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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● The Tribal Nations impacted are listed as they appear in historical documents and may not reflect the names used by the Nations today.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
St. Joseph’s Orphanage and School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1860–1956
Current Diocese: Marquette
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Sault Ste. Marie, 1860–1865
Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette, 1865–1937
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (St. Louis Province), 1866–1906 (see notes)*
Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, 1906–1956*
On a Reservation: L’Anse Indian Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: No
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Odaawa; Ojibwe
Notes: The school, built in 1860, was staffed by a priest from the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie until the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet arrived in 1866. In 1877, a boarding school for girls opened, and St. Joseph’s Orphanage was built in 1881. Originally the orphanage was only for boys, while the girls were housed at the Aemilianum Orphan Asylum in Marquette. In 1902, St. Joseph’s began to accept girls, and the Marquette orphanage closed. In 1915, a new orphanage, Holy Family, opened in Marquette, and some students were sent to the new institution. In 1956, St. Joseph and Holy Family merged, the children living at St. Joseph’s moved to Holy Family, and the St. Joseph’s facility closed.
Note about records: The archive for the Sisters of St. Joseph does not have much information about the orphanage and school. It appears that the sisters could have been working with Indigenous people in the Upper Peninsula as early as 1866, but records do not confirm what type of work they were doing (i.e., teaching in a day school, working with orphans, etc.).
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