St. Francis Mission/ Sapa Un Catholic Academy
The St. Francis Mission Youth Group has grown to seventeen young people. With Ben and Jenny Black Bear's guidance they have begun to collaborate with Wiconi Wakan Health and Healing Center, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal office that promotes addiction recovery and suicide prevention. During the month of October they reached out to communities around the Reservation to bring fun and hope to people who continue to struggle with the effects of the pandemic.
Sapa Un Catholic Academy staff and students celebrated Native American Day by honoring the memory of nine children from the Rosebud Reservation who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania in the late 1800’s. In June their bodies were brought home to the Reservation. Ceremonies were held along the route of their journey and at Sinte Gleska University where they lay in state until their burial.
