This summer marked the third year of the Maȟpíya Lúta Summer Research Institute (MLSRI), an immersive two-week program that brings Maȟpíya Lúta high school students to Marquette University in Milwaukee to study the history and impact of federal Indian policy and the Indian boarding school system—specifically the legacy of Holy Rosary Mission.
Since its launch in 2023, MLSRI has provided students with a powerful opportunity to engage in primary research using the Holy Rosary Mission–Maȟpíya Lúta archives housed at Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Library. Students explore historic photographs, student publications, oral histories, school handbooks, diaries, financial records, and more to investigate themes of identity, trauma, survival, and resilience. Many also find personal connections—discovering records and images tied to their own relatives.
Throughout the program, students participate in discussions and presentations on topics like Indigenous representation in museums, creative writing as a research tool, church missionary history in North America, and the broader impacts of federal Indian policy.
In a significant expansion this year, members of the Community Advisory Committee—comprised of former students of Holy Rosary Boarding School—also traveled to Marquette to conduct their own archival research in a separate trip. This marked the first time that elders and former boarders engaged in a structured research experience through MLSRI, offering a multigenerational lens to understanding and confronting boarding school history.
Students will share their research finding with the broader Pine Ridge community through public displays and educational events—ensuring that the knowledge gained at MLSRI helps illuminate the past and inform the future. Stay tuned for those offerings that will take place in the Fall.