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Giago: Underground Railroad to escape boarding school
Tuesday, July 12, 2005

"When Richard “Sonny” Torres and Ray Briggs arrived at Holy Rosary Indian Mission in the fall of 1951 the first thing they did was to look for a way to escape.

They were city boys and looked at things a little differently than those of us that were reservation born and raised. For instance, when they saw the wire-meshed screen on the window in the big boy’s recreation room, they saw an exit to freedom. I saw it as just another window.

There was nothing spontaneous about the plan they hatched to escape. First they found a way to loosen the screws on the recreation room window. And then they chose a Sunday night to make their escape.

Taking advantage of their street-wise ways, they contacted their friend, Glen Three Stars, in Pine Ridge Village and set up a time and place for him to meet them with his car."

Get the Story:
Tim Giago: Running away from Holy Rosary Mission (The Native American Times 7/12)

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