FORT YATES - The tepee-shaped interior of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Fort Yates is quiet, warmed by the afternoon sun. Star quilts hang on the walls and long leather fringe decorates the wall sconces and altar furniture.

Regular church attendance is small - crowds only come to funerals and weddings, said the Rev. Bill Cosgrove. Cosgrove is the pastor at St. Peter's, the president of St. Bernard's Elementary School next door and director of the Catholic Indian Mission, which includes the communities of Porcupine, Cannon Ball, Solen and Selfridge.

The Bismarck Catholic Diocese took these over after the Benedictines, who had served on Standing Rock for 111 years, left and returned to Missouri, he said.

Indian culture is not poor, but it has needs, chiefly employment, Cosgrove said. The church runs an emergency food pantry and food programs that feed about 1,900 people every month, he said.

"Our school is a safe haven for (children) to be loved," said Tessa Carman of Bismarck, in her sixth year of teaching at St. Bernard's, which has 71 students in grades 1-6.

The only way of overcoming poverty is by excellence in education, Cosgrove said. "We have no gym, but we excel in sports," he said. "We have no , but we excel in science. We have no music program, but we have musicians. Education is forever."

And though they are teased as "mission babies" when they move up into the public schools, St. Bernard's children excel, he said.

The high school graduation rate on most reservations is 50 percent, on Standing Rock it's 60 percent and among St. Bernard's students, 90 percent, Cosgrove said.

Like any culture, the one on Standing Rock has its percentage of addiction, of gangs, Cosgrove said.

Her first year of teaching, Carman went many nights crying, she said. She tries to pray for every student every day; "let them know that somebody knows how they feel," she said.

Far outweighing those factors, though, is the humility of the people, Cosgrove said. "The heart, the struggle.They want to be good parents, even in jail."

Cosgrove said he never loses hope; in fact, he's formed a team to give St. Bernard's greater visibility in the diocese, to create awareness of his school's needs. Cosgrove would love to see St. Bernard's be able to add a kindergarten and seventh and eighth grades

"Amid the hurt and the heartbreak, I see humility, pure culture that gives so much hope."