What are archives?
The word archives refers to the permanently valuable records—such as letters, reports, accounts, minute books, draft and final manuscripts, and photographs—of people, businesses, and government. These records are kept because they have continuing value to the creating agency and to other potential users. They are the documentary evidence of past events. They are the facts we use to interpret and understand history.
Archival Research
Essential to confronting the history of Holy Rosary Mission (HRM) boarding school is examining the information held in our historic archives. In September 2022, Maȟpíya Lúta 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:
- Creating a comprehensive list of all the children who attended HRM between 1888 and 1980 when the boarding school closed.
- Establishing some clarity on the funding relationship between HRM and the federal government.
- Finding out how HRM came to acquire the land they currently hold.
- Finding evidence of agency and resistance by boarders at the school.
Maȟpíya Lúta Student Summer Research Institute
The Maȟpíya Lúta Summer Research Institute is a two week summer program for Maȟpíya Lúta – 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 [email protected].
Findings In The Archive: Webinar Conversation On Red Cloud Truth And Healing March 14, 2023
Research Inquiries and Archival Accessibility
The archival materials for Holy Rosary Mission and Red Cloud Indian School 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 [email protected].
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.