[1]: 354  The school, run by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate of the Roman Catholic Church, first opened in 1890.

[5][6] The presence of Roman Catholic missionaries in British Columbia was limited until 1858, when they expanded operations into what is now Canada.

[8] Through an Indigenous-led restoration project, the school building was converted to St. Eugene's Golf Resort and Casino.

[5] On June 30, 2021, the ʔaq̓am First Nation announced that 182 unmarked graves had been discovered using the assistance of ground-penetrating radar.

[2][12] The Leadership of the First Nation has indicated that this was the site of a cemetery and that deterioration of the original wooden crosses over time left graves unmarked; The Leadership states: "These factors, among others, make it extremely difficult to establish whether or not these unmarked graves contain the remains of children who attended the St. Eugene Residential School.