In the spirit of relationship and healing, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are transferring the Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center property to the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, the original caretakers of the land. The transfer closes, Friday, October 31, and is the first known return of Catholic-owned land to a Tribal Nation as an act of repair for colonization and residential boarding schools.
Located on Trout Lake in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin, Marywood will rejoin the landbase of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe – serving as a site for Ojibwe culture and traditions, re-establishing vital lakeshore access, and potentially providing housing for healthcare workers. The property was sold to the tribe for $30,000, the amount of cash the sisters paid for the property in 1966, just over 1% of its current market value.
The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa are a sovereign Tribal Nation located in northern Wisconsin, part of the larger Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people whose traditional territories span the Great Lakes region. Historically, their ancestral homelands covered vast areas of what is now Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, rooted in a deep spiritual and cultural connection to the land and waterways.
Today, the Tribe’s reservation represents only a fraction of those traditional territories. Rebuilding and protecting Tribal land bases is vital to sustaining sovereignty — it restores the ability for self-determination, cultural preservation and community development. A strong land base supports essential services, creates employment opportunities and provides a foundation for long-term economic and social resilience.
“This return represents more than the restoration of land — it is the restoration of balance, dignity, and our sacred connection to the places our ancestors once walked,” says John D. Johnson, Sr., Tribal President. “The Franciscan Sisters’ act of generosity and courage stands as an example of what true healing and partnership can look like. We are proud to welcome Marywood home, to ensure it continues to serve future generations of the Lac du Flambeau people.”
Since 1966, the FSPA community has stewarded Marywood as a place for spiritual renewal, contemplation and holistic living. Facing challenges to its viability as a spirituality center, the sisters began to discern a future for the land that was aligned with the community’s three priorities: right relationship, joyful Gospel living, and the equity and inclusion of all.
“The return of Marywood is both a conclusion and a beginning,” shares Sister Sue Ernster, FSPA President. “We honor the decades of FSPA ministry, and we see this transition as a hopeful step toward healing and right relationship.”
The sisters have also been in a process of reckoning with the history of St. Mary’s Catholic Indian Boarding School, which they administered from 1883 to 1969. As the community listened to more Tribal voices, they uncovered how Indian Boarding Schools were designed to break cultural continuity—separating children from their families, suppressing Native identity and paving the way for the large-scale seizure of Native homelands.
“It was painful to address our complicity, but we knew it had to be done,” reflects Sister Eileen McKenzie, former FSPA president. “We wanted to leave a legacy of healing.” With support from partners at Land Justice Futures, the community began to explore creative solutions for the property that might help heal the land and the past.
“Christian colonization has been the cornerstone of our modern property system for 500 years, authorizing a small elite to make decisions about the land,” says Brittany Koteles, Co-Founder and Director of Land Justice Futures. “But we don’t have to keep repeating the cycle of commodification and extraction. This historic act is proof that we can choose a different path forward.”
Most Rev. James P. Powers, Bishop of the Diocese of Superior, called the transfer “a tangible act of justice and reconciliation that flows directly from the heart of our Catholic faith. Following in the spirit of Pope Francis's own commitment toward repentance, we pray this action will help build on a future of mutual respect and trusted relationships with the Lac du Flambeau Tribe, acknowledging their connection to this land.”
The sisters hope that the example continues to ripple outward. “We hope to model, especially for Catholic religious congregations, that it is possible to pursue alternatives to conventional land transitions,” says Sister Sue Ernster. “The land now lives into its deeper purpose as a place of renewal and we trust and pray that it will plant seeds of cultural renewal for generations to come.”
The Lac du Flambeau Business Development Corporation is assisting the Tribe in the purchase and return of this historic property. “Land is the foundation of sovereignty, and this moment represents both respect for the Tribe’s history and a path toward a stronger, more self-sufficient future.Through Tribal ownership and LDF Business Development Corp management, this property will create opportunities for growth, employment, and community benefit, ensuring it continues to serve the people of Lac du Flambeau for generations to come,” says LDF Business Development Corp., CEO Larry Turner.
President Johnson adds, “The Lac du Flambeau Tribe extends heartfelt gratitude to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration for their commitment to healing and justice. This land, known to our people for centuries, carries the songs, stories, and spirits of our ancestors. As it returns to our care, we honor their memory by continuing to live in harmony with the waters, forests, and all living things that make this place sacred. The circle is being made whole once again.”
This news release was written in collaboration with Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the Lac du Flambeau Business Development Corporation.
Webinar
Land Justice Futures Rematriation Webinar
Sister Sue Ernster, Sister Eileen McKenzie and members of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe will join Land Justice Futures to discuss this historic land return.
November 17, 2 p.m. Central
Register Here
Story Sharing
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