Programs and Services for Native American Youth
Youth Programs
Circle of Care Model
St. Joseph’s Indian School uses an approach called the Circle of Care while caring for every child who calls our campus home. The Circle of Care model seeks to measure student growth not in the linear Western European way but through the relational worldview appropriate to their culture. The Circle of Care illustrates our approach to educate for life – mind, body, heart and spirit.
The Circle of Care includes six core components: Education, Residential Life, Culture, Health and Wellness, Spirituality and Counseling Services. Other programs exist as part of our wraparound services and include the Lakota Language program, Family Integration, and our many Outreach programs.
Our Programs
Residential Living Program
Rather than dorms, students live in one of 20 campus homes with two dedicated houseparents, growing up together like family …
Education & Cultural Program
From elementary school through high school, our Native American students grow up on campus with the steady support of live-in houseparents …
Family Integration Program
St. Joseph’s stays closely connected to every student’s family, through personal visits, calls, letters and regular check-ins throughout the year …
Student Health Program
Five full-time nurses and a physician on campus, four days a week, cover our students’ physical health, with the local hospital close by for anything more serious …
Outreach & Other Programs
Although St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus resides in Chamberlain, South Dakota, the mission to help Native American children and families extends far beyond into many other communities and reservations.
St. Joseph’s responds to the effects of poverty through direct action and outreach during every season of the year through a variety of ways. Whether it’s hosting a summer day camp for reservation children, or providing food boxes and clothing to people in need, St. Joseph’s does not sit idle when others are in need of help.
Adolescent Care Center
In some reservation communities, young adults can find themselves with little to no parental guidance. Young people may fall victim …
Adolescent Care Center
In some reservation communities, young adults can find themselves with little to no parental guidance. Young people may fall victim to gangs, violence and substance abuse. Some of these young men and women end up in the juvenile court system.
For these youth, the Adolescent Care Center in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, provides the opportunity to learn from the negativity in their lives, turn those situations around and move forward in a positive way. Children are referred to the center’s program, where professionally trained staff help them learn how to live healthy, productive lives.
Care teams work with the children and their families to help promote healing and future success.
Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center
The Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, an educational outreach of St. Joseph’s Indian School, is committed to promoting the …
Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center
The Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, an educational outreach of St. Joseph’s Indian School, is committed to promoting the knowledge and understanding of the Northern Plains Indian culture — past, present and future. Through the preservation of historical artifacts and contemporary works of art. The words “Aktá Lakota,” meaning “to honor the people,” were chosen because the museum is truly intended to honor and preserve the rich culture of the Lakota people, the students at St. Joseph’s Indian School and for thousands who visit the museum each year.
Bookmobile
Libraries are a rarity in reservation communities, and the closest one may be more than 50 miles away! Thanks to …
Bookmobile
Libraries are a rarity in reservation communities, and the closest one may be more than 50 miles away! Thanks to your generosity, the Bookmobile is meeting a real need.
Each summer, St. Joseph’s Bookmobile travels approximately 3,000 miles across South Dakota and into reservation communities distributing free reading materials to children and families in need. This program puts thousands upon thousands of books into the hands of youth and adults every summer. Our dedicated staff members also use the Bookmobile trips as an opportunity to visit with former students, meet prospective families and distribute student applications to families in need.
College Scholarships
Each year, St. Joseph’s is proud to help Native American students achieve higher education! Scholarship awards are given at the …
College Scholarships
$275,000 in college scholarships awarded to Native American students
The St. Joseph’s Indian School Čhaŋkú Lúta Scholarship, initiated by the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (CPOSH) Board, aims to support Native American students by providing money to support further education.
Čhaŋkú Lúta is Lakota for the “Red Road,” a commitment to live life in the best way possible with respect for oneself, others, all of creation and the Creator. For Christians, it is the road Christ walked while giving his life to others. The St. Joseph’s Indian School Čhaŋkú Lúta Scholarship exists to support students pursuing higher education who exemplify the Čhaŋkú Lúta way of life.
During the 2025-26 school year, St. Joseph’s Indian School awarded a record-breaking $275,000 in scholarships thanks to generosity donors from around the world!
Learn more and apply to receive a college scholarship from St. Joseph’s Indian School today!
Help ensure this scholarship program continues assisting Native American students by making your gift today!
Domestic Violence Shelter
In traditional Lakota (Sioux) culture, women are viewed as sacred beings … they are the keepers of life and the …
Domestic Violence Shelter
In traditional Lakota (Sioux) culture, women are viewed as sacred beings … they are the keepers of life and the heart of the family. Today, Native American women are among the most abused — physically and sexually — demographic in the United States.
Unfortunately, services to help battered women and their children in reservation communities are rare. This is why the Sacred Heart Chacon Family Safe Shelter on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation is so important. The center provides abused women and children (and the occasional male victim) hope, safety and support in times of great need. Whether it is a temporary home while they leave a dangerous situation, a warm meal, or a ride to court, Native American women receive moral support and guidance to help them through challenging situations.
In 2021, this program expanded with a new building to care for victims and survivors of violence.
Reservation Mission Runs
While approximately 200 Lakota boys and girls are cared for on the campus of St. Joseph’s Indian School, we never …
Reservation Mission Runs
While approximately 200 Lakota boys and girls are cared for on the campus of St. Joseph’s Indian School, we never forget about their families and communities back home in reservation communities.
When St. Joseph’s is blessed with a surplus of items, we hand deliver them to people in over 30 reservation communities spanning South Dakota’s nine reservations.
These mission runs often include supplies of clothing, books, toys, diapers, blankets and household essentials. During South Dakota’s harsh winters, mission runs can sometimes provide warm coats, blankets, hats, gloves and more to people in need.
More recently, mission runs have begun incorporating food boxes. Some reservation communities are so remote, that the nearest grocery store could be miles and miles away. St. Joseph’s provides food boxes with healthy items such as bread, milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables, and non-perishable items to help feed families affected by poverty.
Rising Eagle Day Camp
At St. Joseph’s Rising Eagle Day Camp, Lakota children from the Lower Brule and Crow Creek reservations take part in …
Rising Eagle Day Camp
At St. Joseph’s Rising Eagle Day Camp, Lakota children from the Lower Brule and Crow Creek reservations take part in cultural arts and crafts, eat nutritious meals and thrive in a setting where kids can just be kids! Every day, camp counselors drive approximately 60 miles roundtrip to pick up Native American children who yearn to have fun, learn and form new friendships … all in a safe environment and at no charge.
For these youth, the Adolescent Care Center in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, provides the opportunity to learn from the negativity in their lives, turn those situations around and move forward in a positive way. Children are referred to the center’s program, where professionally trained staff help them learn how to live healthy, productive lives.
Care teams work with the children and their families to help promote healing and future success.
St. Joseph’s Thrift Store
In addition to monetary gifts, friends support St. Joseph’s children and families with gifts of clothing, household items, toiletries and …
St. Joseph’s Thrift Store
In addition to monetary gifts, friends support St. Joseph’s children and families with gifts of clothing, household items, toiletries and more. Each of the items so generously donated are first offered to our students and their families through our homes, school and outreach programs.
When we are blessed with a surplus of items or gifts not immediately needed by our children, families or outreach programs, we offer the items at a nominal cost through our downtown thrift store.
The store, located on Chamberlain’s Main Street, allows individuals from the area to purchase much-needed items at a discount while giving them the opportunity to support the boys and girls at St. Joseph’s. All thrift store sales help to fund programs and services for the children in our care.
Additionally, the thrift store serves as a wonderful opportunity for our high school students to learn life skills. Interested students help staff at our thrift store as part-time employees. This benefits students by offering them flexible scheduling and real-life experience while also allowing them to earn income. Through this work experience, we help young adults learn the importance of good work ethic and the rewards of financial responsibility.
The Bear Necessities Thrift Store
The Bear Necessities Thrift Store, located in Eagle Butte near the Sacred Heart Center, provides clothing and household items for …
The Bear Necessities Thrift Store
The Bear Necessities Thrift Store, located in Eagle Butte near the Sacred Heart Center, provides clothing and household items for people in need at a nominal cost. Items include adult and children clothing, shoes, household goods, bedding, books and other items that make a house a home.
