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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● The Tribal Nations impacted are listed as they appear in historical documents and may not reflect the names used by the Nations today.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. Peter Mission School
Details:
Dates of Operation: 1884–1918
Current Diocese: Great Falls-Billings
Previous Diocese Involved:
Helena, 1884–1904
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (West Province), 1884–1898 (see notes)*
Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union (Western Province), 1884–1918*
On a Reservation: Blackfeet Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: Yes
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Assiniboine; Blackfeet; Cheyenne; Choteaux; Cree; Flathead; Gros Ventres; Iroquois; Ojibwe; Piegan; Snake
Notes: In 1884, the Jesuits staffed the boys’ school, and the Ursulines staffed the girls’ school. By 1896, there were four boarding schools at the mission: a school for white boys, a school for white girls, a school for Native American boys, and a school for Native American girls. In 1896, the Jesuits closed both boys’ schools and withdrew from the mission two years later. After their departure, the Ursulines opened a boys’ school and continued to teach there until about 1908 (a fire destroyed the Jesuit building, possibly the location of the boys’ school). In 1912, the sisters opened Mount Angela Ursuline Academy in Great Falls, and the white students transferred there. In 1918, another fire destroyed buildings at the mission, and the Ursulines closed the school and withdrew from the area.
Note about dates: According to the Jesuits’ “U.S. locations of boarding schools for Native students administered by the Jesuits,” St. Peter’s Mission was closed in 1918, but letters from the Ursuline sisters serving at the school state that the Jesuits withdrew from St. Peter’s in 1898.
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