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Notes for Using this List:
● The Tribal Nations impacted are listed as they appear in historical documents and may not reflect the names used by the Nations today.
● An asterisk next to the name of a religious community means that the community has verified the dates as accurate.
● This list was last updated on May 5, 2023
Academy of the Holy Child
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1883–1902
Current Diocese: Winona-Rochester
Previous Dioceses Involved:
St. Paul, 1883–1889
Winona, 1889–1902
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Society of the Holy Child Jesus (American Province), 1883–1890*
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, 1890–1902*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Hunkpapa Sioux; Ojibwa/Chippewa
Notes: The Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus opened a parish school and a boarding school in Avoca. Due to financial issues, Archbishop John Ireland of the Archdiocese of St. Paul signed a contract with the U.S. government to educate 50 Native American girls. On September 4, 1884, 13 Sioux girls arrived and were later joined by a small group of Chippewa girls. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet took over the school and may have changed the name to St. Rose School/Academy or St. Rose’s Convent due to its proximity to the parish of the same name. The government contract was terminated in 1893, and the school closed in 1902.
The Department of Interior list includes a school called St. Francis Xavier School in Avoca. It has not been determined yet if this was a separate school or another name for the Academy of the Holy Child.
Avoca Minnesota
Bernalillo Boarding School for Indian Girls
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1885–1935
Current Diocese: Santa Fe
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of Loretto, 1885–1935*
On a Reservation: Tamaya Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Genízaro; Mestizos; Tiwa
Notes: In 1875, the Sisters of Loretto opened a day school for local girls. In December 1886, the school received a federal contract to teach Native American girls, and the name was changed to the Bernalillo Boarding School for Indian Girls. Government funding ended about 1901, but the school continued to operate as a Native American boarding school using money received from Mother Katharine Drexel of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions.
Bernalillo New Mexico
Boarding School for Boys
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1878–1908
Current Diocese: Spokane
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Nesqually, 1873–1907
Seattle, 1907–1908
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (West Province), 1878–1908*
On a Reservation: Colville Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Chehalis; Colville; Kalispel; Lakes; Okanogan; Sanpoil; Upper and Lower Spokane
Notes: Jesuit records and Catholic directories do not give a name for the school (in Catholic directories, it is listed as a boarding school for Indian boys). It may have been called St. Francis Regis, which was the name of the mission. The school is sometimes listed as being located in Ward, but Catholic directories indicate that the school was located on the Colville Reservation with Ward the mailing address.
Colville Reservation Washington
Convent of Our Lady of the Lake
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1885–1896
Current Diocese: New Ulm
Previous Diocese Involved:
St. Paul, 1885–1896
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Paul Province, 1885–1896*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Sisseton Reservation, South Dakota
Notes: The school opened in 1885 and shortly thereafter, the school received government funding to educate Native American girls from the Sisseton Reservation in South Dakota. On February 7, 1886, seven girls arrived from Sisseton. In 1896, the government discontinued funding for the school and the girls were sent back to South Dakota. The school continued to operate as a school for children in the Graceville area until it was destroyed by fire in 1898. A new school was built and reopened as St. Mary’s Academy in 1900.
Graceville Minnesota
Copper Valley School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1956–1971
Current Diocese: Anchorage-Juneau
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska, 1956–1962
Fairbanks, 1962–1966
Anchorage, 1966–1971
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (West Province), 1956–1971*
Sisters of St. Ann (St. Joseph Community), 1956–1971*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Ahtna
Notes: The school was originally intended as a college preparatory high school, but many grade-school-age children transferred from Holy Cross in Koserefsky (see entry below). The school opened as an elementary school which was phased out as the children moved into high school.
Glennallen Alaska
Dakota Indian Industrial School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1884–1887
Current Diocese: Sioux Falls
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Dakota, 1884–1887
On a Reservation: Yankton Agency
On the Department of the Interior List: No
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Yankton Dakota
Notes: The bishop of the Vicariate Apostolic of Dakota opened the school with a federal contract to educate 50 Native American boys. The school was operated by diocesan priests and staffed with lay teachers. It closed in 1887.
Yankton South Dakota
De Smet Boys’ Industrial School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1878–1931
Current Diocese: Boise
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Idaho, 1878–1893
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (West Province), 1878–1931*
On a Reservation: Coeur d’Alene Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Blackfoot; Chewelah; Coeur d’Alene; Colville; Cree; Flathead; Kalispel; Kamloop; Nez Perce; Ojibwe; Okanagan; Spokane; Umatilla; Yakama
Notes: The Jesuits operated a boy’s school until 1931 when it merged with Mary Immaculate School in De Smet (see below).
De Smet Idaho
Fort Yuma Indian School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1886–1900
Current Diocese: San Diego
Previous Diocese Involved:
Monterey and Los Angeles, 1886–1900
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (Los Angeles Province), 1886–1900*
On a Reservation: Fort Yuma Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Quechan; Yuma
Notes: The United States Army built Fort Yuma in 1851, which was converted in 1884 to a government school run by a Presbyterian teacher. The school was unsuccessful, and the Sisters of St. Joseph assumed control in 1886.
Fort Yuma California
Holy Childhood of Jesus School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1885–1988
Current Diocese: Gaylord
Previous Diocese Involved:
Grand Rapids, 1884–1971
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Order of Friars Minor (Province of the Sacred Heart), 1885–1988
School Sisters of Notre Dame (Central Pacific Province), 1886–1988*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Ojibwa; Ottawa
Notes: The Franciscan Fathers opened a day school in 1885, and the School Sisters of Notre Dame arrived in 1886 to open the boarding school. The boarding school closed at the end of the 1982–1983 school year, and the day school closed at the end of the 1987–1988 school year.
Harbor Springs Michigan
Holy Cross Mission School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1888–1969
Current Diocese: Fairbanks
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vancouver Island (British Columbia), 1888–1894
Prefecture Apostolic of Alaska, 1894–1916
Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska, 1916–1951
Vicariate of Northern Alaska, 1951–1962
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of St. Ann (St. Joseph Community), 1888–1956 and 1965–1969*
Jesuits (West Province), 1888–1956*
Brothers of Christian Instruction, 1904–1910
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Ingalik; Ten’a; Yupik Eskimo
Notes: The school was originally two separate schools: an industrial school for boys, a boarding school, and an orphanage for girls. The schools merged between 1947–1948. The boarding school closed in 1956, and the students were transferred to Glennallen (see entry above). The day school continued to operate with a lay teacher until 1965, when the Sisters of St. Ann returned.
Holy Cross (formerly Koserefsky) Alaska
Holy Family Mission School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1890–1940
Current Diocese: Helena
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (West Province), 1890–1940*
Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union (Western Province), 1890–1940*
On a Reservation: Blackfeet Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Blackfeet; Cree; Ojibwe; Piegan
Notes: The Jesuits ran the Holy Family mission and staffed the boys’ school. The Ursulines staffed the school for girls.
Holy Family Mission Montana
Holy Family School (St. Ignatius Indian School)
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1864–1919
Current Diocese: Helena
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Nebraska, 1864–1868
Vicariate Apostolic of Idaho, 1868–1883
Vicariate Apostolic of Montana, 1883-1884
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of Providence (formerly Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor), 1864–1919*
Jesuits (West Province), 1864–1919*
On a Reservation: Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Blackfoot; Cheyenne; Coeur d’Alene; Colville; Cree; Flathead; Gros Ventre; Iroquois; Kalispel; Kootenai; Nez Perce; Ojibwe; Piegan; Salish; Snake; Spokane; Umatilla; Upper Pend d’Oreilles
Notes: The Sisters of Providence (formerly Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor) opened a boarding school for girls in 1864 (boys attended the Jesuits’ school). In 1878, the Jesuits opened an industrial and agricultural boarding school for boys over the age of 12, and the sisters opened their day school to boys under 12. In 1919, the sisters’ convent and school were destroyed by fire, and the sisters chose not to rebuild the school. See the entries for St. Ignatius, Villa Ursula, and St. Ignatius, St. Ignatius Indian Boarding School for more information.
St. Ignatius Montana
Holy Rosary Mission School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1952–1966
Current Diocese: Anchorage-Juneau
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska, 1952–1962
Fairbanks, 1962–1966
Anchorage, 1966
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (West Province), 1952–1966*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: No
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Eskimo; Innuit
Notes: In 1948, the Jesuit who founded the Holy Rosary mission began teaching local children with the goal of opening a school. In 1952 the school opened and was staffed by Jesuits working at the mission as well as lay teachers.
Dillingham Alaska
House of the Good Shepherd
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1885–1891
Current Diocese: Denver
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Colorado, 1885–1887
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of the Good Shepherd (Province of Mid-North America), 1885–1891*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Dakota
Notes: The Sisters of the Good Shepherd operated a convent and residential school for “wayward” girls in Denver. In 1885, they received a federal contract to educate Native American girls from North Dakota at the school. The program ended in 1891, and the last of the girls returned to North Dakota on August 26, 1891.
Denver Colorado
Immaculate Conception Indian School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1886–present [2023]
Current Diocese: Sioux Falls
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Dakota, 1886–1889
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Order of St. Benedict (Saint Meinrad Abbey, St. Meinrad, IN), 1886–1954*
Order of St. Benedict (Blue Cloud Abbey, Marvin, SD), 1954–1971*
Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery (Yankton, SD), 1887–1963
Benedictine Sisters of Watertown, SD, 1963–1971
On a Reservation: Crow Creek Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Santee; Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota
Notes: In 1971, the Crow Creek Reservation took over ownership of the school and it was renamed the Crow Creek Tribal School.
Stephan South Dakota
Indian Girls’ Industrial School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1886–1934
Current Diocese: Ogdensburg
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 1886–1934*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: No
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Mohawk
Notes: In 1880, the Sisters of Mercy established a motherhouse and a boarding school in Hogansburg. The school was intended to be a parochial boarding school for white children with a few students from the nearby St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. In 1905, Katharine Drexel visited the school and suggested it be converted to an Indian Boarding School. From 1905 until the school closed in 1934, Drexel donated $5,000 each year to support the 50 Native American girls who attended the school. The school was located on property adjacent to the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.
Hogansburg New York
Little Flower School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1928–1971 (see notes)
Current Diocese: Fargo
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Order of St. Benedict (Saint Meinrad Abbey, St. Meinrad, IN), 1928–1954*
Order of St. Benedict (Blue Cloud Abbey, Marvin, SD), 1954–1971*
Sisters of Charity of Montreal (otherwise known as Grey Nuns), 1928–1971*
On a Reservation: Spirit Lake Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota
Notes: In November 1874, the Sisters of Charity of Montreal established St. Michael Mission about a mile from Devil’s Lake. They opened a school, Our Lady of Sorrows School, in February 1875. The school was destroyed by fire in 1883 and was rebuilt at Fort Totten in 1885. That school, St. Michael, was destroyed by fire in 1926. A third school, Little Flower, was built at St. Michael in 1928. The three schools were one mission for the Sisters of Charity of Montreal but were listed separately because each school had a different name and location. The boarding school closed in 1952. The Order of St. Benedict operated the parish at St. Michael. The Spirit Lake Sioux tribal community took over the administration of the school beginning with the 1971–72 school year. See the entries for Fort Totten, St. Michael, and Devil’s Lake, Our Lady of Sorrows for more information.
St. Michael North Dakota
Mary Immaculate School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1878–1974
Current Diocese: Boise
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Idaho, 1878–1893
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (West Province), 1878–1974*
Sisters of Providence (formerly Daughters of Charity, Servants of the Poor), 1878–1974*
On a Reservation: Coeur d’Alene Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Coeur d’Alene
Notes: In 1931, the Jesuits closed the DeSmet Boys’ Industrial School, and the boys were moved to Mary Immaculate, which was co-ed from that point on. The school closed in 1974, and the buildings were transferred to the tribal council.
De Smet Idaho
Mission of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Indian Industrial School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1887–1896 (see notes)
Current Diocese: St. Cloud
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota, 1887–1889
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, 1887–1896*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Ojibwe; Sioux
Notes: In December 1886, the Sisters of Mercy received a government contract to educate 12 children from the Sisseton and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota. Later, children from the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota also attended the school. In 1896, the government canceled the school’s contract, forcing the school to close. The buildings were sold to the federal government who used the property for the Morris Indian School, which closed in 1909.
Morris Minnesota
Nazareth College
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1903–1909
Current Diocese: Tulsa
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Indian Territory, 1903–1905
Oklahoma, 1905–1909
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Brothers of the Sacred Heart, 1903–1909*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Cherokee; Choctaw; Creek; Muskogee
Notes: The Nazareth Institute in Muskogee was both a boarding school for girls and a co-ed day school. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart were invited to Muskogee to open a commercial college for older boys, which they named Nazareth College. The two schools operated on the same property until 1909, when the Brothers purchased 10 acres a mile and a half from the city. That same year they opened St. Joseph’s College at the new location. Brothers continued to teach at the Institute until 1916. See the entries for Muskogee, Nazareth Institute, and Muskogee, St. Joseph College for more information.
Muskogee Oklahoma