The Sioux Spiritual Center

The Sioux Spiritual Center
The Sioux Spiritual Center

Panorama of Center and Environs


Nestled in the breaks of western South Dakota, the Sioux Spiritual Center reflects the ongoing dedication of the Rapid City Catholic Diocese and the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus to the spiritual and social well-being of the Lakota people. The center, built by the Diocese and staffed by Jesuits, offers a variety of spirital and educational programs. Here the Jesuits and the diocese strive to create a sacred environment, a place between Heaven and Earth (Mahpiya na Maka Okogina in the Lakota language), where God's Spirit and the Lakota people become one.

A 12-member Board of Directors, including 10 Native members, is headed by the Bishop Blase Cupich of Rapid City. The board has developed a variety of programs designed to create a sacred site where God ministers to the Lakota people. The programs include:

  • Experiences in prayer that guide Lakota people on a path that offers the strength and spirit to face the challenges of everyday life and the courage to create a vision for an obtainable future.

  • Weekend parish retreats to provide a time to be quiet; to hear the voice of the Spirit; to heal; to consult and to be at peace.

  • Recovery retreats to give hope to all those who are recovering from drug and/or alcohol addiction. The center provides a time and place for retreatants to strengthen the spiritual awakening begun in their treatment programs. These are inculturated weekends designed by Native people to allow them to draw on the healing richness of their Catholic and Lakota religious traditions.

  • Ministry retreats for those who choose to serve in formal ministries. The Center becomes a place of education and direction for Lakota leaders-men and women, ordained and non-ordained.

  • Canku Wakan, a four day, inculturated weekend modeled after the educational and apostolic Cursillo experience. Lakota people developed the extended weekend format. They also lead the discussions.

  • Hosts a seven day education program for missionary personnel known as the Basic Directions in Native American Ministry Institute. Sponsored by the National Tekakwitha Conference, the institute assists in the formation of missionary personnel being sent to work with native people in North America.

  • Home base for the Inculturation Task Force, a group of Native people who are interested in developing a Catholic Lakota Church. They study and discuss about the use of Lakota culture in the Liturgy and discuss the relationship of Catholic theology and Lakota religious beliefs. The task force makes recommendations to the bishop regarding the use of Lakota symbols in the Liturgy.

    The Center Chapel in Winter
    The Center Chapel in Winter

    The current staff of the Sioux Spiritual Center is made up of Rev. George Winzenburg, S.J., and Rev. Richard F. McCaslin, S.J. For further information contact:

    Director
    Sioux Spiritual Center
    20100 Center Road
    Howes, SD 57748-7703
    E-MAIL: ssc@gwtc.net

    This page is maintained by Rev. Raymond Bucko, S.J. at Creighton University.

    This page was last updated on August 15, 2007