The year after his passing in the year 1869 the United States Government instituted what was called the Peace Policy which allotted a Christian denomination to each reservation.  Given the success that Father Baraga had amongst the Native Populations one would have expected that the Catholic representation amidst this policy would have been high but instead the opposite was true and the Roman Catholic religion was significantly underrepresented.  Even in the Lake Superior region where Bishop Baraga worked was not granted any Roman Catholic representation [1].  When seeing this the Roman Catholics started an institution called the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions in 1874 to help ensure that the Native populations received the care and representation that they needed.

The Dakota populations underwent similar treatment as the Ojibwe did in the north and they had little to no representation.  In the year 1884 a famous war chief of the Dakota Nation, Chief Red Cloud, hearing of the work that the Catholics did for the Natives became Catholic himself.  In the year 1888 he helped build a boarding school on the Pine Ridge Reservation called Holy Rosary.  At the end of his life Chief Red Cloud, believing in the work that the Catholic Faith did on behalf of the Native Populations, chose to be buried in a Jesuit Black Robe.  The words he spoke towards the end of his life show how much he desired to have others care for the people whom he loved, "I wish that there was someone to help my poor people when I am gone."

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Healing Wounds Ministry seeks to repair the harms brought about during the boarding school era and fulfill Red Clouds and Bishop Baraga's desires to care for those that are in need.  Healing Wounds Ministry is based on the four pillars related to Father Baraga's work amongst the Ojibwe: Language Revitalization, Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation, Food, Shelter & Clothing and Land Acquisition.  The Baraga Legacy Fund helps to create greater awareness of Father Baraga and his work among the Ojibwe Natives.