The residential school was preceded by a small day school, opened by J.C. Richardson in 1884 on the Little Black Bear Reserve and closed soon afterwards. In 1886, R. Toms reopened the day school and it operated until 1889, when the Woman's Missionary Society with the support of the Foreign Mission Committee of The Presbyterian Church in Canada and the Department of Indian Affairs built a new school just outside of the reserve’s boundaries. This was operated by The Presbyterian Church until 1924 when its operation was transferred to the United Church of Canada who managed it until its closure in 1949.

The Dominion Commission (officially "The Commission appointed pursuant to The United Church Act, chapter 100 of the Statutes of Canada, 1924") was formed to enable the distribution of property between the United Church of Canada, which about 70% of Presbyterian Churches in Canada joined, and the remaining "non-concurring" Presbyterian Church.

D.S. Dix was a prominent Presbyterian and then United Church clergyman, whose work included serving as minister to Saskatoon's Westminster Church, as lecturer and professor at the Presbyterian Theological College – which became St. Andrew's College – in Saskatoon, as Principal of St.Andrew's College, and as President of Saskatchewan Conference.

Born in 1875, in Woodbridge (York County), Ontario, Dix trained as a teacher and taught for 6 years before enrolling in the Presbyterian Knox College (University of Toronto). He graduated with a degree in theology, in 1907, and pursued further studies in divinity at Glasgow University (Scotland), the University of Chicago, and Union Seminary (New York). He served as minister to St. James Church (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia), 1908-1910, to Chalmers Church (Guelph, Ontario), 1910-1913, and Westminster Church (Saskatoon), 1913-1919. Dix was also a lecturer and then professor at the Presbyterian Theological College, which became St. Andrew's College (Saskatoon), under its first Principal, Rev. E.H. Oliver. In 1935, Dix was appointed Principal of the College, after the death of E.H. Oliver.

In June 1946, Dix officially retired but remained associated with St. Andrew's College. He served on the United Church Board of Overseas Missions and as President of Saskatchewan Conference (1934-1935). He was Conference Archivist (1947-1953), and chairman of the Conference Historical Committee until his death, in 1956.

The Cooperating committee of Saskatchewan was formed when representatives of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches met at Regina, May 2, 1911, in order to facilitate cooperative activity in various localities in Saskatchewan. The formation of this Committee paralleled a similar action taken at the national level by the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational Churches. After mid-1923, this committee was called the Provincial Committee on Co-operation.