Our History

Who We Are Our History

The elders say, “The longest road you’re going to have to walk in your life is from here to here. From the head to the heart.” But they also say you can’t speak to the people as a leader unless you’ve made the return journey. From the heart back to the head.

Phil Lane, Sr., Yankton Sioux

Our Founding

Our founding came about through Fr. Leo John Dehon, founder of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. He believed in responding to God's love by trying to meet the needs of those around us.

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Excerpts from the Sisters' Diary 1929-1938

Excerpts from the Sisters' Diary 1929-1938 shed light on what the earliest days of St. Joseph's Indian School were like - a destructive fire, the Great Depression, tuberculosis - trials and joys.

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Excerpts from the Sisters' Diary 1941-1950

Excerpts from the Sisters' Diary 1941-1950 tell the story of the fourteenth through twenty-third years of St. Joseph's Indian School. They note the loss of Fr. Henry Hogebach, pestilence, and the beginning of World War II.

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Excerpts from the Sisters' Diary 1952-1960

Excerpts from the Sisters' Diary 1952-1960 show growing enrollment, building to accommodate it, a new chapel and more.

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Significant Changes 1968-Present

Significant changes took place from 1968 to the present day as a move toward a more residential lifestyle, a more evidence-based approach to programming and a more strengths-based approach to working with our Native American students reshaped St. Joseph's Indian School.

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