The old boarding school in Nain is being demolished today, closing what the Nunatsiavut Government calls a “dark chapter in the history of Labrador Inuit.”

The building was built by the Hudson’s Bay Company, and used as a cottage hospital before being turned over to the Moravian Church in 1936 and converted to a boarding school.

The boarding school operated until 1973 and was later used for storage. It has been vacant for more than 30 years.

The Nunatsiavut Government says the Residential School Survivor Committee in Nain made a request to the community’s church group to have the building demolished as part of reconciliation between the Moravian Church and Labrador Inuit.

Minister of Language, Culture and Tourism, Roxanne Barbour says while it’s an emotional day for many people, it’s also a day of empowerment.

She calls the building a “heinous reminder of all the traumas experienced” by Labrador Inuit.