Denise Lajimodiere's interest in American Indian boarding school survivors’ stories evolved from recording her father and other family members speaking of their experiences. Her research helped her to gain insight, a deeper understanding of her parents, and how and why she and her siblings were parented in the way they were. That insight led her to an emotional ceremony of forgiveness, described in the last chapter of Stringing Rosaries.

The journey to record survivors’ stories led her through the Dakotas and Minnesota and into the personal and private space of boarding school survivors. While there, she heard stories that they had never shared before. She came to an understanding of new terms: historical and intergenerational trauma, soul wound.

Stringing Rosaries presents a brief history of the boarding school programs for Indigenous Americans, followed by sixteen interviews with boarding school survivors, and ending with the author's own healing journey with her father.

Hardcover, 332 pp., 41 black and white photographs, updated listing of more than 400 US boarding schools by state, appendix, bibliography, and index.

Rethinking Rural: Reflections on Today, Insights for the Future
Rethinking Rural Series, Volume 1

250 pp. / paperback

Matt Ehlman, Series Editor

Contents

Introduction

Matt Ehlman, Rethinking Rural Series Editor, host and organizer of the Morning Fill Up, a series of public gatherings intended to inspire and engage and to put creative energies into action for the betterment of the entire community.

Chapter 1:   My Second-Generation Immigrant Experience in Rural America

Taneeza Islam, attorney at law specializing in civil rights and immigration law and co-founder of South Dakota Voices for Peace and Justice

Chapter 2:   The 2020 Census: Counting Everyone Once, Only Once, and in the Right Place

Deirdre Dalpiaz-Bishop, geographic advisor and coordinator for the 2020 Census, chief of the Decennial Census Management Division

Chapter 3:   Indian Country

Antonia Gonzales (member of the Navajo Nation), anchor and producer of National Native News; past associate producer for Native America Calling and television reporter for a CBS affiliate in New Mexico

Chapter 4:   An Educated People—Higher Education in Rural America

Heather Wilson, PhD, president of the University of Texas—El Paso, past president of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and the twenty-fourth Secretary of the United States Air Force

Chapter 5:   One Farmer’s Rural Perspective

Ron Rossman, co-owner of Rosmann Family Farms, founding member of Practical Farmers of Iowa; nationally known for testifying before the US Congress on agricultural issues and hosting international guests learning about new farming approaches

Chapter 6:   Stories That Bring Us Together

Paula Kerger, with Craig Langford; Kerger: president and CEO of PBS and initiator for access to early learning through PDS KIDS; Langford: speechwriter for the mayor of Washington, DC, and the president of PBS

Chapter 7:   Resilient, Vibrant, and Always Changing—the Rural I Know

Kathleen Annette, PhD, member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, past president and CEO of Blandin Foundation and past deputy director of field operations of the Indian Health Service

Chapter 8:   Getting Things Done in Rural America: Examining Trends in Rural Philanthropy

Laurie Paarlberg, professor of philanthropic studies at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University

Chapter 9:   Rural America

Adam Steltzner and Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez; Steltzner is a NASA engineer working for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and chief engineer for the Mars 2020 Project; Gildersleeve-Hernandez is executive director at CUE, a member-driven education nonprofit.

Chapter 10: Righting Relationships: One Perspective on Rural America

Robert Grant, pastor during the 1980s farming crisis; currently professor of Environmental and Historical Theology at St. Ambrose University (Davenport, IA); author of books on environmental ethics; winner of the Eddy Award for environmental education

Afterword

Matt Ehlman

Bibliography

About the Contributors

Index

About the Series

About the Press

11-oz. capacity
Dishwasher- & microwave-safe
Ceramic
White exterior
Ships directly from manufacturer

11-oz. capacity
Dishwasher- & microwave-safe
Ceramic
White exterior
Ships directly from manufacturer

11-oz. capacity
Dishwasher- & microwave-safe
Ceramic
White exterior
Ships directly from manufacturer

11-oz. capacity
Dishwasher- & microwave-safe
Ceramic
White exterior
Ships directly from manufacturer