Twenty tribal members filed a lawsuit this week alleging they were abused at the St. Joseph's Indian School in South Dakota.
The plaintiffs say they suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse at the school in an attempt to Americanize them. They said they were not allowed to speak their tribal languages.
The lawsuit names the school, the Congregation of Priests of the Sacred Heart and the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton as defendants.
It was filed in county court by the same lawyer who filed the $25 billion Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school suit that was dismissed by a federal judge who said the plaintiffs failed to go through the BIA before going to the courts.
Orrie Harry Charger, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, has already sued St. Joseph's in federal court.
Get the Story:
Indians sue, cite abuse at Catholic elementary
(The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 5/20)
Relevant Links:
St. Joseph's Indian School - http://www.stjo.org
Related Stories:
Indian man files lawsuit over boarding school
abuse (01/26)
Lawyer in $25B abuse case to
file claim with BIA (11/17)
Judge
dismisses $25B BIA boarding school suit (11/08)
Lawsuit filed over abuse at Indian boarding school
Friday, May 20, 2005
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