From its founding in 1888 until 1980, Red Cloud was a boarding school—one of over 350 institutions established in the nineteenth century created to assimilate Native children. We recognize we can never authentically serve our community, or honor our own staff members, students and families, parishioners, and artists with whom we partner, if we do not first openly and humbly address the tragic injustices in our past.
January Updates
Alumni and Survivor Outreach
We held two meetings in December with elders who boarded at Holy Rosary; one in Pine Ridge and another gathering in Rapid City. The participants shared their experiences at Holy Rosary and provided feedback and wishes for Truth and Healing. If you or a relative boarded at Holy Rosary or Our Lady of Lourdes and would be interested in participating in this initiative, please reach out to us here. 
Expanding Research Initiatives
We continue working with our partners at Marquette University Archives and the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition in planning to digitize and make accessible our historic records. We are also seeking to include a full time research coordinator as part of our office. Look for more details on this shortly. 
Community Advisory Council
In order for the Truth and Healing process to be oriented to the wider community and center the voices of survivors, alumni and their descendants, we are creating a community advisory council. This council will meet every other month to provide oversight, give feedback, and guide the vision of the Truth and Healing. The group will consist primarily of elders and boarders. Other members will include community advocates, internal staff, and members of external organizations. Participants will be compensated for their presence on this council. 
Ground Penetrating Radar
Our plan and timeline for carrying out ground penetrating radar on targeted areas of our campus was endorsed by the Health and Human Services Committee of the Oglala Sioux Tribe at their Monday, January 17th meeting. For more information on GPR, please view this interview with Marsha Small (Northern Cheyenne) who will be our consultant in this project. 
Resources of Interest
This Land Podcast: Hosted by Rebecca Nagle, "How a string of custody battles over Native children became a federal lawsuit that threatens everything from tribal sovereignty to civil rights."

Indigenous People's Day with Rosella Kinoshameg: AMDG Podcast Co-host MegAnne Liebsch talks to Rosella about the ongoing trauma in her community, an Ojibwe First Nation reservation on Manitoulin Island, Canada. Rosella also shares moments of joy from her vast ministry with the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre, which is a work of the Jesuits of Canada.
Community Input
We are open to suggestions and input in this process as we seek to engage the wider community. If you have suggestions, questions, or concerns about this process please feel free to fill out this form and we will try to be in touch with you. Thank you for journeying with us in this important work.
Red Cloud Indian School | Website