Difference between an Archive and a museum: The Heritage Center

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Red Cloud Indian School students engage in object based learning through observation and interaction with The Heritage Center’s exhibits and permanent collection.

Archive: A collection of historical documents or artifacts.

Museum: A place that has displays for people to come and view historical documents and artifacts.

Many museums can be considered archives, but an archive is not necessarily a museum. My intention this month is to highlight the difference between an Archive and a Museum. The Diocese of Rapid City is in a unique position with two Native American Reservations holding phenomenal museums. The following is a highlight of The Heritage Museum in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.  —Kathy Cordes, Archivist

By Mary Maxon, Director Heritage Center

The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge is one of the earliest cultural centers and museums located on an Indian reservation in the United States. Our programming explores the rich skills and creativity that are mainstays of the local Lakota and other Native American cultures. We are deeply committed to our work to strengthen cultural pride and celebrate, as well as preserve, the local Lakota culture and artistic tradition.

We are more than just a museum or art gallery. We are also an economic engine on the Pine Ridge Reservation. With rates of up to 80%  unemployment here, the Lakota community faces challenging economic and social conditions in southwestern South Dakota. Yet through the Center’s gift shop and online store, local artists are empowered to increase their own economic self-sufficiency by making their incredible work available to a wider community and in doing so, preserve their work and extend appreciation for their artistry to all corners of the globe.

The Heritage Center program began through understanding that arts, creativity, and the making of beautiful objects are essential to Lakota culture and learning. The Annual Red Cloud Indian Art Show was started as an avenue to celebrate native art and artists on the reservation, and a way for native artists to get a foot in the door and learn about the ins and outs of gallery shows and retail selling. To support the show and the participating artists, Red Cloud Indian School staff purchased three award-winning pieces from the 1969 Red Cloud Indian Art Show. Each subsequent year, they continued to purchase new pieces, and ultimately amassed a diverse and important collection of works by local and national native artists.

The Heritage Center facility, located in historic Drexel Hall, is dedicated to protecting, growing, and exhibiting that collection. What began with those three early pieces now includes an estimated 10,000 pieces of Lakota and other native art, from priceless historical artifacts to cutting-edge modern works. Since its formal creation in 1982, The Heritage Center has continued to expand this unique  and diverse collection of native art — and uses it to create groundbreaking exhibitions and arts education programs.

The Heritage Center’s mission is to honor native art and to expand opportunities for native artists. The Center’s gallery exhibitions have brought tens of thousands of visitors to the Pine Ridge Reservation and been displayed in museums across the country. Through its gift shop, the Center purchases and sells works by local native artists to increase economic opportunity on the reservation and beyond. Also, its team develops innovative, arts-based educational programs to increase the public’s understanding of native art and Lakota culture.

Giving and receiving stewardship with the Nigerian community

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On Sunday, March 8, Nigerian parishioners at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help shared their joyful faith with all of us through a special Mass and meal. The parish welcomed Fr. Bede Okolie who serves St. Luke Church in Kubwa, Abuja, Nigeria, as the celebrant. In his homily,

Father Bede thanked the cathedral parishioners and the larger Rapid City community for the warm welcome they have extended to the growing number of Nigerian members of the community. Oluwabusayo Tijani-Laton is a registered nurse and a parishioner at the cathedral along with her husband and two boys. She shares, “The community is a friendly one. Everyone greets you with a smile and expresses their happiness when they hear about how we got here. … the church and our colleagues at work have made Rapid City a home away from home for us. The support has been amazing, and this is evident in the massive turnout at the Nigerian Mass and reception at the cathedral.” The warm welcome she and her family have received and the inculturated Mass celebrated recently are both inspiring signs of Generous Hospitality being practiced in our diocese. 

While we have extended Generous Hospitality to these new members of our community, they have also taught us about Stewardship. As Tijani-Latona said, “We believe so much in gratitude: there is a saying in Nigeria that, ‘He who is thankful for the blessings he receives today, will definitely get another one.’” This gratitude was so evident at the Nigerian Mass,

particularly at the presentation of the gifts. Along with the bread and wine, the community processed up with many gifts for those who are in need — diapers, food, and other basic necessities. As they did, they sang a song of thanksgiving which acknowledged that all good things in their lives are gifts of God and so in gratitude they were giving it all back to him. This song captured beautifully the truth upon which Stewardship is built. And the generosity shown by the offerings to the poor and the beautiful meal after Mass also highlight a true Stewardship mindset of generosity. 

Lastly, the Nigerians celebrated the Mass with great joy. As one participant shared, “Our praise and worship is one of the ways to show our gratitude to God. Therefore we do not joke with this. Nigerians are full of life and love to dance, and as such we use various musical instruments during our Mass in Nigeria to make the Mass celebration full of life in the Nigerian cultural style.” 

When I witnessed the praise and worship of the Nigerian community, it filled my own heart with joy. There is a deep goodness in praising God. As Mary Healy says, “To praise God is to become who we

really are, since  we were created to live for the praise of God’s glory” (Eph. 1:12). When we praise God, we begin to see how awesome God is, how magnificent his plan is, how miniscule our problems are compared with his mighty power: how nothing is impossible for him.” What a gift that we have been reminded of this truth in the midst of the disruptions and difficulties of the current Coronavirus pandemic.

As the bishop’s document on Stewardship reminds us, “As Christian stewards, we receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.” This same document also reminds us, “Christian stewards are always joyful bearers of the Good News of salvation.” I would like to extend my deep gratitude to our Nigerian brothers and sisters for so clearly living and proclaiming joy, gratitude and generosity and the importance of praising God with our whole hearts. Together, let’s continue to live Generous Hospitality, Lively Faith and Dedicated Discipleship.

West River Catholic April 2020

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KNBN Sunday Mass Schedule/Channels

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Sunday Mass Schedule

KNBN/NBC

Saturday 4:30 p.m./Sunday 7 a.m. 
*Cable channel 10 or over the air on 21; on Dish, Channel 21

My TV

Saturday 4:30 p.m./Sunday 10:30 a.m.
*Over their air channel 21.2; Golden West channel 12; not available on Dish

ONLINE

Website – newscenter1.TV
Twitter – @newscenter1
Facebook – KNBN Newscenter1

KNBN News Center 1 has graciously agreed to televise the Sunday Mass for the Diocese of Rapid City for as long as we need this service. This comes at no cost to our diocese. We are grateful for this offer. Unfortunately this televising will not reach far beyond the Black Hills area. Wall is the farthest east the signal goes; Custer is the southern point and Belle Fourche the northern point. (Click here to see a coverage map.) However, the mass will also be provided on New Center 1’s website, Facebook page and Twitter account. Those with internet access can join in that way. I am hopeful that individual pastors as well and television and radio stations that reach to all area of the diocese from Bismarck and Sioux Falls as well as Rapid City, will carry televised Masses as well. Below is the information for accessing the KNBN Mass.

Mary Mother of the Church – pray for us!

Joseph Protector of the Church – pray for us!

Helping you live this Catholic Way of Life

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Blog

Parish and Ministry Support

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Support Your Favorite Parish, or Ministry today in this time of need!

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…

  1. Click donation button at the bottom of this page to visit the Diocese of Rapid City giving page.
  2. To Donate, scroll down to the donation form and select the parish, or ministry you want to support.
  3. Enter your donation amount and payment method.

Your gift makes a difference helping to build the body of Christ in our community. We whole-heartedly thank you.

Click here to make a donation

 

Holy Week

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Holy Week Retreat from the University of Mary with Msgr. Shea

For Families

Liturgies, Activities, Prayers, Recipes, and Resources: —Holy Week at Home from Sophia Press

A Journey Through Holy Week with Families, from the Diocese of Phoenix
—Spanish version, from the Diocese of Phoenix

Good Friday Prayer, 10/11 a.m. MDT/CDT

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Click here for a link to join Archbishop Jose Gomez, Los Angeles, April 10, 10 a.m. MDT/11 a.m. CDT for a “Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” for an end to the Coronavirus

President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Releases Message for Holy Week 2020

April 3, 2020

WASHINGTON – Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued the following statement for Holy Week. Archbishop Gomez’s full statement follows:

“Future generations will look back on this as the long Lent of 2020, a time when disease and death suddenly darkened the whole earth. As we enter into Holy Week, these most sacred days of the year, Catholics across the United States and the world are living under quarantine, our societies shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.

“But we know that our Redeemer lives. Even in this extraordinary and challenging moment, we give thanks for what Jesus Christ has done for us by his life, death, and resurrection. Even now, we marvel at the beautiful mystery of our salvation, how precious each one of us is in the eyes of God.

“These are times almost without precedent in the long history of the Church. In the face of this worldwide contagion, bishops here and in almost every country have been forced to temporarily suspend public worship and celebration of the sacraments.

“My brother bishops and I are painfully aware that many of our Catholic people are troubled and hurt by the loss of the Eucharist and the consolation of the sacraments. This is a bitter affliction that we all feel deeply. We ache with our people and we long for the day when we can be reunited around the altar of the Lord to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

“In this difficult moment, we ask God for his grace, that we might bear this burden together with patience and charity, united as one family of God in his universal Church.

“On Good Friday, on behalf of the bishops in the United States, I will pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I ask you to join me in this prayer, which will be livestreamed over the internet at 9 a.m. on the West Coast and 12 noon on the East Coast. Let us join as one family of God here in the United States in asking our Lord for his mercy.

“The Holy Father has granted a special plenary indulgence to those who pray for an end to this pandemic. To receive this indulgence, you need to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart on Good Friday, be truly sorry for your sins and desire to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as it is possible, and you need to pray for the intentions of the Pope.

“In the heart of Jesus, pierced as he hung on the cross on Good Friday, we see the love of God for humanity, his love for each one of us.

“This Holy Week will be different. Our churches may be closed, but Christ is not quarantined and his Gospel is not in chains. Our Lord’s heart remains open to every man and woman. Even though we cannot worship together, each of us can seek him in the tabernacles of our own hearts.

“Because he loves us, and because his love can never change, we should not be afraid, even in this time of trial and testing. In these mysteries that we remember this week, let us renew our faith in his love. And let us ask our Blessed Mother Mary to intercede for us, that he might deliver us from every evil and grant us peace in our day.”