Essential to confronting the history of Holy Rosary Mission (HRM) boarding school is examining the information held in our historic archives. In September 2022, Red Cloud hired Gabrielle Guillerm as a full time Research Coordinator for the Truth and Healing Project. Gabrielle’s work is based in Milwaukee at the Raynor Memorial Library at Marquette University where the HRM Collections are held.

Gabrielle’s research agenda is set by the Community Advisory Council (CAC) which consists of community leaders from the Pine Ridge Reservation. The CAC established the following research projects for Gabrielle to begin with:

1. Creating a comprehensive list of all the children who attended HRM between 1888 and 1980 when the boarding school closed.
2. Establishing some clarity on the funding relationship between HRM and the federal government.
3. Finding out how HRM came to acquire the land they currently hold.
4. Finding evidence of agency and resistance by boarders at the school.

Research Inquiries and Archival Accessibility

The archival materials for Holy Rosary Mission and Red Cloud are currently held at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You can visit the website for those archives here.

We remain committed to transparency. If there are specific questions you have about research, items in the archive, or are looking for specific records related to family history, please feel free to contact Gabrielle Guillerm directly at gabrielleguillerm@redcloudschool.org.

Increasing accessibility to these records is a goal of the Truth and Healing Project. We are currently working with the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and Marquette University to establish a joint project to digitize as many of the HRM records as possible to make them digitally accessible.

Mahpiya Luta Summer Research Institute

The Mahpiya Luta Summer Research Institute is a two week summer program for Mahpiya Luta - Red Cloud High School students that provides a forum for research, critical thinking, and community education focused on the history and impact of Indian boarding schools. Students will spend two weeks on the campus of Marquette University and utilize the archives of Holy Rosary Mission.

The Institute includes time focused specifically on historical research of the Holy Rosary Mission, presentations and training on using archives for historical research, opportunities to engage in original archival research, and creation of a final exhibition to share with their community in Pine Ridge. Students will stay on the campus of Marquette University and experience campus life as well as opportunities to explore the city of Milwaukee throughout the weeks.

For more information or to apply, contact Billy Critchley-Menor at williamcritchleymenor@redcloudschool.org .