St. Mary's Mission, Red Lake Indian Reservation (Red Lake Band of Chippewa). "Traditionally the governmental structure of the Ojibwe was based on adherence to an hereditary clan chieftainship among the people, and the right to participate in clan decisions was an inherited right" (Lindblad, page 78). They did what they could to keep friendly relations with government agencies, traders, lumbermen and missionaries, while preserving their status of the reservation as a "closed reservation." The people of the Red Lake Indian Reservation themselves insisted on this status to protect their autonomy and food source. It took years for the American people to realize the injustices that were inflicted upon the Americans Indians. The Ojibwe's efforts at revitalizing their culture attest to their dignity and resilience as a people (SBMA Lindlbad, page 78).
St. Benedict's Mission, White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Survival was the sisters' prime challenge during those first years of exposure to cold and scarcity of food in White Earth. But even so, they took two orphan girls (the younger one only four years old) into their home. The care of orphans was to become an important work for them at St. Benedict's Mission as White Earth developed. Sisters Philomena and Lioba, unlike in temperaments, proved to be well-suited to work together among the Ojibwe. Sister Philomena, young and vivacious, had volunteered for missionary work; Sister Lioba, deliberate and more conservative, was fearful of venturing that far into the northern region. They learned to rely on each other's strengths and persevered through 50 years of mission work at the White Earth Indian Reservation (White Earth Band of Ojibwe). Records indicate that, when a fire destroyed the school just a few weeks after their arrival, Sister Lioba felt justified in going back home, but Sister Philomena suggested fixing up the barn to serve as the school, which they did at a cost of $35.00. [SBMA, McDonald, pp. 232-237]