St. Mary's Mission

Prior to Tribal authority of Paschal Sherman Indian School in 1973, the Jesuits ran St. Mary's Mission (1886 - 1973). The two schools, one active one abandoned, stand side by side in the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Catholic Order Reaches $166 Million Settlement With Sexual Abuse Victims

John Allison, a lawyer based in Spokane, Wash., represented many clients who were abused in the late 1960s and early 1970s while they were students at St. Mary’s Mission in Omak, Wash., near the reservation of the Colville Confederated Tribes, one of the largest reservations in the country. The Jesuits ran the St. Mary’s school until the 1970s, when federal policies began to encourage more Indian control. St. Mary’s is now closed, though its building stands beside a new school.

Mr. Allison noted that English was not the native language for some of the students at the time of the abuse. Some were 6 and 7 years old and came from difficult family situations. Some were orphans. At the same time, many Jesuit priests were not happy to have been assigned to such remote places.

“They let down a very vulnerable population,” Mr. Allison said.  


NW Jesuits to pay $166 million to abuse victims 

The abuses spanned decades and states, from remote Alaskan villages to boarding schools on Northwest tribal lands. Hundreds of victims, most of them Native American or Alaska Natives, were sexually or physically abused as children by Jesuit priests or people the priests supervised. 

Of the 500 victims, about 470 suffered sexual abuse. About two dozen others were physically abused. 


Former St. Mary’s Mission student speaks out after settlement

“I always thought I was the only one." The abuse began soon after a state foster worker sent her to the Omak boarding school in 1966, when she was just 11 years old.


Images of St. Mary's Mission Church.

Images of the school. In 1973 legal authority of the school was transferred to the Colville Confederated Tribes. The school was renamed Paschal Sherman Indian School. The images below were taken inside one of the abandoned buildings that functioned as St. Mary's Mission and then the original Paschal Sherman school.

"The school was named for Paschal Sherman - an early student at the mission school. He was the first Colville native receiver his Doctorate. Dr. Sherman was an educator, humanitarian, and ambassador and was known for maintaining his cultural heritage and retaining his ties to his homeland." 2006-2007 Self Study The stunning new Paschal Sherman Indian School campus was completed in 2005.