Survivors demolish old residential school in Ile-a-la-Crosse

It’s the beginning of the end of a painful chapter for a northern Saskatchewan community’s history.

Residential school survivors in Ile-a-la-Crosse brought down a sledgehammer on the old school house Friday.

Two-hundred-and-forty people, most of whom were former students at the school, gathered at the ceremony that marked the long-awaited demolition. Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett was on hand for the event.

The school closed in the mid-1980s.

A full demolition could begin as early as Sept. 12.

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  Two residential school survivors in Ile-a-la-Crosse take the first swings to demolish the community's old school. Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett, right, was on hand for the event.