The Washington Post has uncovered a harrowing tale of sexual abuse endured by Native American children in Catholic-run boarding schools across America. From 1819 to 1969, tens of thousands of children were sent to over 500 boarding schools, with at least 80 of them operated by the Catholic Church. The children were stripped of their identities, beaten for speaking their languages, and subjected to emotional scars that still haunt Native American families today.
The investigation revealed that at least 122 priests, sisters, and brothers assigned to 22 boarding schools since the 1890s were accused of sexually abusing Native American children. The abuse, which involved more than 1,000 children, occurred mostly in the 1950s and 1960s in remote regions of the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
One survivor, Katherine Mendez, bravely shared her story of abuse at St. Mary’s Mission in 1966. She recounted how a senior Jesuit priest, John J. Morse, preyed upon her, threatening her with never seeing her mother again if she spoke out. Mendez’s story is just one of many, with abuse spanning over two decades at the school.
The Jesuits paid a $166 million settlement in 2011 to their victims, shedding light on the atrocities committed in Native boarding schools. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a descendant of boarding school victims, has been instrumental in uncovering lost cemeteries where victims were buried.
The crimes in these boarding schools continue to have ripple effects, with Canada leading the way in making amends to victims. The dark history of these schools serves as a reminder of the inhumanity that lurked beneath the surface for so long.