St. Joseph's Indian School

St. Joseph's Indian School is an American Indian residential school, located in Chamberlain, South Dakota, United States. It was founded in 1927 by Henry Hogebach, a Roman Catholic priest from Germany. The school is owned and operated by the Priests of the Sacred Heart.

This article is about the school in South Dakota, United States. For the school in Bangalore, India, see St. Joseph's Indian High School.
St. Joseph's Indian School
Location
Chamberlain
,
United States
,
South Dakota
Coordinates43.8267°N 99.3234°W / 43.8267; -99.3234
Information
Religious affiliation(s)Catholic
Established1927
FounderHenry Hogebach

History
Main article: American Indian boarding schools

The school was founded as a Catholic mission school in 1927 by German Roman Catholics,[1] on land formerly occupied by the Chamberlain Indian School.[2] It is owned and operated by the Priests of the Sacred Heart, non-Native Americans. As a residential school, Native American children, primarily from the Lakota and related Sioux reservations, were removed from their families and housed in dormitories on campus, overseen by the priests. The school was originally directed to assimilate Native American children into the majority United States culture. Children were forced to speak English and to practice Catholicism.[3]

As of 2014, it was reported that approximately 200 Native American children were attending the residential school, living in "family-style group homes with other students".[4][5]

Abuse

In 2010, a lawsuit was filed against St. Joseph's Indian School in the South Dakota Supreme Court. Eight former students are charging abuse by the priests, when they were children at the school.[6] Additionally, "the Congregation of Priests of the Sacred Heart, which runs St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, is the defendant in numerous sex-abuse cases."[7]

Prosecuting the cases has in some instances been difficult as the individual perpetrators are in many cases dead, and lower court rulings have addressed whether the cases can proceed against the church despite this.[6][7] The situation was described by attorneys on both sides of the cases as "convoluted" and "difficult", but that the 2010 ruling, and proceedings since then, have potentially set some precedents for how these types of cases will be handled in the future.[6][7]

Fundraising

In the 2010s, St. Joseph's School has been investigated for several issues related to its fundraising practices. In 2013 the school failed to meet the give.org standards for charity accountability.[8][9][10]

In 2014 it was the subject of investigative reports by CNN and Indian Country Today.[4][5][11] The school sent out mass mailings featuring offers of made in China dreamcatchers and fictional, emotional letters from nonexistent students. These tactics have been called, "the worst of poverty porn."[4][5] Cooper went on to report, "A school run by non-Indians is raising a fortune off of racial stereotypes."[5]

The school has been criticized by the Better Business Bureau for sending out a letter claiming they had insufficient funds to heat the school.[11] At the time of this claim, the school had millions of dollars free to spend.[11][8]

In 2014 the school's attorney told Indian Country Today that they would "never, ever" send any more of the fictional letters.[11] But in 2017, the school made $51 million from donors, still using the mailings by "fake children" and "made in China" dream catchers.[12] As of November 2018, the school continues this aggressive direct mail campaign, sending tens of millions of pieces of junk mail a year.[12][10]

See also

Further reading
  • St Joseph's Indian School (1 December 2000). Voices of Indian Children: The Children of St. Joseph's Indian School. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-58500-924-4.
  • David Nagel; St. Joseph's Indian School (Chamberlain, S.D.) (2002). Saint Joseph's Indian School Seventy-fifth Anniversary. Tipi Press Printing.
  • Diane M. Philen (1984). St. Joseph's Indian School. Register-Lakota Printing.

References
  1. Farrow, Mary (January 30, 2020). "This unique Catholic school has served Native American students since 1927". The Catholic Telegraph. Cincinnati, Ohio. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  2. Farrow, Mary (January 30, 2020). "This unique Catholic school has served Native American students since 1927". The Catholic Telegraph. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  3. Landrum, Cynthia L. (1995). The History of St. Joseph's Indian School: A Study in Assimilation. University of South Dakota.
  4. Fitzpatrick, David (November 17, 2014). "U.S. Indian school's fundraising letters sent to millions signed by fictitious kids". CNN Investigations. Retrieved March 30, 2015. "They are raising money in the name of Indians, using the worst of poverty porn of all Indian country to raise money on all our social ills" - Michael Roberts, president of the First Nations Development Institute
  5. Cooper, Anderson (Anchor), with David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffin (Reporters) (2014). 'Poverty porn' helps school get millions. CNN Investigations (Television news report). US. Event occurs at 3:48. interview with Crow Creek Lakota Sioux vice chairman, Leonard Pease.
  6. Vielmetti, Bruce (January 11, 2012). "U.S. Sex-abuse suit against order can proceed". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  7. Woodard, Stephanie (June 9, 2011). "Native American Sex-Abuse Lawsuits Head for a Higher Court". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  8. Cooper, Anderson (Anchor), with David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffin (Reporters) (2014). 'Poverty porn' helps school get millions. CNN Investigations (Television news report). US.
  9. "Charity Review: St. Joseph's Indian School and Missions. Standards Not Met". Give.org. August 1, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  10. Rose, Christine (November 28, 2014). "St. Joseph's Indian School Has Learned a Lesson About Fundraising". Indian Country Today. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  11. Fitzpatrick, David (November 24, 2014). "St. Joseph's Indian School Has Learned a Lesson About Fundraising". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  12. Summers, Alicia (November 14, 2018). "South Dakota school uses fake children to make millions". CBS8.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
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