Red Deer Industrial School opened in 1893 in what was then the District of Alberta. Located three miles west of Red Deer, Alberta, on the opposite bank of the Red Deer River, it was the first Methodist residential school to operate in the area. While the school was roughly the same size of similar institutions, it was unique in that it was located a significant distance from the Indigenous communities it was supposed to serve, with the nearest reserve being 65 kilometers away. This distance from Indigenous communities, in combination with the outbreak of the Spanish Flu and a subsequent outbreak of smallpox, lead to the school’s closure in 1919. Five years later, the Methodists opened Edmonton (Poundmaker) Residential School, which was closer to its intended Indigenous communities.
Remembering the Following Students:
| Name | Date of Death (Year/Month/Day) |
|---|---|
| Abel Half | 1894-08-01 – 1894-08-31 |
| Adaline Makokis | 1907-03-15 |
| Alfred James (A) | 1899-09-01 – 1899-09-30 |
| Alfred James (B) | Not known |
| Alfred Rain | Not known |
| Andrew Laroque | Not known |
| Anna Mackie | ca. 1919-01-01 |
| Anna Makokis | 1904-08-30 |
| Archie Jackson | Not known |
| Betsy Lepatac | 1895-12-22 |
| Betsy Raindeer | Not known |
| Charles Hunter (Red Deer) | 1904-09-04 |
| David Larocque | 1909-01-01 |
| David Laroque | ca. 1909-03-01 |
| David Lightning | 1918-11-14 – 1918-11-16 |
| David Rain | Not known |
| Edward Whitecap | 1903-06-30 |
| Eliza Bird | ca. 1899-07-01 |
| Eliza Francis | Not known |
| Eliza Kaachehow | 1908-09-16 |
| Ellen Hart | Not known |
| Emily Stanley | 1896-11-18 |
| Emma Muskegapoo | Not known |
| Emma Stanley | 1902-03-06 |
| Eva Hoole | Not known |
| Florence Hartie | Not known |
| Georgina House | 1918-11-14 – 1918-11-16 |
| Gretchen Joshua | 1906-08-07 |
| Irene Stoney | 1915-06-04 |
| Isaac Pain | Not known |
| James Frank | 1913-12-01 |
| Jane Baptiste | 1918-11-16 |
| Jerimiah Hoole | 1912-01-01 |
| Job. A. Lepatac | Not known |
| John Bull | Not known |
| John Levens | Not known |
| John Sinclair | 1906-07-01 – 1906-07-31 |
| Jonas Samson | Not known |
| Joseph Ma-Gwa-Sew | Not known |
| Joseph Poitois | 1887-01-19 |
| Joshua Jacob | 1895-04-29 |
| Joshua Jones | ca. 1899-01-01 |
| Joshua Saskatchewan | 1897-01-07 |
| Lottie Ann McCorrester | ca. 1899-07-01 |
| Louisa Steinhauer | 1908-08-14 |
| Maggie Laroque | 1919-01-01 |
| Mary Ann Samson | Not known |
| Mary Baptiste | 1903-09-01 |
| Mary Sharphead | 1910-06-20 |
| Melvin Reindeer | 1903-05-01 – 1903-05-31 |
| Nellie Bremner | 1909-03-01 |
| Peggy Bull | 1896-12-06 |
| Philip Joshua (A) | ca. 1919-01-01 |
| Philip Joshua (B) | Not known |
| Pruden Augustine | Not known |
| Rachel Hairline | 1896-12-01 – 1896-12-31 |
| Sarah Bohner | Not known |
| Sarah Gaetz | 1904-05-01 – 1904-05-31 |
| Sarah Mary McRae | 1902 |
| Sarah Sampson | 1894-01-01 |
| Sarah Soosay | 1918-11-14 – 1918-11-16 |
| Solomon Applegarth | Not known |
| Sophia Julia Half | 1913-05-01 – 1913-05-31 |
| Sophia Julia Half | Not known |
| Sophia Sinclair | ca. 1914 |
| Sophie Rain | 1903-04-01 – 1903-04-30 |
| Susan Sharphead | ca. 1909 – 1910 |
| William Bernard | 1904-05-20 |
| William Cardinal | 1918-11-14 – 1918-11-16 |
| William Sauteau | Not known |