Front Row (L to R): Ronald Bush, Howard Bad Milk, Mary Irving, Elizabeth Garnier
Back Row (L to R): Susan J. Hawk, Assistant, Fred V. Bush, Garfield Apple, Francine Red Willow, James Red Willow, Cecelia Firethunder, Exec. Director & Wanda M. Garnier
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Community Advisory Council (CAC) Gathering
By Susan J. Hawk, Administrative Assistant
On May 31, 2024, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) was re-established, and the first gathering was held at the Red Cloud | Maȟpíya Lúta School in Eben Hall. Lunch was provided with an array of fresh Subway sandwiches, chips, drinks, and cookies to choose from.
It was such a wonderful experience to witness each member arriving and reacquaint themselves with one another, at times in disbelief, with their former classmates. Some of our members had not seen each other in over 50 years! Seeing the hugging, shaking hands, joy, and laughter was a true nurturing of the Wanaǧí-Spirit. After each member-former classmate ate and visited with one another the meeting began and they had an opportunity to introduce themselves and share.
It is with great gratitude and great humbleness that all the committee members are former student boarders of Holy Rosary Mission. We have graduates that range from 1959 to 1975! Who better to guide us forward? The committee members hold a vast wealth of knowledge, education, career and life experience, cultural, and spiritual values, and beliefs. We will cherish, value, and utilize what each member has and will bring to this committee moving forward. Líla Wópila!
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(L to R) Athena White Elk, Paeton Janis, TaShaye Hernandez, Judea Condon & Jacinda Ten Fingers | |
Mahpiya Luta Summer Research Institute (MLSRI) June 2024
By Laree Pourier, Maȟpíya Lúta Owáyawa
Social Studies Department
We have just completed the 2nd annual Mahpiya Luta Summer Research Institute (MLSRI) at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Again, the program proves to be an invaluable opportunity for our students to sharpen their research, writing, and critical thinking skills, and to deepen their understanding of our school’s history.
This year the students’ research topics included: Creative Writing of Red Cloud Students in the 1970s by Jacinda Ten Fingers; Fundraising Strategy: Dehumanization and Pity by Judea Condon; The Imbalance of Academic and Social Learning in the 1940s-1960s by TaShaye Hernandez; Social Conditions in Pine Ridge 1960-1980 by Paeton Janis and The process of Holy Rosary Mission including Lakȟota Culture and Language by Athena White Elk.
The process of arriving at a formed historical analysis after sorting through many boxes and folders of documents and photographs requires incredible focus and dedication, especially within a relatively short span of time—just two weeks! Each of the students succeeded gracefully, a testament to their desire to learn and share with others.
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Tashaye Hernandez, a MLSRI participant and a rising sophomore stated, "We came to the archive to learn about our people and our school’s history and we each found something about ourselves.” | |
Boxes Full of Memories and History
By Cecelia Fire Thunder, Executive Director
This photo shows me with a ledger from 1888 with names of student’s birthdates and years attended. I found my Unci, my father’s mother her family and a few pages later the names of my dad’s father and his cousins. Imagine the feeling that came over me. There are 120 boxes of Holy Rosary Mission documents from 1887 labeled and approximately 22 large boxes of Red Cloud School documents that have not been sorted and categorized. I met the five MLSRI students with Billy and Laree who are this year’s researchers on learning the history of Red Cloud School. The dates of the documents began before 1888. The students had some boxes out so I began my learning in archival research protocols. I met Daniella, a graduate student whom Amy Cary, Head of Archival Collections and Institutional Repository, brought on to help with compiling student names beginning in 1888 that are found in these records. I was taken on a tour of the collection behind a locked area with a temperature of 39 degrees which preserves the paper and I reviewed a letter from 1887 which was clearly readable. I had an introduction and met with two Native/Indian members of Marquette staff, Samantha Mahjor, Assiniboine Dakota, Professor of English and Native American Literature, and Jacqueline Schramm, Ojibwa of Canada, Director of Public Affairs, Special Assistant for Native American Affairs.
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Denver March 2024 Trip
Follow Up
On March 18 - 21, we completed a site visit to the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity (Sacred Heart) archives. In addition, we were fortunate to conduct two interviews with former student boarders of Holy Rosary named Delphine Bad Wound and Margaret Tranekier-Yankton. We are excited to share highlights and pictures of these insightful visits in our next newsletter!
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Billy's Moving On Celebration
By William "Billy" Critchley-Menor, SJ, Maȟpíya Lúta Owáyawa
Teacher of American Literature and Liberation Theology
Working for Mahpiya Luta - Red Cloud has been an incredible gift. It has been an honor and a deep learning experience for me and I am sad to be moving on, though I very much trust I will be back. I began working at Red Cloud on the Truth and Healing Project in 2021 with Maka Black Elk and while it was only three years ago, I have learned enough and had my mind and heart expanded to fill ten years!
A few highlights of my time working with Truth and Healing have been working with Mary Irving and Cecilia Fire Thunder. I was so moved by Mary Irving’s humble, hard work and dedication to documenting and honoring the experiences of as many of her former classmates as she could. She wanted the boarders of Holy Rosary Mission to be the ones who told the story of HRM. I admire her clarity and dedication. The many, many stories she collected will be saved and used to share the history of the school for many years.
Cecelia has been a driving force behind the project. I learned from Cecelia to put all of your energy behind whatever you’re drawn to. She is concerned with telling the stories of the sisters who ran HRM and are so often left out of the history. She also wants to honor all of the Lakota women who became sisters and “gave their lives to God.” Cecelia is such a strong spokesperson for healing, for telling the truth, and for bringing joy into every conversation. Working with her and Susan Hawk made the work fun and enjoyable, even when focused on serious matters.
There is so much more I could say about working with the Truth and Healing project. I have learned so much. I’ve come to believe that a meaningful response to the history of Holy Rosary Mission is to commit to providing very good education and support to current students at Mahpiya Luta and young people in general, supporting them to be good participants and leaders in their community and helping them understand and address the material conditions that our relatives live in. This, I believe, will foster real and lasting healing and I hope we all find and commit to our role in that.
I carry so many people in my heart as I move to Boston and continue my studies and Jesuit formation. The knowledge and experience I’ve received from my time at Mahpiya Luta will greatly enrich this next stage of my life and whatever comes after that. Toksa!
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Gabrielle's Moving On Celebration
By Truth and Healing Staff
Gabrielle Guillerm, our Research Coordinator, has decided to move on and take a lucrative teaching position at the prestigious Sorbonne University located in Paris, France. Gabrielle is originally from Paris, France where she obtained a B.A. and an M.A. from Sarbonne University. She and her husband have§§§§§ been living in the United States for the past ten years where she attended Northwestern University and obtained a Ph.D. in History.
Gabrielle came on board with Red Cloud | Maȟpíya Lúta School Truth and Healing Initiative in September 2022. Her research and data collection about Holy Rosary Mission records from 1888 – 1980, which are primarily housed at Marquette University, has been instrumental in our work of truth and healing. One of the exciting outcomes of the data she has collected is that eventually it will be digitized. This will make it more available and accessible for former student boarders, their families, and Oglala Sioux tribal members.
The Truth and Healing family and the Red Cloud | Maȟpíya Lúta School family at large is sad but cannot help but feel joy for Gabrielle's decision to return to her homeland and to pursue her dreams and aspirations! We honored Gabrielle with a Starquilt. Gabrielle your work and strong spirit will always be remembered by all of us. We wish great health, joy, and happiness for you and your family! Tokša Aké!
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