St. Rose Academy: A Boarding School for American Indian Girls in Avoca, Minnesota

Description

The sisters of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) founded St. Rose Academy, a Catholic boarding and day school, in Avoca, Minnesota, in 1883. In 1884, Bishop John Ireland of St. Paul secured a US government contract to educate American Indian girls at the academy. The SHCJ sisters operated this boarding school for Native girls for the next seven years. The sisters kept a House Journal recording the school’s operations during this time, offering a fascinating glimpse of the daily activities of its teachers and students and their struggles in a newly-settled community on the western Minnesota prairie. About the Presenters: Janet Timmerman is an Independent Scholar from Lake Wilson, MN. She previously worked as the Museums Coordinator for the Murray County Historical Society until her retirement in 2022. Anita Talsma Gaul is a History Instructor at Minnesota West Community & Technical College in Worthington, MN. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. The photograph is courtesy of the Murray County Historical Society.