Stanley and don Walker First Communion 1973 Pictures used with permission of Stanley Walke

St. Boniface 1997

Expansion Diffusion

Saint Boniface and Sherman Indian Schools The Indian Schools were created in the 1880's to remove Indian children from the influence of their native cultural and religious beliefs and teach the ways of the majority culture. These schools were usually run by the Roman Catholic Church and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Many Indian children were often forcibly removed from their homes and taken to board at the Indian School. The Federal Government paid a stipend for each child in attendance at the school. The children were forbidden to speak their native languages and were severely punished when they did. The schools were ostensibly created to provide a place for the Indian children to learn the European religious and cultural ways. In addition, the schools provided vocational skills. These schools were usually referred to as Industrial Schools. Many of the children from the local reservations attended St. Boniface in Banning, (1888-1978) as children (Grades 1-8) and Riverside's Sherman Riverside's Sherman Indian High School as adolescents (Grades 9-12).