The Order of St. Benedict apologize to White Earth Nation for Native boarding school

St. Benedict's Mission Church and rectory, around 1885.
St. Benedict's Mission Church and rectory, around 1885.
Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

A Minnesota religious order has apologized to the White Earth Nation for harm caused to generations of Native Americans at a church-run boarding school. The federal government used boarding schools to separate Native children from their families, culture, and language.

One of these boarding schools was on the White Earth reservation and was operated by the Sisters of the Order of St Benedict in St Joseph. With the apology, the Sisters of St Benedict and the people of White Earth are now beginning a journey of truth and reconciliation.

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