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St. Francis Mission School

St. Francis, South Dakota
Details:

Dates of Operation: 1886–1975 (see notes)
Current Diocese: Rapid City
Previous Dioceses Involved:
Vicariate Apostolic of Dakota, 1886–1889
Sioux Falls, 1889–1902
Lead, 1902–1930
Religious Orders who worked at the Parish / School:
Jesuits (Midwest Province), 1886–1975*
Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity (North American Province), 1886–1939*
Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity (Sacred Heart Community), 1939–1981*
On a Reservation: Rosebud Reservation
On the Department of the Interior List: No
Tribal Nations Impacted (as listed in historical documents):
Sicangu Lakota


Notes:
In 1916, a campus-wide fire destroyed most of the school’s records. In 1972, tribal leadership approached the Bureau of Indian Affairs and requested funding to take over the administration of the school. BIA funding was not sufficient to operate the school independently, so the Catholic Church agreed to make decreasing payments to the school until 1980. The Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity staffed the school, first as part of the North American Mission, which became the North American Province in 1900, then as part of the Sacred Heart Province (now Community) in 1939.

Note about this school’s archives: In addition to onsite materials, records from St. Francis Mission are housed at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. For more information: https://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/Mss/SFM/SFM-history.php