‘They Tried to Bury Us. They Did Not Know We Were Seeds.’
Exhibition Dates: March 17-27, 2025
Reception and Conversation with dollmaker Maria Morin McCoy
Thursday, March 20, 5 -7 PM in Inez Room, Library 123
Light refreshments served. All are welcome.
The Spirit Doll Exhibit is a memorial honoring the Native American children who were forcibly removed from their families and community and put in residential boarding schools in the United States and Canada. The Spirit Dolls represent the children who died in the boarding schools never to return home — many buried in unmarked graves without their families being notified. This exhibit was a collective endeavor in which Native American communities and Indigenous Roots communities came together to make the Spirit Dolls that opened ways to release grief and pathways for healing. Some dolls represent members of the makers’ own families.
Maria Morin McCoy, one of the Spirit Doll makers, is a mother of four and grandmother of eight. She comes from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota and is from the Bear Clan. Maria lives in St. Paul, Minnesota and has worked at the American Indian Family Center since 2006.
For resources on Native American boarding schools, visit our Resource Guide: https://libguides.stkate.edu/indigenousboardingschools
For more information, contact:
Sofia “Fia” Vanderlan, President St. Catherine University’s Indigenous Student Alliance: srvanderlan218@stkate.edu
Lizzy Tegeler, Research & Instruction Librarian: ejtegeler865@stkate.edu
Bill McDonough, Professor Emeritus Theology: wcmcdonough@stkate.edu