New Truth-telling Initiative Confronts Red Cloud Indian School’s Past 

Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota has begun a Truth and Healing process, with Maka Black Elk serving as executive director. 

Black Elk is the great-great-grandson of Lakota leader Nicholas Black Elk and a graduate of Red Cloud himself. 

By establishing a formal Truth and Healing committee, Red Cloud hopes to tackle the school’s past head-on. In the fall of 2019, the school administration formed a working group, which included Black Elk, Fr. Brad Held, SJ, and other community members, and tasked the committee with investigating Red Cloud’s history as a boarding school. The Truth and Healing process is based on the research of Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Braveheart and will follow four phases she has identified: confrontation (or truth-telling), understanding, healing, and transformation. 

The committee is currently focused on truth-telling, aiming to uncover the facts of Red Cloud’s history and the lived experiences of its survivors through testimony gathering, community dialogue, archival research, and an institutional acknowledgement of harm. 

“I’m faithful in the sense that I think this process is sacred,” said Black Elk. “My hope is that through this process—no matter what the outcome is—the outcome is only something that makes us better, that gets us closer to justice, that is welcomed by God.” 

Read more about the initiative at JesuitsMidwest.org/RCHealing  

Dr. Alan Miciak Named President of John Carroll University

Dr. Alan Miciak took office June 1 as the 26th president of John Carroll University, succeeding Dr. Michael D. Johnson. 

“As president, my single focus will be to ensure each student receives the right mix of academic challenge, experiential opportunity, and personal formation,” said Dr. Miciak. “I look forward to working with our outstanding faculty, staff, and the entire John Carroll community to put our full focus on the well-being and success of our students.” 

Dr. Miciak previously served as executive vice president of John Carroll and as the John M. Boler Dean of the Boler College of Business and brings nearly 20 years of experience in Catholic higher education leadership to the role. Under Dr. Miciak’s leadership, the Boler College of Business developed new programs and facilities across its schools and departments and secured three significant naming gifts, part of $25 million raised in the college’s Inspired Lives campaign. 

“The board saw in Dr. Miciak a unique opportunity to engage a highly qualified new leader from within who has a proven track record at John Carroll to steer the university through the next stage of its transformation,” said Bill Donnelly, chair of the John Carroll Board of Directors. “Working closely with Michael, Al has shown a clear vision and plan for propelling the university to 2050 and beyond with a renewed focus on the student experience.” 

Vanessa Solis to Lead Nativity Jesuit Academy as Next President

Former teacher and principal Vanessa Solis assumed the presidency of Nativity Jesuit Academy in Milwaukee on July 1. While there was incredibly strong interest in the presidential position within the community and several strong external candidates were interviewed, the presidential search committee found that the best candidate, Solis, was already at Nativity. 

Solis joined Nativity in 2014 and has led groundbreaking work since. She served as Nativity’s first-ever K4 teacher, laying the foundation for the elementary school to grow as Nativity became a full K-8 school with more than 250 students. From that position, she then transitioned to Nativity’s director of elementary school education and ultimately became the principal in 2018. During the past year, Solis has navigated the school through a new set of challenges brought on by the pandemic. Through each stage of her time at Nativity, Solis has felt called to do more. 

“While my time, energy, and focus were on my current work as principal, I kept feeling that I was meant to do more for Nativity, more for our students and our families,” said Solis. “I know firsthand that a high-quality education is transformational not only for our students but their whole family, and it is an honor to provide the same opportunities that were made available to me to our deserving students.” Solis will be succeeded as principal by Jon Nowak, who most recently served as the school’s director of operations.

Netflix to Produce Documentary Series Based on Loyola Press Book

Loyola Press, a Chicago-based apostolate of the Midwest Jesuits, has announced that Netflix is in the final stages of producing an original documentary series based on its award-winning book Sharing the Wisdom of Time by Pope Francis and Friends. The documentary series is being produced in four languages and is set for a Netflix global release later this year, premiering in 190 countries. 

Sharing the Wisdom of Time is a collection of photographs and stories of older adults from over 30 countries. Through their stories, older adults share wisdom gained from lifetimes of experience. Pope Francis contributes as a fellow older adult, offering the preface, his own story in each chapter, and reflections on dozens of others’ stories. The book follows Pope Francis’ call to younger generations to recognize older adults as reservoirs of wisdom and historical memory. 

Joellyn Cicciarelli, president and publisher of Loyola Press, said of the series, “We were thrilled to publish the book Sharing the Wisdom of Time. This docuseries takes Pope Francis’ mission one step further—meeting young people where they are, through media—and inviting them to find ways to connect with and learn from elders.” 

For more information about Sharing the Wisdom of Time, visit SharingWisdomOfTime.com