Loretto Shares Research To Date on Native Boarding Schools It Operated

In 2012 the Loretto Community was dismayed to learn of the Doctrine of Discovery, the religious, political and legal justification for colonization and seizure of land not inhabited by Christians. We confronted the history we had ignored and how we had allowed our own ignorance. Loretto repudiated that doctrine in 2012.

But repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery is not enough. At the Loretto President’s direction, in cooperation with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland’s Federal Boarding Schools Initiative, we are studying the history of the Native Boarding Schools operated by the Sisters of Loretto during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Loretto President Barbara Nicholas intends that our future actions be informed by what we learn.

We invite you to visit Loretto’s Facebook page this week as we share the research of our study of the history of Native Boarding schools operated by the Sisters of Loretto. You can also read all the posts here.