian agencies in Western Canada (today Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) between 1871 and 1959. It also provides a brief administrative history of each agency. It can be used to identify the official name of an agency responsible for a particular area at a particular time. It is available online in both English and French.

10-249

Québec

 This finding aid lists changes in the administration of Indian agencies in the province of Quebec between 1809 and 1971. It also provides a brief administrative history of each agency. It can be used to identify the official name of an agency responsible for a particular area at a particular time. It is available in French only.

10-475

Eastern Canada

 This finding aid maps changes in the administration of Indian agencies only in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island on a timeline that covers 1871-1992. It also lists each change, and provides a brief administrative history of each agency. It can be used to identify the official name of an agency responsible for a particular area at a particular time. It is available in English only.

10-145

Nova Scotia

 This finding aid maps changes in the administration of Indian agencies in the province of Nova Scotia on a timeline that covers 1871-1997. It also provides a brief administrative history of each agency. It can be used to identify the official name of an agency responsible for a particular area at a particular time. It is available in English only.

10-157

Ontario

 This finding aid lists changes in the administration of Indian agencies in the province of Ontario between 1809 and 1971. It also provides a brief administrative history of each agency. It can be used to identify the official name of an agency responsible for a particular area at a particular time. It is available in English only.

10-640

Administrative History Diagrams

This electronic finding aid consists of diagrams, which depict the evolution of Indian Agencies on a timeline. It can be used to identify the official name of an Agency as well as predecessors or successors that may have been responsible for the records of that agency. These diagrams exist for:

  • British Columbia
  • Alberta
  • Saskatchewan
  • Manitoba
  • Ontario
  • Quebec
  • Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island)
  • Northern Canada (Northern British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon)

Non-governmental records

Non-governmental records held by LAC include not only private or personal textual records accumulated by individuals and corporate bodies to drawings, but also photographs, maps, sound recordings and other audio-visual recordings. The creators of these records include:

  • missionaries and teachers
  • bishops and nuns
  • RCMP and military officers
  • government officials
  • radio and television broadcasters

These records may include albums of drawings and photographs, private diaries and other records collected during or after their service at or visits to residential schools. Broadcasters compiled radio and television or cinematic documentaries about the schools.

LAC holds microfilm copies of records preserved in private and official archives in England, France and Canada. Those archives may set access restrictions on the microfilm reels. The finding aids vary in level of detail, often specifying little more than names of the mission and missionary plus the dates for journals, reports and correspondence.

The tables below illustrate the range of records in LAC's holdings from major missionary societies and selected private individuals. Note that photographs and drawings, maps and plans, sound recordings and other audio-visual materials may be described as part of a fonds or series, or as a separate collection.

Access restrictions on records in private collections differ from those placed on government records. Restrictions may be in place because a donor placed them there. Restrictions vary from collection to collection. For an explanation of how to access these records, please contact us.

Records in LAC's holdings
Reference number Collection title and details Finding aid
MG17-B2
(R10977) 		Church Missionary Society [Anglican] fonds – microfilm and microfiche copies of headquarters correspondence and accounts, reports and journals from mission posts, and letters sent to the missionaries across North America. MSS Finding Aid 23 (available online: Part 1: Introduction to the finding aid, Part 2: Detailed list of records on microfilm reels A-75 to A-126, Part 3: Microfilm shelf list and alphabetical indexes)
MG17-B4
(R14022) 		Colonial and Continental Church Society [Anglican] fonds – microfilm copies of minutes, reports, publications and other records of the CCCS and predecessors MSS Finding Aid 40
MG29-D53
(R4261) 		Reverend Allen Salt fonds – Methodist missionary, after teaching at Alderville Industrial School - Journals kept 1854-1855 and 1874-1899 at various missions. MSS Finding Aid 2690
R10873 Tamarack Productions fonds – Audio, video and associated textual records relating to "As Long as the River Flows" documentary on Indigenous education, with interviews with children who attended Kamloops Indian Residential Schools and with Indigenous educators Individual films and sound recordings are listed in the Film, video and sound database in Collection Search. Other material is described through the lower level descriptions of the fonds.
MG31-D153
(R4922) 		Joseph Vincent Jacobsen and family fonds – textual records, photographs, audio reels and audio discs and 1 film reel - accumulated by Joseph Jacobson during his career, notably as Superintendent of Education in the Northwest Territories, 1951-1960 MSS Finding Aid 1496 (partially available on paper in the Reference Room at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa and as lower level descriptions in Collection Search)
R12036 Marg and Roy Hall fonds, 1960-1964, 1970 – textual and photographic records relating to Old Crow School, Yukon, where Roy Hall was principal and Margaret Hall was a teacher. Finding aid is available as lower level descriptions in Collection Search
MG27-ID10
(R4037) 		David Laird fonds– Served as Minister of the Interior, 1873-1876; Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, 1876-1881; and Indian Commissioner for the North-West Territories, Manitoba and Keewatin, 1898-1914. No finding aid
MG26-A
(R4505) 		Sir John A. Macdonald fonds – Served as Superintendent General of Indian affairs, 1878-1887 (Minister of the Interior, 1878-1883, and Privy Council 1883-1887) Finding aid MSS 104 (see also lower level descriptions in Collection Search)
MG29-E106
(R14698) 		Hayter Reed fonds – Served as Indian Agent for Battleford District in 1881; Assistant Commissioner for the North West Territories in 1884, Commissioner in 1888 and Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in 1893. Finding aid MSS 1394 (available on paper in the Reference Room at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa)
MG27-IC4
(R4505) 		Edgar Dewdney fonds – Served as Indian commissioner for Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, 1879-1888; Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories, 1881-1888; Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 1888-1892. Finding aid MSS 56
MG27-ID6
(R4035) 		Thomas Mayne Daly fonds – Served as Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 1892-1896. No finding aid (see lower level descriptions in Collection Search)
MG27-IID15
(R7693) 		Clifford Sifton fonds – Served as Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 1896-1905. Finding aid MSS 136
R8236 David Ewens collection – Indian Industrial Schools Album (see details in the "Original extent note" field of the description in Collection Search) Finding aid 252 (available on paper in the Reference Room at 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa)
R13144 Ryan-Swain family fonds – Images from St. Paul's Residential School, Aklavik and Herschel Island, NWT Finding aid MSS 2651 (see also lower level descriptions in Collection Search)

In addition to these examples, researchers interested in the earliest history of Indigenous education in Canada should look in the other collections preserved at LAC of church and missionary societies, as well as individuals' private records. The table below lists some examples.

LAC collections of church and missionary societies as well as individuals' private records
Reference number Collection title and details Finding aid
MG17-A7-2
(R14516) 		Séminaire de Saint-Sulpice (description in French only) Finding aid MSS 682 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
MG17-A17
(R11180) 		Oblats-de-Marie-Immaculée (description in French only) – see also Fort Good Hope Mission at R559. Finding aid MSS 132 (available online, see link to description of the fonds). No finding aid for the Fort Good Hope Mission (only 1 microfilm reel)
MG17-B1
(R14130) 		Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts Finding aid MSS 285 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
MG17-C1
(R14077) 		Methodist Missionary Society Finding aid MSS 164 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
MG17-C2
(R14716) 		Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Finding aid MSS 1585 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
MG17-B3
(R10819) 		New England Company Finding aid MSS 246 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
MG17-D1
(R10993) 		Moravian Brethren Finding aid MSS 339 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
MG24-J54
(R273) 		Reverend James Hunter Finding aid MSS 2025 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
MG29-D55
(R7520) 		William Duncan Finding aid MSS 499 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
R9409 Bernice Logan – Residential School photographs Finding aid 417 (available online, see link to description of the fonds)
R16377 Simeon H. Parsons Collection – Photo albums See lower level descriptions in Collection Search

Access and use the documents

Access to government records

Many government records are restricted by law (code 32) simply because they have not yet been reviewed for potentially sensitive or injurious information. You can request access to these government records through a request under the Access to Information Act or Privacy Act.

Access to private records

After individuals or groups donate records, LAC sets conditions for access. We make records open and available to the public as much as possible, but some may be restricted (code 18) or closed (code 10).

Read Document restrictions for more information on access codes and what they mean.

Consulting open material

Archival documents are stored off-site in our various facilities and can take up to 10 days to arrive at our Ottawa location for viewing. To order material, you will need to access your LAC user card number and to provide full archival references of the material in question.

Use the Material retrieval form to order your archival material and the Track my archival order feature in My account to ensure your material is ready before your visit.

Material stored in a regional office

Some records are housed in our regional offices in Vancouver and Winnipeg and must be consulted there. These documents do not travel to Ottawa, and the documents stored in Ottawa do not travel to our regional offices. Please contact the Vancouver or Winnipeg locations for more information.

Vancouver
Winnipeg

Ordering copies

You can order copies of records by filling out our order form. You will need to provide the complete reference number of the material you want to order. Please note that there are fees associated with these orders. For more details on costs and service standards, visit Ordering copies online.

Published collection

The published collection includes many publications by and about Indigenous peoples. These publications date back hundreds of years; from early rare Indigenous language dictionaries to recently published works on current Indigenous issues.

This collection includes hundreds of publications on residential schools, including:

  • Canadian government department publications
  • publications of individual residential schools
  • film documentaries

Searching the published collection

You can search the Aurora library catalogue  for published material like print books, e-books, music, video, magazines, maps and digital documents. Basic searches can be done by entering keywords into the blank field that appears on every page.

You can do targeted searching with the Advanced Search function. Subject and author searching are two of the most popular options for this type of search.

  • Search by subject to see publications whose contents are at least 30% about residential schools. On the Advanced Search page,
    • change the first "Search Index" drop-down from "Keyword" to "Subject"
    • enter the name of a particular school in the search field; use the subject heading "residential schools;" or enter a combination of the two. You can also add the name of a city, town or other geographic area to narrow your results
    • click the Search button or hit Enter on your keyboard
  • Search by author to see if a school, or a group of survivors from that school, published anything. On the Advanced Search page,
    • change the first "Search Index" drop-down from "Keyword" to "Author,"
    • enter the name of a particular school in the search field if you know it. If you don't, use the keyword "residential school" plus the name of the city, town or region where it was located (for example, residential school Brandon)
    • click the Search button or hit Enter on your keyboard

Once you have a list of results, you can refine your list by using the options on the left-hand side — for example, by format or date.

If you click on an item in the results list, you'll see its complete description. Some of this information, such as the full list of subjects, can be helpful in expanding your search.

Learn more about how to search the library catalogue in Using Aurora.

Specific collections and types of publications

Bibliographies

Bibliographies are a great way to find older material that isn’t easily searchable online.

Native Residential Schools in Canada: A Selective Bibliography

This bibliography developed as part of the exhibit Where are the Children? Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools, produced by the National Archives of Canada, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and the Aboriginal Healing Charitable Association in collaboration with the National Library of Canada, numerous churches and other archives. It was presented at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa from June 18, 2002, to February 3, 2003.

The Legacy of the Residential School System in Canada: A Selective Bibliography

This bibliography was produced in 2009 by LAC and is now archived.

Métis History and Experience and Residential Schools in Canada

This bibliography is the only bibliography in LAC's published collections specifically about residential schools. It was published by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation in 2006.

We hold many more bibliographies in our collections that may include information about residential schools. You can search for these bibliographies by using the subject index as described above and adding "bibliography" to your keywords — for example "Indians Bibliography."

Biographies, memoirs and autobiographies

These works describe first-hand experiences of residential school survivors and range from poetry for children to graphic novels or academic books.

Following the instructions for subject index searching above, you can use the subjects "residential schools" and "biography." This search will bring up more than 100 publications. Here are a few examples:

Serials and newspapers

Our collection includes Canadian Indigenous serials, newspapers and newsletters on a variety of subjects.

Many of these publications aren't only about residential schools, but they are good places to look for articles on the subject.

Most of the serials we hold that are specifically about residential schools were published by the federal government or non-profit associations.

To narrow your search results to serials (for example, journals and magazines) or newspapers, use the "Format" limit on the left-hand side of the screen and pick "Journal/Magazine" and/or "Newspaper."

We have digitized four Indigenous newspapers, which you can consult by looking at the "More information" field of the following Aurora records:

Department of Indian Affairs Annual Reports

Annual statistical and informational charts on schools have been published in the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) Annual Reports — today CIRNAC/ISC — from circa 1864 to the present, with some related financial records in the Annual Reports of the federal Auditor General.

Detailed reports on individual schools were included in the DIA Annual Reports in 1881–1882 and then 1888–1889 to 1915–1916), as well as in the Reports of the Superintendent of Indian Education from 1910–1916. After 1916, summaries were published in the Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs' Report, which was printed with the Annual Report.

After the Second World War, the annual reports became less and less detailed as the department grew, which was a government-wide trend.

Reports from 1864 to 1990 can be searched through Collection search (open the Advanced Search menu and select "Indian Affairs Annual Reports" in the "Database field"). For more information about the reports and how to search our database, please consult Indian Affairs Annual Reports, 1864-1990.

Transcriptions of the reports are also available via the Government of Canada Publications portal:

For the next five years, these reports were Part III of the Estimates and are available in print format only. They can be requested through Aurora for onsite consultation in Ottawa via the following record:

From 1996 onwards, the annual reports were known as "Performance Reports." You can find them online through Aurora:

Starting in 2018, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs was divided into two new departments: Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. If you are unable to find the annual reports for these departments in Aurora by keyword searching, please contact us.

Canadian Indian Rights Collection

You may also be interested in the "Canadian Indian Rights Collection," which includes documents such as theses, manuscripts, official documents, research papers and other published and non-published materials.

The following bibliographies list the publications and documents in the collection. Some are available at LAC, while others may only be available in other libraries across Canada. These bibliographies can be consulted in our Reference Room in Ottawa and at many university libraries:

  • Abler, Thomas S., Sally M. Weaver, with Claire C. Veillette [et al.]. 1974. A Canadian Indian bibliography 1960-1970.  Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1974.
    • The "Education" section lists several articles and studies about residential schools.
  • Whiteside, Don (sin a paw). 1979. Indians, Indians, Indians: a selected bibliography and resource guide. [Ottawa : D. Whiteside].
    • The first two volumes are a subject index, while the third volume is an author index. Authors of Indigenous descent are indicated with an asterisk.
    • The "Education" section lists some articles about residential schools.

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) database

The RCAP database provides access to supporting documents submitted for the writing of the final report, including those on residential schools. The database can be searched through Collection search.

Select "Advanced search", then "Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples" as the database and add relevant keywords in the search boxes. Keyword searching will locate any document where the keywords have been found in the document.

Results may be filtered by document type in the left-hand side menu.

For more information about the reports and how to search the database, please consult Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

If you would like to read the report, it is available online through Aurora:

Access and use the publications

Titles in collections preserved at LAC must be consulted onsite at our service point in Ottawa unless electronic copies are available directly through Aurora.

If you see a title in our catalogue that looks interesting, you can contact your local library to see if they have a copy, or you can request it through their Interlibrary Loans service.

A LAC reference librarian can help you identify and locate titles relevant to your research. Please ask us a question online or by phone.

Ordering copies

You can order copies of records by filling out our order form. You will need to provide the complete reference number of the material you want to order. Please note that there are fees associated with these orders. For more details on costs and service standards, visit Ordering copies online.

Related links

Contact us

Please contact our Research Support.

Our reference specialists are available by appointment to help you with your research.