St. Augustine Indian Mission
(Winnebago, Nebraska) – Archbishop George Lucas and Rev. Mark Beran, with community leaders, dedicated a new school building at St. Augustine Indian Mission on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Festivities began with A celebration Mass held at St. Augustine Catholic Church. A ribbon cutting was conducted by representatives from the South Sioux City, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce. Tribal members Viola LaPointe from the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and Nate Merrick from the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska assisted Archbishop Lucas with the dedication ceremonies.
Archbishop Lucas blessed the commons area and classrooms with holy water, and Nate Merrick burned cedar and sang songs of gratitude to God. Viola LaPointe spoke about her faith and love for the school. Five generations of her family have graduated from St. Augustine Indian Mission School.
The new 45,000-square-foot building, designed by Plan Architecture, is located south of the existing school building on the St. Augustine Mission campus. HCI Construction, a division of Ho-Chunk, Inc., is the general contractor.
The new building will replace the aging St. Augustine Indian Mission school - the only Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Omaha created to serve Native American students.
“Education in a faith-based, Native American cultural environment is key to building a brighter future for our students, improving life on the Omaha and Winnebago Reservations,” Beran said.
Beran said the existing 55-year-old building was not designed as a school but was initially built as an auditorium, gym, and warehouse space for the community. He said the building has a range of problems, including structural troubles. The new structure is the first building in the Mission’s 114-year history designed and constructed to be a school.
St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament founded the school in 1909. “We are grateful to our benefactors who made this building project a reality. Their support enabled us to construct the building debt free,” Beran said.
