A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Our vision in action The College of Saint Benedict has long stood for challenging norms. We built a college for women when they didn’t even have the right to vote and were regularly told a college education wasn’t for them. We welcomed Black students in the 1940s even when our alumnae told us that was wrong. We continue to graduate women who break ground in their professional lives – whether leading Fortune 100 companies, conducting research at the nation’s top universities or teaching and mentoring a bright new generation. Now, Saint Ben’s is challenging norms in a new way. This issue of the Saint Ben’s magazine lifts up groundbreaking research being conducted by faculty and students into the Native American boarding schools run by the Order of Saint Benedict in the 19th and 20th centuries. During that time, the United States Government implemented a policy of using boarding schools for Native American children as a tool to promote assimilation of Native American children into the dominant culture. Attendance was mandated.
This issue of the Saint Ben’s magazine lifts up groundbreaking research being conducted by faculty and students into the Native American boarding schools run by the Order of Saint Benedict in the 19th and 20th centuries.” This practice had a devastating impact on Indigenous individuals, communities and families. Four of those Native American boarding schools in Minnesota were operated by the Order of Saint Benedict. One of them here in St. Joseph, on the grounds of Saint Benedict’s Monastery. CSB/SJU Visiting Assistant Professor of sociology Ted Gordon and a number of student researchers have been working with the monastery and the White Earth Nation to investigate and explore this history. As Prioress Susan Rudolph, OSB puts it, the three organizations seek to “strengthen the bonds that continue to move toward reconciliation and peace with our Native American sisters and brothers.” We are not unique for having historical ties to Native American boarding schools. What makes Saint Ben’s unique is the work we are doing collaboratively with tribes on projects that they identify that will help them heal. If we can show how much good can come from this, we can be a model for institutions that have yet to address their history. This essential research work is being noticed. Grant-funding organizations are paying attention and offering support. This spring the college was awarded grants from both the Council of Independent Colleges and the McKnight Foundation to
fund aspects of this archival research. The McKnight grant is a first of its kind, with a tribal community, college and monastery working together to conduct oral histories to preserve and tell all sides of this history. The world is taking notice as well. Last month, PBS NewsHour told the story of this collaborative effort and the work being done by Gordon and our students. At the same time, Indigenous students across both campuses are coming together to find their collective voice. Many have worked together to form the new Indigenous Students Association, filled with determination to tell their story. Faith Gronda ’22, a member of ISA, has received national recognition for her efforts to center Native voices here at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s. Faith is currently taking part in a Newman Civic Fellowship through Campus Compact. In this issue of the College of Saint Benedict Magazine, you’ll learn more about all of this. And, from page 1, I want to express my gratitude to our Indigenous students, the White Earth Nation and to the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict for allowing us to walk through this process with them. I am grateful for their trust and for the opportunities this has provided our students to engage in practical, valuable scholarship and to tell an important story. A largely untold story. The vision of Saint Ben’s is to be recognized as a community that provides a liberal arts education preparing women to think critically, lead courageously and advocate passionately. To learn, to see, to analyze, to correct, to act with purpose. Inside you’ll find students putting our vision into action.
Laurie M. Hamen, J.D. College of Saint Benedict Transitional President Summer 2021 | 1
