(NOTE: Reading about residential schools might be triggering or distressing. If you need to talk to someone, please see the link at bottom of this post.)
Akaitcho Hall is a former government boarding home, now located under a pile of rubble and dirt next to Sir John High School in what was the New Town neighborhood of Yellowknife.
The government, after the Second World War, approved an extensive program for the construction of schools and hostels to provide a better education.
At the time, Ottawa was trying to move away from the horror stories of Indigenous student mistreatment emerging from the turn-of-the-century church-run residential schools.
Akaitcho Hall. in 1971. (Photo: NWT Archives/Native Communications Society)
In the NWT, Akaitcho Hall was one piece of that widespread construction of Indian day schools and residential schools up and down the Mackenzie Valley.
Akaitcho Hall opened in 1958 as a boarding house and closed in 1994. It was well-funded, had students from a variety of cultures — and was not a church-run institution.
However, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has included it on the list of the 139 Indian residential schools across country.
Reports of negative experiences and racism have emerged from former students.
University of Calgary residential school expert Dr. Crystal Fraser stated: “The absence of the church seemed to be a factor in creating a different, better kind of experience for kids, and also the lack of segregation and so not having these very sharp rules around girls and boys that you are allowed to see your and sit at the same tables that all seem to make a difference for student experiences.”
Some of those experiences were shared at a recent town hall at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre in Yellowknife.
The NWT Art Centre Initiative is working to establish and maintain an Indigenous-focused non-commercial art gallery, community gathering space, and art collection on the Akaitcho Hall site.
Below are some of the voices from that town hall, starting with Dr. Crystal Fraser, a professor at University of Alberta from the Beaufort Delta. She will be at the podium by Margaret Begg and then Bob Overvold. After that are some speakers in the audience. (Each recording is about two minutes in length, edited from longer passages.)
About 80 people came to the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre in June to hear about the NWT Art Centre Initiative’s plans to build new gallery and community gathering place on site of Akaitcho Hall in Yellowknife. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
Margaret Begg offered at times emotional recollections of her time at Akaitcho Hall, during a recent town hall at the Tree of Peace. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
Bob Overvold speaks about his time as a student at Akaitcho Hall at a Town Hall at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre on June 17th. He was born in Tulit’a, in the Sahtu, and attended Akaitcho Hall in Yellowknife. Overvold served as chief negotiator for the creation of Ts’udé Nilįné Tuyeta Indigenous and Territorial Protected Area, established in 2018. Overvold also has worked extensively in territorial and federal governments. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
Crystal Gail Fraser speaks to an audience of about 80 people who came to the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre on Tuesday night to hear about the NWT Art Centre Initiative’s potential plans to build a dedicated art centre on the site of former government boarding home Akaitcho Hall, next to Sir John High School in Yellowknife. Dr. Fraser is Gwichyà Gwich’in originally from Inuvik and who is now an associate professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native Studies. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
A wide range of people in the audience at the June 17th town hall for the NWT Art Centre Initiative, which has settled on the Old Akaitcho Hall site, next to Sir John High School in Yellowknife, as the preferred location. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
An Elder pays attention to a speaker at a June 17th town hall for the NWT Art Centre Initiative, which has settled on the Old Akaitcho Hall site, next to Sir John High School in Yellowknife, as the preferred location. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
An Elder listens to a presentation at a June 17th town hall for the NWT Art Centre Initiative, which has settled on the Old Akaitcho Hall site, next to Sir John High School in Yellowknife, as the preferred location. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
A member of the audience at a June 17th town hall for the NWT Art Centre Initiative, which has settled on the Old Akaitcho Hall site, next to Sir John High School in Yellowknife, as the preferred location. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
A member of the audience at a June 17th town hall for the NWT Art Centre Initiative, which has settled on the Old Akaitcho Hall site, next to Sir John High School in Yellowknife, as the preferred location. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
Two people in the audience at a June 17th town hall for the NWT Art Centre Initiative, which has settled on the Old Akaitcho Hall site, next to Sir John High School in Yellowknife, as the preferred location. (James O’Connor/CKLB)
Here is a sample of the newsletters issued at Akaitcho Hall. It provides a glimpse into the daily lives of the students. Tools for page turning are at the bottom of the page.
NWTArchives.AkaitchoHall.N-1999-043-1-1