BRANDON INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL
(1890-1972)
Correspondence from the early 1890s reveals that the Indian Affairs Commissioner Hayter Reed and Methodist missionary James Woodsworth met with Brandon civic leaders who were eager to establish an Indian Industrial School. The Mayor of Brandon and the President of the Board of Trade lobbied Methodist headquarters in favor of their community as a location and that “the city was prepared to offer a site free, on the understanding that Brandon would get replacement land from the Federal Government” (Miller 1996: 177). By 1893, work on the new school near Brandon had begun (Department of Indian Affairs 1893), and, in 1895, the school officially opened with 35 students from Oxford House, Berens River, Fisher River, Norway House, and Grand Rapids (Department of Indian Affairs 1895; Semmens 1895).
FIRST SCHOOL CEMETERY (1896-1912)
Residential school architectural plans included cemeteries on the property because of high student mortality rates. At the Brandon Residential School, the original cemetery was established in the autumn of 1896 near the north bank of the Assiniboine River (Library and Archives Canada 1895-1923). Principal Ferrier stated, “Since this Institution was opened in 1895, those who have died have been buried at the lower end of the farm close to the Assiniboine River” (Ferrier 1912: 1908).
SUBURBAN PARK (1912)
In 1912, the Brandon Public Parks Board and City Council approached Principal Ferrier and inquired about purchasing the school lands along the Assiniboine River to develop a suburban park (Kavanagh 2007; Brandon Daily Sun 1912:1). Ferrier wrote to the Department of Indian Affairs and stated that the sale of this land would effectively stop any further burials:
“We discussed the situation, and came to the conclusion that in-asmuch as the general public might have an opportunity in the future of observing this burying ground from a public park, some sentiment might arise regarding the matter, therefore I believe that it is unwise to continue burying in that plot of land. “(Ferrier 1912: 1908).
Therefore, it is assumed that the first school cemetery was closed by 1912 at the request of Principal Ferrier.
TRANSFER OF LAND (1913-1921)
The Department of Indian Affairs, Principal Ferrier, and Brandon City Council continued to deliberate the land agreement for three additional years. The land negotiations were subsequently postponed due to World War I and the City did not officially acquire the land until 1921 (Brandon Daily Sun 1915a: 1; Brandon Daily Sun 1915b: 1; Johnston 1995a).
PREPARATIONS FOR A SUBURBAN PARK (1920-1950)
Repairs were made to the main road and unwanted trees were removed in the 1930s (Johnston 1995b). Dr. E. J. Andrews, Experimental Farm Research Director, indicated that the remaining headstones were removed when the city was cleaning the area for Lake Percy Park (Brandon Sun 1963).
CURRAN PARK CONSTRUCTION (1960S)
Substantial land modifications and developments threatened the school cemetery in the early 1960s. An outdoor circular pool was constructed in 1961, filled with water diverted from the Assiniboine River, and opened to the public (Johnston, 1995c). This prompted Alfred Kirkness, a graduate of the Brandon Residential School and an employee of the Experimental Farm, to write letters advocating for the school cemetery’s protection (Nield 1964). Kirkness (1966a:1) explained that, “the cemetery was destroyed little by little each year, until one day, I saw picnic tables, benches and barbecue stands, placed over these students’ graves”. The condition of the cemetery was further confirmed by the Regional Superintendent of Development who stated that “the cemetery on land now owned by the City of Brandon has been bulldozed over” (Knapp 1967:1).
RELOCATING THE CEMETERY (EARLY 1960S)
In 1963, the location of the burial ground was marked with four white stakes by Alfred Kirkness, Dr. Andrews, Mr. Waldon, the Foreman of the Experimental Farm, and Melvin Shelley the Brandon City Manager (Andrews 1963; Brandon Sun 1963:11). The federal Indian Affairs Branch explored two different options regarding the cemetery; either build a cairn and erect a fence or relocate the graves to a new area (Neild 1966). Indian Affairs decided that erecting a fence would be the most cost effective measure.
CEMETERY FENCE AND CAIRN (LATE 1960S - 1970S)
In February of 1967, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs Portage la Prairie Agency D. Nield, wrote to the City of Brandon expressing an interest in erecting a monument and fencing the cemetery in Curran Park (Nield 1967). Unfortunately, the letter was not received by the Director of Recreation, B. Matiowsky, for some time, and he did not respond to Neild’s request until October of 1968 (Matiowsky 1968). By this time, the Indian Affairs Branch had spent the allocated funds on a new fence and cairn for a second cemetery northeast of the school buildings (Nield 1968). In 1970, letter correspondence from the secretary of the Brandon Division of the Girl Guides, E. Wall, stated that the Girl Guides were seeking permission to care for the first school cemetery in Curran Park as part of their Centennial Project (Wall 1970 a and b). Approvals from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Bell 1970) and the City of Brandon were quickly granted (Brown 1970) and within two years, the Brandon Rotary Club had erected the fence and the Brandon Girl Guides provided the plaque and planted flowers (Brandon Sun, 1972: 19). The hexagonal fence was constructed of logs. The fence and plaque were eventually destroyed by the continual flooding of the property due to its location on the Assiniboine river.
TRANSFER OF LAND (2001)
In 2001, the City of Brandon sold Curran Park to Gerald Voth.
In June 2002, G. Voth and Company Limited sold the land to 4534752 Manitoba Ltd. (Brandon Land Titles Office 2019).
In April 2007, the shares of 4534752 Manitoba Ltd were sold to the current owners and the properties name was changed from Curran Park to Turtle Crossing.