St. Joseph's Indian School
School in near Chamberlain, South Dakota / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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St. Joseph's Indian School is an American Indian boarding school, run by the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart just outside the city of Chamberlain, South Dakota, on the east side of the Missouri River. The school, located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls and named after Saint Joseph, is operated by a religious institute of pontifical right that is independent of the diocese.[1] The school is within two hours of three reservations of the Lakota people: the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, the Lower Brule Indian Reservation and the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, whose children comprise the majority of students at the school. The Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center is located on the campus and is owned by the school.
St. Joseph's Indian School | |
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Location | |
near Chamberlain , | |
Coordinates | 43.8267°N 99.3234°W / 43.8267; -99.3234 |
Information | |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic (Dehonian Fathers) |
Established | 1927; 97 years ago (1927) |
Founder | Fr. Henry Hogebach, SCJ |
President | Mike Tyrell |
Chairperson | Terry Johnson |
Athletics conference |
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Sports | Archery, Basketball, Bowling |
Website | https://www.stjo.org/ |
The school opened with 53 students in 1927. It was founded by Fr. Henry Hogebach, SCJ, who was a Catholic priest from Germany and a member of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. The provincial headquarters of the Congregation in the United States is in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee.[2] The institute owns and operates the mission school upon the site of two earlier education facilities: the Chamberlain Indian School operated here from 1898 to 1909, under the federal government.[3] That year the school was closed and the facility was transferred to the Catholic Church for "college purposes".[4] The Diocese of Sioux Falls operated Columbus College, a high school and college for Catholic boys, at this location until 1921, when the college was moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
In 2020, St. Joseph's Indian School (kindergarten through eighth grade, K-8) served 221 students.[5] The school also has a high school program where older students continue to live on campus but attend the public school in Chamberlain for classes.[5] In 2009-2010 nearly one dozen former students sued the school, the Sacred Heart institute, and the Diocese of Sioux Falls for alleged sexual abuse by priests at the school. As noted, the Diocese of Sioux Falls has no authority over the school or the Institute, and has been excluded as the suit progresses. St. Joseph's conducts fundraising to maintain operations that are free for the students. However, the administration's fundraising tactics were criticized in the 2010s by national media and Native American leaders as misleading.