In the 1830s, Chief Shingwauk traveled by canoe and snowshoe to York (now Toronto) to petition Governor John Colborne to provide resources for a 'Teaching Wigwam' in Garden River.

His arrival resulted in the establishment of a day school at the top of Pim Hill in Sault Ste.

[1] This day school was attended by children from Garden River First Nation and was funded by the government and the Anglican Church.

He worked with the Anglican Church, government, and local First Nation community to raise money for a school.

As a result of his fundraising efforts, the first Shingwauk Industrial Home opened on September 22, 1873, in Garden River First Nation.

On July 31, 1874, the Earl of Dufferin, Governor General of Canada visited the school site and laid the cornerstone of what would become the Shingwauk Home.

Construction continued on the Wawanosh Home until 1879 when the school was opened in earnest and enrollment increased to 15 students.

This new building was designed for 140 students and contained many modern conveniences such as running water and electricity that the old Shingwauk Home did not have.

[11] Until April 1, 1969, all iterations of the Shingwauk Residential School were operated by the Missionary Society of the Church of England.

The building is a mixture of Gothic and Tudor architectural styles and was constructed using sandstone found locally in Sault Ste.

During the operation of the Shingwauk Indian Residential School students and staff attended weekly services at the chapel and the building was also used for weddings, funerals, and special occasions.

During the residential school era staff and church officials received stone headstones but the majority of the students' graves were marked with wooden crosses.

The stone wall which surrounds the older original portion of the cemetery was constructed by the students of the Shingwauk School.

A list of known individuals buried was created to accompany this monument, copies are held in the Bishop Fauquier Memorial Chapel and the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre at Algoma University.

[17] In 2021, the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre created an updated burial register with additional names of those buried in the cemetery.

Similar to other residential schools across Canada there were poor living conditions at Shingwauk and the quality of education that many children received was sub-par.

Many survivors from Shingwauk have spoken about abuse, neglect, and the long-term impacts of the assimilation process that occurred at residential schools.

Students at the Shingwauk Home would have worked at the printmaking shop as part of their manual or industrial school labour.

Scattered throughout are insights into how certain tribes reacted to their mission, and the opinions some individuals held on Residential schooling, and Christianity.

All while never losing the intense focus on the Education and Christian Training of young Indians in Boarding Schools and Industrial Homes.