November has been Native American Heritage Month, and as a part of that I would like to bring to your attention the “St. Francis Mission Among the Lakota”, a ministry of the Society of Jesus (also known as the “Jesuits”- a Catholic religious order dating back centuries) and is located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It was established in 1886. It exists, to quote their website: “… to re-evangelize Catholic Lakota people and bring the Gospel of Jesus the Christ to those who have not heard it.”
The St. Francis Mission Among the Lakota is a the largest not-for-profit organization on the Reservation that is not a government -controlled or -funded program. Among their many services are programs in addiction recovery, as there is a serious alcoholism addiction crisis present. The Mission operates two centers for this on the Rosebud Reservation: the White River Recovery Center and the Icimani Ya Waste’ Recovery Center. Through these centers they offer several 12 Step Meetings and also programs from the renowned Betty Ford Institute.
There will be a series of posts here on SoberCatholic.com, starting today to highlight the incidence of alcoholism on the Reservation and to bear witness to the wonderful work the Mission is doing in response to this.
I had the opportunity to conduct interviews via email with two of the Mission’s people, Fr. John Hatcher, SJ, the President of the Mission, and Mrs. Geraldine Provencial, the Director of the Icimani Ya Waste’ Recovery Center. These were done through the services of Corrie Oberdin, Online Marketing Strategist at Corrie Oberdin {dot} Net |.
It is my hope that you will take an interest in the Mission and its work. The following links contain information pertinent to the Mission and the Reservation.
For information on the recovery programs: Recovery programs at the St. Francis Mission
(Photo courtesy Mike O’Sullivan at the Mission)
Blog of the St. Francis Mission
Christmas is coming: Store at St. Francis Mission
The St. Francis Mission’s Channel on YouTube
St. Francis Mission on Twitter
Their radio station
KINIFM.com Main Page, streaming online: KINI 96.1 FM Streaming LIVE!
(Via St. Francis Mission.)
By the way, I am not a Native American, just sympathetic. 😉
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