Hóčhoka Podcast

What does it mean to be 13, back stage adults, watching on tiptoe, waiting to go onstage?" Some years ago, TIME magazine reporter Nancy Gibbs asked that question. Today we hear from someone who spends every day in a middle school classroom. Let’s find out what he says about this unique stage of life.

Theologian John Shea says, “We are the story God tells. Our very lives are the words that come from God’s mouth.” If this is so, the intersection of the rich Indigenous storytelling tradition and Scripture holds profound assets both for Native Christians and for all followers of Christ. Let’s learn more!

Don’t miss Hóčhoka Season 7 when: Monique Gray Smith, author of “Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults,” joins us for three lively conversations Chris Hoklotubbe enriches the Christian perspective with Indigenous wisdom Damian Costello returns to talk about Black Elk, the Ghost Dance and more Steve Huffstetter, SCJ, “talks thiyóšpaye” We explore the world of youth with Influencer Gabe Dannenbring a...

“We say this phrase, ‘Mitákuye Oyá’sin.’ It means all my relatives, all my relations. Once you have that belief, you find it easier to care for people, to have compassion for other people, to practice generosity and reciprocity.” Those are the words of Ben Sherman, grandfather of today’s guest, alum Danielle Arpan, whose pursuit of a nursing degree embodies his teaching.

“I ponder within my heart, where will I gather the holy, fragrant flowers? Who will I ask? …  If they showed them to me, I will fill my tilma and with them I will greet the nobles, with them I will make the lords happy.” This famous pre-colonial Native song is a key that opens our imaginations to the mystery of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Let’s open that door!

Darkness gets a lot of bad press. Few of us want to be “in a dark place” or living in “the darkest hour.” Many are afraid of the dark, the absence of light, and it is under the cover of darkness that nefarious deeds go unseen. Colossians 1:13 proclaims, “He has rescued us from the power of darkness.” But Dr. Damian Costello tells us that Indigenous and Catholic traditions alike tell us that darkne...

Winston Churchill, who served as Prime Minister of England during the Second World War, once said, “I’d rather spend half an hour in the company of a top carpenter than three hours in the company of an average brain surgeon.” It’s our good fortune today to spend around a half hour with someone we consider a top carpenter here at St. Joe’s, alum Trinity Sazue. 

To be a Native American Elder today means to have navigated the forced assimilation of the boarding school era and to have witnessed the loss of culture, language and more. How might you have emerged from such an experience? Let’s continue our conversation with two who show us the way.

Lydia Whirlwind Soldier writes in her poem “To Be an Elder,” “Nope … I am not ready to give up my immature ways, to spontaneously give. I am not ready to examine and prune my behaviors, to ask for those senior discounts, to set examples for those around or let those old patterns vanish.” Today we talk with her and Joseph Marshall III about being a Lakota Elder.

“If we keep everything in balance, we are in harmony with ourselves and are at peace,” said Lakota Holy Man Frank Fools Crow. A key component of balance at St. Joseph’s Indian School is our Counseling Services Department. Today, we’ll look at their work through an Indigenous lens.

“To us, health is about so much more than simply not being sick. It’s about getting a balance between physical, mental, emotional, cultural and spiritual health,” says one Indigenous physician and researcher. Let’s learn how St. Joseph’s Indian School’s health center is taking those words to heart.

Jonas Salk, medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines, once said, “Solutions come through evolution. They come through asking the right questions, because the answers pre-exist. It is the questions that we must define and discover. You don't invent the answer-you reveal the answers.” Let’s talk to a couple of people asking the right questions here at St. Joseph’s...

What do Jesus, the ancient Red Heifer Ceremony, White Buffalo Calf Woman and Black Elk have in common? More importantly, what deeper connections between Lakota Spirituality and Catholicism does this reveal? Let’s find out.

“Give me a glimpse of what could be – not to ponder what might have been – reveal the blush of dawn – overlook the thorns beneath the rose – welcome the glow of winter’s stars – to laugh and play in drifts of snow – kindle that gentle beauty and pray when night and quiet come.” The poem called “Hope” is from “Survival Songs,” poetry by Lydia Whirlwind Soldier on her Native American boarding school...

“I retreat to the edge of dreams, empty my heart of haunting fears. I fly with the red-tail hawk along the bank of rolling thunderheads into the mysteries of prayer.” This is poetry that gives voice to the Lakota Way with heart-stirring imaginative power. Join our conversation with Lakota Poet Lydia Whirlwind Soldier.

How is it that a seminarian from Vietnam and a business major from Ft. Myers, Florida, find themselves traveling through Indian Country of the Northern Plains distributing books on St. Joseph's Indian School's Booklmobile? Let’s find out.

As Native communities across the country reclaim their narratives and embrace their cultural heritages, our work at St. Joseph’s Indian School has become increasingly enriched through Indigenous ways of knowing. It is time to ask, “Well, then, what about an indigenous evaluation framework for our students?”

What’s all this talk about Indigenous ways of knowing? Why should a school for Native American students seek to develop measurements of student achievement based on Indigenous knowledge systems? Let’s talk to Dr. Melanie Nadeau who can help us appreciate this complex topic.

What happens when a researcher and doctor in public health and an alum of St. Joseph’s, who herself works and pursues studies in health care, have the opportunity to get to know one another? Let’s find out when we meet Dr. Melanie Nadeau and Danielle Two Two.

Don’t miss Hóčhoka Season 6 when: Dr. Damian Costello joins us again to provide fresh perspectives on Catholicism through an Indigenous lens. We explore the Red Heifer, the Advent season and Our Lady of Guadalupe. We hear from South Dakota Living Treasure and Lakota Poet Lydia Whirlwind Soldier. Joseph Marshall III joins her for two episodes called the “Elder’s Circle,” when they talk about life o...

What happens when Lakota author and artist Donald Montileaux collaborates with our librarian, Claire Nehring, and her students to create an illustrating project? Let’s watch and listen in.

What happens when a beloved Lakota artist joins ranks with traditional tribal storytellers who used their wisdom and gifted voices to paint pictures of wonderful, magical animals and colorful birds on the walls of young people’s minds? To borrow some words from Donald Montileaux himself, this one is for all those children whose eyes dance in the firelight as he creates words and images that jump b...

What do an impromptu visit to a friend’s house, a pick-up basketball game, going on an out-of-state trip or cultural activities have to do with a healthy residential environment for kids? We’re about to find out from the Executive Director of the Coalition for Residential Excellence Don Forrester.

Strength and resiliency – these are perhaps two sides of the same coin. The apostle Paul would say, in my weakness I am strong. Let’s hear what Joseph Marshall III says about the traditional Lakota bow and arrow and the power that comes from overcoming adversity.

Some tout the elegance of simplicity. And nowadays it seems everyone is talking about “Ikigai,” the Japanese word-become-buzzword for purpose. It is said to be the secret to a long and happy life. But it has been more than a decade since Joseph Marshall III drew on centuries-old Lakota wisdom to write about simplicity and purpose as characteristics of a life well lived.