The Public Broadcasting Service of Wisconsin shared a story regarding the land transfer between the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the Native Tribe, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.
In a historic act of restoration and accountability, the FSPA returned its Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center property to the Lac du Flambeau, the original caretakers of the land. The transfer closed on 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.
FSPA’s connection to the Lac du Flambeau goes back generations. Children from the Lac du Flambeau Tribe attended St. Mary’s Indian boarding school in Odanah, Wisconsin, run by FSPA for over eight decades. Like many federal Indian boarding schools, St. Mary’s participated in the United States government’s assimilation policies, attempting to erase Native American cultures.
When FSPA President Sue Ernster was asked in a PBS interview, “Does giving land back to Native Americans reconcile the past?” Sister Sue responded with, “It’s a step,” and added, “It does not fully reconcile. There’s nothing I believe that can fully reconcile for the trauma that has been inflicted over these years.”
The Marywood property sits along Trout Lake in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin, and when referring to the area around the lake, including the islands, John Johnson, Tribal President, shares, “All this land that you see around here should be rightfully ours.”
Watch the PBS story below.
The initial statement by FSPA, “A historic act of restoration: FSPA returns Arbor Vitae property to Lac du Flambeau Tribe,” was published on Friday, Oct. 31.
Image above (right to left): Lac du Flambeau Business Development Corporation CEO Larry Turner, FSPA President Sue Ernster and Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians President John Johnson Sr.