In 1893, the first Methodist Church-run residential school in central Alberta opened in the Red Deer, Alberta area. Located just west of the present-day City of Red Deer, the Red Deer Industrial Institute was located in Treaty No. 6 and No. 7 Territories on the north side of the Red Deer River. 

The institute could house up to 50 students and had 480 acres of farmland, which the institute worked by exploiting male students as farmhands. Enrollment at the institute was low. The nearest reserve was 65 kilometres away, which meant students had a lengthy trip from their communities to the institute. 

The distance between First Nations and the institute combined with the outbreak of Spanish Flu and smallpox led to the institute’s closure in 1919. 

In 2005, members of Red Deer’s Sunnybrook United Church, along with First Nations and Métis community members, began efforts to research and care for the Red Deer Industrial Institute cemetery, and advocate for its protection. On June 30, 2010, a Ceremony was held to remember and name children who attended the institute. In 2018, the Government of Alberta purchased a parcel of land containing the Red Deer Industrial Institute cemetery to preserve the site and work collaboratively with Survivor communities regarding access, management, and commemoration.

Red Deer Industrial School Cemetery Preservation and Recognition initiative

Today, the Ministry of Alberta Arts, Culture and Status of Women is collaborating with twelve Indigenous communities whose children were forced to attend the Red Deer Industrial Institute. The initiative, which began in February 2021 and is ongoing, seeks community guidance regarding truth-telling and the preservation and recognition of the cemetery.