There are several ways to navigate this list.
BY STATE
Choose the state you want to research from the left sidebar.
BY SCHOOL
See the list below. Click on the school name that you would like to see their information.
BY SEARCH TERM
Enter a word or phrase into the search bar.
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● The Tribal Nations impacted are listed as they appear in historical documents and may not reflect the names used by the Nations today.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Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):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
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Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):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
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
St. Benedict’s Industrial School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1884–1896
Current Diocese: St. Cloud
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota, 1884–1889
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, 1884–1896*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Chippewa from White Earth Reservation
Notes: The Sisters of St. Benedict received a federal contract to educate 30 Native American girls from the White Earth Reservation. The government canceled the contract in 1896, and the school closed.
St. Joseph Minnesota
St. Benedict’s Industrial School for Indian Girls (later St. Benedict’s Mission School)
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1878–1969
Current Diocese: Crookston
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota, 1878–1889
St. Cloud, 1889–1909
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, 1878–1969*
Order of St. Benedict (St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN), 1878–1969*
On a Reservation: White Earth Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Chippewa; Ojibwe
Notes: The school opened in 1878 and was destroyed by fire the following year. It reopened in 1882. In 1945 the boarding school closed. The school transitioned into a day school for local students and was renamed St. Benedict’s Mission School.
White Earth Minnesota
St. John’s Indian Industrial School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1885–1896
Current Diocese: St. Cloud
Previous Diocese Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota, 1885–1889
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Order of St. Benedict (St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN), 1885–1896*
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Chippewa
Collegeville Minnesota
St. Mary’s Mission School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1888–present [2023]
Current Diocese: Crookston
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Minnesota, 1888–1889
Duluth, 1889–1909
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, 1888–2009*
On a Reservation: Red Lake Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Red Lake Chippewa
Notes: The boarding school closed in 1940 and continued as a day school. The Sisters of St. Benedict withdrew from the school in 2009 and turned it over to the Diocese of Crookston.
Red Lake Minnesota
St. Paul’s Industrial School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1881–1895
Current Diocese: New Ulm
Previous Diocese Involved:
St. Paul, 1881–1895
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Franciscans Brothers of Clontarf, 1881–1895* (see notes)
On a Reservation: No
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Chippewa/Ojibwa; Cree; Sioux
Notes: The school opened as a Catholic industrial school for white immigrant boys in Clontarf after an earlier failed start in St. Paul in 1879. It also struggled financially in the new location. In 1884, the school obtained a federal contract to take in Native American boys from the Dakotas. In part, the school continued to operate as a Native American boarding school until the government cut funding in 1892. The school remained open until 1895 when the government purchased the school for its own uses.
Note about the Franciscan Brothers of Clontarf: The bishop of the Diocese of St. Paul asked the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn to staff the school in Clontarf. When the brothers arrived, they did so under the obedience of the bishop and elected a superior, thus establishing a new congregation (independent of the Brothers in Brooklyn). In 1895, the Brothers in Clontarf moved to Spaulding, Nebraska, where they were under the obedience of the Bishop of Omaha. About 1910, they joined the Franciscan community in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and together they became the Third Order Regular Franciscans.
Clontarf Minnesota