Truth & Healing | Red Cloud Indian School

From its founding in 1888 until 1980, Red Cloud was an Indian boarding school—one of over 350 institutions established in the nineteenth century created to eliminate Indigenous cultures, languages, and spiritual traditions through the assimilation of 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.

Red Cloud graduate Makȟa Black Elk ‘05, who served as an educator and leader at Red Cloud for the past seven years, now serves as Executive Director for Truth and Healing. In this new role, Makȟa will facilitate the truth and healing process in the months and years ahead.

Statement by Executive Director of Truth & Healing

Jesuits and boys, n.d., 1890-1900, Holy Rosary Mission, SD

When I was born, my grandmother named me Makȟa Akaŋ Nažiŋ, Stands On The Earth, after one of our ancestors. The man I was named after was one of the 38 Dakota men executed in Mankato, MN, in 1862 for his role in the Dakota War, which came as a result of the systematic starvation of the Dakota people at the hands of the Indian Agents.

My little brother was named after Makȟa’s little brother, Šuŋgmanitu Otá Teȟilapi or Loved by Many Wolves, who escaped from Minnesota and traveled west into Dakota territory for safety. He survived, and through his survival, I exist today to carry on his older brother’s name.

As Indigenous people, we carry stories of tragedy and loss, of unimaginable cruelty. Our stories begin with our ancestors who fought, body and spirit, to live in a world that fought just as hard to extinguish them. Our stories continue today with the pain we inflict upon each other often stifled and stuffed inside ourselves, never to be revealed, or longing to be forgotten.

It takes immense courage to tell these stories. And though it may pain us to do so, we share them. For it is through releasing them to the world and ourselves that healing can truly begin.

Henry Westropp, S.J., visiting John Fool Head and family, n.d., 1890-1920, Slim Buttes, SD

Henry Westropp, S.J., visiting John Fool Head and family, n.d., 1890-1920, Slum Buttes, SD

The nineteenth century’s national Indian Boarding School Policy was created to assimilate Native children and systematically destroy Indigenous cultures and communities. The experience of pain and suffering includes Red Cloud, where I spent much of my life as a student, educator, and administrator. Historic trauma at Red Cloud and the surrounding community is inextricably linked with the project of colonization, which violently sought to change Native people without their consent, causing a ripple effect felt to this day.

I start this year in a new role as Executive Director for Truth and Healing. This new role supports the community on a healing journey, which begins first by unearthing the stories of survivors. Uncovering our past requires Red Cloud to take an in-depth look at ourselves, hold up a long-needed mirror, and open our hearts and minds to the stories we wish we could forget.

Red Cloud has a special duty to address our history and provide the space, resources, transparency, and support to the community who feel called to share their stories.

Marching band playing in cemetery, 1937, St. Francis, SD

This process is personal for me. I grew up with a Catholic father and a traditional Lakȟota mother. And as a child, I attended mass regularly with my dad, went to Sundance every summer, participated in Inipi, was baptized, received communion and confirmed in the Catholic church, and participated in our traditional coming of age ceremonies. Both of these ways of prayer are special to me and enrich me now in my adult life. However, I am also profoundly aware of the wrestling that takes place in our minds and hearts when we ask the tough questions about how, when we have a history steeped in violence, can these two different worlds truly ever meet?

I am a graduate of Red Cloud, and I loved my time as a student. I also have ancestors who attended this institution when it was Holy Rosary Mission. Both sides of my family have history in Red Cloud, from Coach Bob Clifford and all his children who attended, to Ben Black Elk, who was a student from 1905 to 1914 before he spent the rest of his education at Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. My family’s experiences shape who I am today. Experiences that were beautiful and terrible.

While boarding schools across the nation share many things in common, it is essential to address Red Cloud Indian School’s unique nature as a boarding school. This process demands we examine, with unflinching honesty, how the Catholic Church participated in the colonization of the Oglala Lakȟóta and other Indigenous peoples across the country. At the same time, it allows us to ask essential questions to support and grow a genuinely anti-colonial Church. I recognize there are no easy answers to the complexities of this history and this relationship—but it is time to engage in these challenging conversations.

Community of Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, n.d., 1890-1920, St. Francis, SD

This process isn’t about me. But I hope by sharing what moves me to this work, I can support the survivors, our storytellers, our youth, and our future. No one person can truly disrupt the community cycle of trauma we find ourselves in today. But together, I pray this opens the door for individuals to share their stories, understand their trauma, heal those wounds that bind us, and move toward a future that allows us to create even more beautiful stories to tell.

I am going to need a lot of help to do this vital work. I am seeking the voices of those who want to share their stories or know someone else who does. I am going to be spending a lot of time listening. So I want to take this moment to also ask for allies in this process. If you would like to talk more about this effort, be a part of this discussion, and contribute to the community effort to address our history, I implore you to make yourself known to me. Please click "Join the Movement" above to be part of this effort.

I am looking forward to standing by your side as we support the stories of our relatives.

Philamayayelo,

Makȟa

Elementary girls with banners in front of school, n.d., 1890-1990, Holy Rosary Mission, SD

Elementary girls with banners in front of school, n.d., 1890-1920, Holy Rosary Mission, SD

Vox Documentary on Boarding School and Indian Adoption History

The Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition:

The Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) was created to develop and implement a national strategy that increases public awareness and cultivates healing for the profound trauma experienced by individuals, families, communities, American Indian and Alaska Native Nations resulting from the U.S. adoption and implementation of the Boarding School Policy of 1869.

Resource List for Trauma Responses:

NABS has compiled a list of resources for both immediate assistance (call or text lines where someone can talk with you immediately) and more long-term care (resources for finding care providers who specialize in treating traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression).

Red Cloud Indian School Historical Records:

Held in Marquette University’s Special Collections and University Archives.

The Kamloops Indian Residential School in 1937. Credit: Archdiocese of Vancouver

Red Cloud Responds to the Discovery of a Mass Grave Discovered at Kamloops

Here at Red Cloud, we are devastated by the news of the 215 unaccounted bodies of children discovered at Kamloops, the largest Indian residential school in Canada, previously run by the Catholic Church. The discovery at Kamloops is another reminder of the horrific history of Indian boarding schools here in the United States. Learn More

Red Cloud Seeks Community Input on the Future of Drexel Hall

Drexel Hall, known as the "old mission building," has stood since 1888, throughout Red Cloud's painful history as a boarding school. As Red Cloud considers Drexel's future, we are asking community members to share their insights and opinions with us. Should the building be maintained, or replaced with something new? Learn more by clicking on the link here, and please share your thoughts with us! Learn More

Confronting Our History Through Truth-Telling

In this new article by the Office of Justice and Ecology of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, Maka Black Elk and Fr. Brad Held, both leaders at Red Cloud, share their perspectives on the importance of grappling with our boarding school history. As Maka explained, “My hope is that through this process — no matter what the outcome is — [its] something that makes us better, that gets us closer to justice.” Read More

Orange Shirt Day

September 2021
Each September, Red Cloud is proud to recognize Orange Shirt Day, an effort that began in Canada and has spread to the United States in remembrance of the children who never returned from Indian boarding schools, and in honor of survivors, their descendants, and Indigenous communities. Learn more about last year’s celebration here.