Let’s create a dataset that assigns responsibility for the operation of specific Indian Residential Schools to specific Roman Catholic entities for specific periods of time.
Our primary source is an order to amend the title of proceedings related to a statement of claim against the Canadian government, Churches, and third parties. Nine courts across the country made substantially this same order, including an Amended Statement of Claim (Schedule A), between December 15, 2006 and March 26, 2007. We relied on Schedule A to to create an Open Data Spreadsheet (ODS) file with the following fields:
| Field | Description |
| SOURCE_CR | Ontario Superior Court, Amendment to Title of Proceedings, Court File 00-CV-192059CP, 2006-12-15, Schedule A, page N, for N = 13 – 30. |
| SOURCE_URL_CR | http://www.classactionservices.ca/irs/documents/OntarioTitleProceedings.pdf#page=N, where N = 86 – 103 |
| SUB-SECTION_CR | Bishops, Dioceses and Episcopal Corporations | Male Orders | Female Orders | Other Religious Entities |
| ENTITY_ID_CR | Unique ID assigned to every Catholic entity listed in Schedule A, N = 27 – 83. |
| ENTITY_NAME_CR | Name of the Catholic entity (redacted) |
| ENTITY_AKA_CR | Alternative name(s) of the Catholic entity (per redaction) |
| ENTITY_OVERVIEW_CR | Brief history and organization of the Catholic entity |
| IRS_NAME_CR | Name of an Indian Residential School operated by the Catholic entity |
| IRS_CITY_CR | City where the Indian Residential School was located |
| IRS_PROVINCE_TERRITORY_CR | Province or territory where the Indian Residential School was located |
| IRS_OPENING_DATE_CR | Year when the Catholic entity began operating the Indian Residential School |
| IRS_CLOSING_DATE_CR | Year when the Catholic entity stopped operating the Indian Residential School |
Subsequent to the courts’ ordering an Amended Statement of Claim, another 10 institutions were recognized as Indian Residential Schools (6 by Canada on agreement and 4 by court order). None of these institutions was operated by a Roman Catholic entity.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission identifies another 5 Indian Residential Schools that appeared in Annual Reports of Canada’s Department of Indian Affairs and that were operated by Roman Catholic entities. These institutions were not included in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement:1Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Final Report, Volume 4: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials, Appendix 1.2, pp. 150-151.
| IRS_NAME | IRS_LOCATION | IRS_DATES |
| Fort St. James (Stuart Lake) | Fort St. James, BC | 1917-1922 |
| St. Boniface | St. Boniface, MB | 1890-1905 |
| Water Hen | Water Hen, MB | 1890-1900 |
| Wikwemikong (Manitoulin Island) | Wikwemikong, MB | 1868-1911 |
| Muskeg Lake | Muskeg Lake, SK | 1892-1892 |
Note: As we research these Indian Residential Schools, we may need to update our dataset.