Catholic Campus Center at Haskell Indians University
Jerry Tuckwin, a member of the Prairie Band of the Potawatomi Tribe, received the St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Award after Mass on Nov. 21, 2021 at Sacred Heart Parish in Mound City from Archbishop Joseph Naumann. Notable among his achievements was his work to establish the Catholic campus ministry at Haskell Indians University, which is made possible by grants from the Black and Indian Missions collection.
“I came back in 1970, after I got out of the service,” said Tuckwin. “We didn’t have Mass on campus because the Jesuits left St. Mary’s. We would get what we could, as far as our spiritual needs were concerned. We held some service every week for the kids, whether it was with a priest from [Lawrence] ir the Potawatomi Reservation.” Finally, Tuckwin and others worked with then-Archbishop Strecker and the Capuchin Franciscans to establish the Haskell Catholic campus ministry.
“I have learned about [St. Rose Philippine] helping to bring Catholicism [to the Potawatomi], along with the Jesuits at St. Mary’s,” said Tuckwin. “Her influence, indirectly, was to introduce to many of us Catholicism, although she was not here personally during our formative years. She definitely made a great impression on me.”
