Fort Yuma Indian School

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet came to Fort Yuma in 1886; Sister Ambrosia (Mary O'Neil) was appointed superintendent by the United States Department of the Interior. Formal transfer of authority from Department of Interior to the Sisters took place on April 5, 1886. The chief of the Yuma at the time of the Sisters' arrivals, Chief Pascual, agreed to encourage Yuma children to attend the school. Chief Pascual died on May 9, 1887 during a measles and chicken pox epidemic. He was succeeded by Chief Miguel, who opposed Christianity and the school's mission. Father J.A. Stephan of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions threatened Chief Miguel with the removal of Yuma children to Washington. Over the next few years, conflict grew between the Yuma and the school; in 1899, a group of Yuma led by Miguel's son Patrick Miguel attempted to set the school on fire. The Sisters of St. Joseph ultimately closed the school at the end of the 1900 term.

The Sisters of St. Joseph first occupied Fort Yuma in 1886. The Sisters stayed at the fort until government policy forced them out in 1900.

In 1893, school officials forced the ouster of Chief Miguel, replacing him with a chief whom they expected to view the school more favorably, Joe Palma. The school was involved in forcing Quechan farmers to sign leases through a government administered program and moving control over agricultural endeavors away from the tribe. In a 1928 testimony before a Senate commission, Patrick Miguel (son of Chief Miguel and a graduate of the Carlisle School) emphasized "the inadequacy of the food provided to Quechan children."