St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino

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St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino is a golf course and casino in British Columbia, notable for being a former Indian residential school converted to a Native-owned casino.

Contents

The resort is located on plain of the St. Mary's River, between the Rockies and the Purcell Mountains near Cranbrook, British Columbia.

History

The Kootenay Indian Residential School (composed of the St. Eugene's and St. Mary's schools), run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate of the Roman Catholic Church, was opened in 1912, operated at the 1897-built St. Eugene Church, [1] and closed in 1970. Between 1912 and 1970, over 5,000 children have attended the school. The school remained closed for the following decades. [2] [3]

After renovating the building, St. Eugene Golf Course opened in 2000, followed by Casino of the Rockies in 2002, and the St. Eugene Hotel in 2003. [4]

The resort underwent a multi-million renovation that was completed in July 2019. [5] [6]

Ground penetrating radar located 182 suspected unmarked graves in the community's cemetery which is adjacent to the former St. Eugene Residential School. [7] [8] In a June 30, 2021 press release, the Leadership of ʔaq̓am, a First Nations community part of the Ktunaxa Nation, indicated that unmarked graves can occur due to deterioration of wooden crosses that had traditionally been used to mark graves; the Leadership also indicated that: "it is extremely difficult to establish whether or not these unmarked graves contain the remains of children who attended the St. Eugene Residential School." [8] In a media release from the Lower Kootenay Band, also a member of the Ktunaxa Nation, Chief Jason Louis stated that "It is believed that the remains of these 182 souls are from the member bands of the Ktunaxa Nation, neighbouring First Nations communities and the community of ʔaq̓am." [7]

Property

The resort has a golf course, a casino, two restaurants, a bar, and a spa. [9] [10]

The 3-story St. Eugene Hotel has 125 rooms and suites. It is ranked by the AAA as a Three Diamond Hotel. [9]

Casino of the Rockies has 210 slot machines for E-Roulette, E-Baccarat and E-Blackjack, and four table games. [11]

The 18-hole golf course is designed by Les Furber. [2] [12]

Ownership

In an unusual case in Canada, the resort was once part-owned by three distant bands, the Samson Cree Nation of Maskwacis, Alberta, the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, of Rama, Ontario, in addition to the Ktunaxa Nation [13] [2] The Ktunaxa Nation regained the whole ownership of the resort in 2017, which it had held originally between 2000–2003. [4] [14]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kootenay Indian Residential School</span> Defunct Canadian residential school

The Kootenay Indian Residential School, composed of the St. Eugene's and St. Mary's mission schools, was a part of the Canadian Indian residential school system and operated in Cranbrook, British Columbia between 1890 and 1970. The school, run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate of the Roman Catholic Church, first opened in 1890. It was replaced by an industrial school in 1912 that continued to operate until it was closed in 1970. Between 1912 and 1970, over 5,000 children from across British Columbia and Alberta attended the school. The building has been home to the St. Eugene Golf Resort and Casino since 2000.

The Canadian Indian residential school system were a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. Directed and funded by the Department of Indian Affairs, and administered mainly by Christian churches, the residential school system removed and isolated Indigenous children from the influence of their own native culture and religion in order to forcefully assimilate them into the dominant Canadian culture. Given that most of them were established by Christian missionaries with the express purpose of converting Indigenous children to Christianity, schools often had nearby mission churches with community cemeteries. Students were often buried in these cemeteries rather than being sent back to their home communities, since the school was expected by the Department of Indian Affairs to keep costs as low as possible. Additionally, occasional outbreaks of disease led to the creation of mass graves when the school had insufficient staff to bury students individually.

References

  1. ↑ "St. Eugene Church, Cranbrook". heritagebc.ca.
  2. 1 2 3 "About Us, Culture and Heritage". St. Eugene Resort. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  3. ↑ "Ktunaxa celebrate St. Eugene ownership". Cranbrook Daily Townsman. June 24, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Ktunaxa regain sole ownership of St. Eugene resort". Cranbrook Daily Townsman. June 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ "St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino". Retail & Food Best Practices. July 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Newly renovated Casino of the Rockies at St. Eugene Resort reveals new nature inspired redesign". Kootenay Business. July 18, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Migdal, Alex (June 30, 2021). "182 unmarked graves discovered near residential school in B.C.'s Interior, First Nation says". CBC News. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "ʔaq̓am Statement on Discovery of Unmarked Graves" (PDF). June 30, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  9. 1 2 "St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino - Cranbrook BC". AAA.
  10. ↑ "Amenities and facilities". St. Eugene Resort.
  11. ↑ "Table Games & Slots". Casino of the Rockies.
  12. ↑ "REVIEW: ST. EUGENE GOLF RESORT". golfismentalblog.com. May 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ "St. Eugene Writers Conference | At St. Eugene, the stories begin anew. At St. Eugene, the stories begin anew". Steugenewriters.ca. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  14. ↑ "The Ktunaxa are proud owners of SEGRC". Kootenay Business. July 11, 2017.

49°35′10″N115°45′26″W / 49.5860°N 115.7572°W / 49.5860; -115.7572

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