The Ojibwe Native Americans living on the Red Lake Reservation in Northwest Minnesota are grappling with low working wages, bitterly cold winters, and now, a global pandemic. Everyone, including the innocent children receiving a catholic education at St. Mary’s Mission School, is battling harsh realities each day.
As struggles intensified, heroes arose. Sister Eileen Mohs of the Sisters of St. Benedict in the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, has been easing the burdens brought on by COVID-19 for the reservation. When the pandemic first began, Sister Mohs knew her rural community would need one thing especially: masks.
“I had the fabric to begin making masks, so it felt like an easy thing for me to do,” said Sister Mohs. “Once I started giving masks away, generous people started to give me their leftover material, elastic, or a donation to buy more supplies.”
Not only has Sister Mohs been helping her community by supplying masks, but also through a grant of $1,000 from the Sisters on the Frontlines initiative. She “didn’t have to think long,” and gave all the money to St. Mary’s Mission School.
Located on the Red Lake Reservation, St. Mary’s provides a high quality education while incorporating Native customs into its school teaching. Tuition costs at St. Mary’s are kept low so families can afford this wonderful, Catholic education opportunity.
Many students in Red Lake have allergies, asthma, diabetes and other pre-existing conditions that make them even more susceptible to contracting COVID-19. For the safety of its students, St. Mary’s Mission School used the money from Sister Mohs’s Sisters on the Frontlines grant to purchase 15 Hepa filters, which will ensure that the classrooms have clean filtered air.
Sister Mohs knew the intensity of needs the Red Lake community has taken on during this pandemic.
“The Red Lake community is important to the Sisters of Saint Benedict in Crookston,” Sister Mohs said. “Also, my mom and dad fostered five children from Red Lake for a few years in the ’70s.”
She added:
These kids have always held a special place in my heart.”
As for Sister Mohs’s mask-making, she has now produced over 1,300 masks for her community. She recognizes there is still a great need for masks, and is happy to continue her sewing project.
“Making these masks makes me feel good that I am helping people,” Sister Mohs said. “I realized that just doing a little something for others in need really does make a big difference.”
Sister Mohs has now helped make that big difference for students at St. Mary’s Mission School. She is grateful to have had the opportunity through Sisters on the Frontlines:
I want to express my sincere gratitude. Because of this grant, I was able to help many children who are in need.”
Sisters on the Frontlines aims to give $1,000 to 1,000 women religious to help those most adversely affected by the pandemic. Many more remarkable Catholic sisters are still waiting for grants to bring relief, joy and renewed faith to their communities.
