The overall goal of the project was to review Church records and provide information on the history and development of Native American boarding schools under the Catholic Church’s direction in Washington State. Primary research focused on historical materials in the diocesan archives in Washington and available secondary sources. As the project progressed, SRI located additional records in the archives of Marquette University and several individual religious orders whose members supported or served at Native American boarding schools in Washington. The archivists of all these repositories were able to provide research assistance and access to relevant materials. Throughout the study, SRI also had guidance from a WSCC advisory group and met with several other project stakeholders, including the Native American Catholic Advisory Board for the Archdiocese of Seattle, a statewide ad hoc group of Tribal advisors, and a Jesuits West oversight committee for boarding school research in the Oregon Province.
As part of the research process, SRI worked with the archival staff at the Archdiocese of Seattle, the Diocese of Spokane, the Diocese of Yakima, and St. Joseph’s Parish and reviewed their collections. SRI also had calls or visits with archivists from the Sisters of Providence, the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Marquette University, and the Jesuit Archives and Research Center (JARC) in St. Louis, Missouri.
