Hóčhoka Podcast
The Lakota word Hóčhoka means the center of the camp circle. The name speaks to the actual location of the recording studio, the centrality of the mission of St. Joseph’s Indian School to all that we do, the role of the podcast to be at the center of the Native American educational conversation and gather others around that conversation.
Episodes

Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
When Damian Costello thinks of the Lakota way, many sacred items come to mind. The Sun Dance tree. The čhaŋnúŋpa, or sacred pipe. The drum. The prayer tie. And the rosary. Dr. Damian Costello joins us to talk about that most Catholic of prayers, the rosary, understood as a Lakota way. October is dedicated to the Rosary.

Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
“What defines us is our place in the environment that we live in and how we express ourselves in it,” says visiting artist Michele David Mechling. Learn about her journey as an artist and the joy she finds sharing art with the students of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
It has been said that "Our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion is to take off our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy.” Fr. Vien Nguyen unpacks the meaning of intentional intercultural living for those who founded our school towards the end of the boarding school era and for the world's future.

Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
From Vietnamese boat person to Provincial Superior – let’s get to know Fr. Vien Nguyen, Provincial Superior of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, founders of St. Joseph’s Indian School. Learn his favorite musical choice and why he likes the prophet, Amos.

Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Should the Catholic Church near you have a buffalo skull? Dr. Damian Costello, a Catholic theologian specializing in Indigenous spiritual traditions, joins us to bring fresh perspectives on Catholicism through an Indigenous lens. We explore the appropriateness of the presence of the buffalo skull in Catholic houses of worship.

Monday Aug 14, 2023
Hóčhocka Season 4 Teaser
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Monday Aug 14, 2023
Don't miss Hóčhoka Season 4 when:
Dr. Damian Costello joins us again to provide fresh perspectives on Catholicism through and indigenous lens.
We get to know Fr. Vien Nguyen, Superior Provincial of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, founders of our school.
Visiting Artist Michele David Mechling shares the joy of art with our students.
We learn about Native American literature from Lily Mendoza, Joseph Marshall III and the school's own bookmobile initiative.
We talk about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women with Red Skirt Society Founder Lily Mendoza, Joseph Marshall III and employees of the State of South Dakota who work on the issue every day.
We visit with Religious Studies Teacher Kim Schneider about her summer spiritual journeys that traversed the Lakota sacred sites of South Dakota and the Camino to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Monday May 08, 2023
Season 3, Episode 15 - Talking Thiyóšpaye - Part III
Monday May 08, 2023
Monday May 08, 2023
Been here, done that! Let’s get acquainted with a former student. Today we talk with Larry Jandreau, a student from 1960 to 1964. Larry is currently the Director of Facilities Management for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe and a member of the St. Joseph's Indian School Board of Directors. Enjoy his look back to St. Joe's in the 60s.

Monday May 01, 2023
Season 3, Episode 14 - Talking Thiyóšpaye - Part I
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Let’s hear about what it was like from someone with soul. Today we talk with Virgil Taken Alive, former counselor in the Big Boys Dormitory, enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, retired station KLND DJ who went by Lakota Soulman and our treasured powwow emcee.

St. Joseph’s Indian School's video podcast series showcases the people and ideas that make our school the special place it is.
Watch, listen and learn more about what the school has to offer. Listen to the wisdom of thought-leaders on Native American education today. Laugh, hope, warm your heart and sharpen your mind at the center of the school’s camp circle.