American Indians Continue to Benefit as University Upholds Intent of Pioneer Sister of Mercy

February 25, 2010 - 2:08 PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact:
Beth Dugan, External Communications Manager
Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community
e-mail: bdugan@mercywmw.org
phone: 773-779-6011 x15

Julie A Pelletier, Associate Professor,
e-mail : pelletja@morris.umn.edu
UMM Social Sciences, Div of (office: Div of Social Science) UMM Morris

OMAHA, NE (February 25, 2010) - Foundress Catherine McAuley would indeed be proud. For more than a century now, thanks much to the efforts of Sister Mary Joseph Lynch (1827-1898), American Indian students attending the University of Minnesota at Morris (http://www.morris.umn.edu/) have done so tuition-free -- a policy that continues today.

"The university makes its home on a 123-year-old campus where its first buildings housed an American Indian boarding school," explained Julie Pelletier, associate professor, division of social sciences at the University of Minnesota at Morris (UMM). "The boarding school was first administered by the Sisters of Mercy and later by the United States Government. When the boarding school closed in 1909, the campus was transferred to the State of Minnesota. There was, however, one stipulation of the transfer: 'American Indian students shall at all times be admitted to such school free of charge for tuition.'"

The boarding school's founder, Sister Mary Joseph Lynch, or Mother Joseph as she was better known, was originally a nurse in her native land of Ireland. In fact, she served in the Crimean War (of Florence Nightingale's era). She migrated to the U.S. in 1859 and started foundations for the Sisters of Mercy in several locations, including: Grand Rapids and Big Rapids, Mich.; Anoka and Morris, Minn.; and Portland, Ore.

Once in the U.S., Mother Joseph, described "as a woman who could not live without something useful to do, was called on by bishops and priests to educate the middle class. While she carried out this assignment with 'gusto'", according to Sister Kathleen O'Brien in Journeys: A Pre-Amalgamation History of the Sisters of Mercy Omaha Province, the work Mother Joseph really cherished was serving those who were socially and economically poor - especially American Indians.

In fact it was in Morris that she had planned to open a school for American Indians. This was about the same time that the U.S. Government offered contracts for educating American Indians. Mother Joseph's contract from the government came in 1886. The mission school, named Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, quickly grew from 12 students to 50. But while enrollment grew, government funding never seemed adequate to meet all the associated expenses.

While life at Sacred Heart was not easy for the sisters or the students, Mother Joseph enjoyed her work there, as did her fellow sisters. She told one of the government inspectors: "I want to live 'till I die working for the Indians and all the sisters wish to do the same." Unfortunately the government had different expectations and by 1896 there were no government funds available for Sacred Heart.

Seeing the end of her mission in sight, Mother Joseph said, "It will break my heart to part with the Indians. They are so good and much easier to teach than whites. I have been teaching now for 51 years since I became a sister, so I can judge pretty well." In 1896, Mother Joseph sadly turned over the mission to the U.S. Government and, after settling matters, including seeing that all the children were transported safely to their homes, she and her sisters left Morris to establish a new foundation in Portland, Ore. Mother Joseph was 69.

Referring to research done by UMM Professor of History Bert Ahern, who has written an article about the boarding school, Julie noted that the students, recruited primarily from the Dakota and Ojibwa (Chippewa) tribes in Minnesota and the Dakotas, appeared to be better off when the sisters ran the school than when the U.S. government took it over.

Julie recently visited the archives of the former Sister of Mercy Regional Community of Omaha to learn more about Mother Joseph, the Sisters of Mercy and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. She also met with the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community Leadership Team, sisters and staff at the central administrative office to provide an overview of the university that continues the tradition of providing American Indians with a tuition-free education. She used the opportunity to present a gift of thanks to the Community - a UMM Circle of Nations Indian Association t-shirt. In turn, the Community presented her with a copy of Journeys: A Pre-amalgamation History of the Sisters of Mercy by Sister Kathleen O'Brien, RSM, to help enrich UMM's archival material on the boarding school era.

"Sister Jeanne Ward (local archivist) and I were gratified by Professor Pelletier's visit," said Monte Kniffen, senior archivist of the WMW Community. "As illustrated here, each of the former regional communities has an archival repository full of rich history and the materials are a gold mine for researchers of American culture."

CUTLINES:
LEFT TO RIGHT: Sister Michelle Gorman, Julie Pelletier, Sister Norita Cooney, Sister Judith Frikker and Sister Kathy Thornton are shown with a painting of Sister Mary Joseph Lynch who negotiated a tuition-free benefit for all American Indians attending the University of Minnesota at Morris - a benefit that the university continues to honor today.

ARCHIVIST Monty Kniffen (left) and Julie Pelletier, associate professor, division of social sciences at the University of Minnesota at Morris (UMM) are shown in the Sisters of Mercy's heritage room at the Omaha office. They are holding a copy of Sister Kathleen O'Brien's book, "Journeys: A Pre-Amalgamation History of the Sisters of Mercy Omaha Province." The book describes in detail how Sister Mary Joseph Lynch established a boarding school for American Indians in Morris, which is now the location of the university.

*****

The Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community has sites in Auburn and Burlingame, Calif.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Chicago, Ill.; Detroit, Mich.; and Omaha, Neb., with Sisters living and ministering in 28 states and five other countries. It is one of six geographical communities that make up the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, an international community of women religious vowed to serve people who suffer from poverty, sickness, and ignorance, with a special concern for women and children. In innovative and traditional ways, Sisters of Mercy address human needs through collaborative efforts in education, healthcare, housing, spiritual, pastoral and social services. The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy is comprised of more than 4,000 Sisters and 3,000 Mercy Associates and Companions in Mercy

The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas sponsor or co-sponsor seven major national healthcare systems, 20 colleges and universities, 20 elementary and preschools, 39 secondary schools, and hundreds of affordable housing developments. They also serve in programs ranging from hospice for persons with HIV/AIDS, to adult literacy centers and resettlement programs for refugees.

To learn more, go to: www.mercywestmidwest.org or www.sistersofmercy.org

Contact

Sisters of Mercy West Midwest
http://www.mercywestmidwest.org/index.php
IL, 60655 US
Beth Dugan - External Communications Manager, 773 7796011

Keywords

tution, university of minnesota

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