Dear Friend,

The dream of a new dormitory has become a reality for the students of St. Labre Indian School. If you could have been here on Friday, September 23, for the dedication of this magnificent facility, you, too, might have thought of the song we often sing at Mass. The first couple of lines go like this: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

And that is so true of this special day of dedication, not only because the Lord had his hand on this project but because of you, our loyal friends, who never lost faith that this facility would eventually be built. Thank you so much for your sacrifices and your generosity.

I also want to recognize all your prayers and those of our parents, grandparents, elders and students, as well. Yes, I would have liked to have the dorm completed sooner, but we must always remember that God’s timing doesn’t necessarily coincide with ours. The lesson that I have learned through these several years of raising funds and delays in construction is that dreams are not realized overnight. And I might add that if we know that our project will produce good results, then we must never give up.

I anticipate that much good will come from this dormitory. As our dorm director Joe Foley suggests, the academic component will complement our instructional program as we prepare our students for college and life beyond. I anticipate the Pope John Paul 11 Chapel will enhance the spiritual development of our students, too.

In addition to the dedication, we celebrated American Indian Day with a parade, games, a powwow and a delicious buffalo feast. Donors from all parts of the country joined us for the celebration. A number of them were on the annual tour. You should consider joining the 2012 tour so you can see not only the dormitory but you can experience all the goodness that is at the heart of St. Labre.

We are also noting the 120-year anniversary of the founding of our St. Charles Mission School on the Crow Indian Reservation. As you will read, it was Chief Plenty Coups who laid the groundwork for the building of the school.

Again, thank you for your part in this most recent “miracle” at St. Labre. The blessings will flow from this building to generations of students to come.

Gratefully,

Curtis Yarlott

The history of St. Charles Mission dates back to the beginnings of the Catholic Church on the Crow Reservation. Beginning in 1880, Jesuit missionaries began visiting the Crow camps, and by 1887, a permanent mission had been established at St. Xavier.

On March 14, 1890, Chief Plenty Coups sent a petition to the Secretary of the Interior asking that the Jesuits be allowed to build a schoolhouse and church at Pryor.

On March 20, 1890, permission was granted by the Secretary of the Interior to erect a chapel and schoolhouse at Pryor. In October, 1891, Fr. Peter Paul Prando, S.J. built the first chapel at Pryor on land donated by the Crows through Chief Plenty Coups. In February, 1892, three Ursuline Sisters traveled 46 miles from St. Xavier to Pryor to open the school. When their wagon broke down, they were forced to spend the night in the open, walking up and down through the snow to keep warm. In the meantime, their Indian guide found help at a nearby ranch, and they finally arrived at Pryor in a borrowed wagon.

There was only one building at the Mission, a newly built chapel fifty by twenty-four feet, which had to serve as school, church and living quarters. On March 18, three little boys arrived, and the school was opened. In the fall of that year, a two-story frame house was completed for the school and the sisters’ quarters. In these early days, the children were most often brought to school by the Indian policemen, as neither parents nor children were enthusiastic about the prospect of regular schooling!

In 1898, the government subsidies to mission schools were discontinued, and the school was forced to close. On January 11, 1904, the school buildings were sold to the U.S. Government to be used as a government boarding school at Pryor. For the following twenty years, there was no school at the Mission and no resident priest.

In 1909, Father Brebosch writes: Once a month I say Mass in Pryor. Whenever I am there, ‘the children’ all come to confession and approach the Holy Table. To do so, they must rise in the morning before five o’clock, so as not to disturb the order of the school, and come to church, although at times the temperature is 30 degrees below zero. (Indian Sentinel, 1909 Annual)

In 1923, Father Taelman reported that priests were not always available for services in Pryor so the people would gather and conduct their own services, which included songs and prayers in the Crow language. Several of the early missionaries were fluent in Crow and translated prayers, hymns, Bible stories and catechetical materials into Crow.

In July, 1924, the Catholics of Pryor sent a petition asking that the school be reopened: We Catholic parents of Pryor Crow Indians address ourselves to you to ask you to help us bring our children to heaven. They are growing up wild with no interest in religion, no manners, no respect for anybody or themselves. We asked the Fathers here on the Crow Reservation for a Catholic day school where our children can be taught and brought up in the Catholic faith.

In February, 1925, a petition was also signed by 32 women and 33 men. Father Vrebosch announced that the school would be reopened, and that the teacher would be Austin Lion Shows. He writes, “When I announced the opening of the school to them, old Plenty Coups came to shake my hand many times.”

On Easter Sunday, 1930, a new church, St. James Chapel, was dedicated at Pryor by Father Thomas Grant. Two years later on March 4, 1932, Chief Plenty Coups died.

Father Grant writes: “The solemn requiem Mass was celebrated in St. James Church on March 8, 1932. Graveside services were conducted in a temperature of 30 degrees below zero surrounded by Indians, many of whom, had trudged a great distance in the snow to be present at the burial of their beloved chief. In his sermon, Bishop O’hara praised Plenty Coups as a man worthy of honor, a man of truthfulness, of integrity, of constancy to his people and to his faith, who, although himself invested with authority, yet gave to his people an example of respect for the laws of country and of Church.” (Indian Sentinel, Vol. 12, No. 2; Spring, 1932)

In 1933, the day school was forced to close again due to lack of funds, probably because of the Depression. However, in l936 the school was re-opened again with two Sisters of St. Francis from Oldenburg, Indiana, in charge. Sister of this order served at St. Charles until 2001.

In the mid l960s, St. Charles and Pretty Eagle schools came under the administration of St. Labre where they have remained since. Both campuses were modernized and in l965 priests from the Capuchin-Franciscan Order took over the ministry at the two campuses. Priest from this Order currently serve these campuses as well as the St. Labre campus.

St. Labre drummers and dancers have been invited to perform in Maryland this coming January. For those of you living in the vicinity, you are cordially invited to attend one or all of the following events:

Saturday, January 14. John Carroll School, Bel Air, Maryland, 703 Churchville Road. Annual January Powwow. Doors open at 11 a.m. Grand Entry at 1 p.m. St. Labre will perform right after the Grand Entry. A reception for benefactors to follow the performance.

Sunday, January 15. National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall in Washington D.C. 12 o’clock noon. A reception for benefactors to follow the performance.

Monday, January 16. Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
A benefactor lunch to follow the performance.

For more information and to register you may call the St. Labre Planned Giving Department toll-free at 1-866-652-0959 or call the St. Labre Donor Relations Department toll-free at 1-866-753-5496 and ask for Marge or Karl.

In less than three months the calendar will turn over once again, and we will be facing the hopes and challenges of 2012. Before 2011 gets away from us, however, you should consider the steps you need to take now to make April 15, 2012, less stressful for you.

We already know that a number of tax credits have disappeared from the federal tax laws, among them energy credits and the Making Work Pay credit. However, several charitable benefits are still available that can help lower your taxes, provide you with income, and also benefit the seven hundred children of St. Labre Indian School who depend on you to help them obtain a quality education. Here are some options:

• The Charitable IRA Rollover Law. This law was passed retroactively near the end of 2010 and remains in effect until December 31, 2011. Basically, if you are 70-1/2 or older, you can have up to $100,000 transferred out of your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to charities of your choice. This money will not be taxable. Basically, it’s a no income/no tax wash. Let us send you a free brochure with more details about this provision.

• Gifts of Stock. Near the end of the calendar year is when many donors choose to donate stock. If you are thinking about doing so, make certain the stock is appreciated. If it isn’t, you are better off to sell the shares and donate the proceeds. Remember, too, that you can use stock to create a charitable gift annuity, which pays you a lifetime income and also provides important tax advantages. We can send you free information and projections about this option, too.

• Estate Plans. If you haven’t looked over your final plans for awhile, now is a good time to do so. There are triggering events that make this necessary: change of marital status, death of a beneficiary, a move to another state of residence, changes in your financial situation and others. We have free will kits that provide you with timely information about leaving your affairs in order.

• Retained Life Estate Agreements and Lead Trusts. The IRS Discount rate hit a record low of 1.4% this month. That presents some incredible opportunities for you if you want to glean tax benefits by entering into a retained life estate agreement with St. Labre whereby you assign ownership of your property to the school with the legal right to continue to live there until you cannot do so any longer. Doing this, you reap a huge charitable tax deduction. Or you might want to consider a charitable lead trust, especially if you recently sold a business or property and need to wash out a majority of the taxes resulting from the sale. The low discount rate makes this the opportune time to explore the possibilities.

• Gifts of Cash and Personal Property. As you might imagine, operating five schools on three campuses for 700 students or more, requires a great amount of immediate cash, cash for teachers’ salaries, cash for 1,500 meals per day, cash for support staff, and cash for operating a bus fleet that logs up to 6,000 miles per week. If you simply want to donate cash, we’ll gladly take it as we gear up for winter-time expenses. Your cash donations are fully deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). As you might have heard, some provisions of the charitable deduction may be on the chopping block when new tax legislation is considered next year. Thank you for your continued support as we navigate through these uncertain times. Give us a call if you want to discuss these or other issues.

You may call the St. Labre Planned Giving Department toll-free at 1-866-652- 0959 to discuss these or other planning options. If you are interested in discussing major gifts, call Marge Rath or Karl Little Owl at 1-406-784-4500.

In our visits with you, we often hear, “I’d sure like to visit the school someday.” Here is your chance.

Hundreds of people just like you have come to Montana to experience what some past travelers have deemed “The trip of a lifetime.”

Rudy and Carol Ortega who were on the 2011 tour were delighted by their experiences. Rudy observed, “I’ve been with St. Labre for many years and until now, never appreciated what went on here. I loved visiting the schools and seeing the happy children. And I was really impressed with the dedications of the staff members.”

Carol agreed. “Coming here has been a real treat. I was impressed that wherever we’ve been people have thanked us for being donors.”

You, too, will be impressed when you come to Montana next September. Not only will you visit the schools, you will experience the natural wonders of Yellowstone National Park, the history of this area and much more.

Call Jeff Peterson or one of his associates today for a complete itinerary and cost breakdown of the trip. You can reach him toll-free at 1-866-313-2577. We look forward to welcoming you to Montana next September.