Name James Miller | ||
Role De La Salle Christian Brother Died February 13, 1982, Huehuetenango, Guatemala Education Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota | ||
James Alfred "Santiago" Miller, FSC (1944 – February 13, 1982), was an American member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, who grew up in Custer, Wisconsin. He joined the Christian Brothers during his freshman year of high school at Pacelli High School and received a Master's degree in Spanish from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona, Minnesota.
In 1969 Miller was sent to Bluefields, Nicaragua, where he taught in both elementary and high schools. He returned to the United States, where he taught at Cretin High School in St. Paul, Minnesota before returning to teach in Central America. First working in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, where he helped build an industrial arts/vocational complex. He was later transferred to Guatemala. On February 13, 1982, Miller was shot and killed by masked gunmen while on a ladder repairing a wall at the De La Salle Indian School at Huehuetenango, Guatemala.
Some suspected that his killing was in retaliation for the work of the Christian Brothers to prevent native boys from being conscripted into the military. Miller had dedicated himself to providing job and leadership skills to native people to help ease the oppression suffered by Guatemalan Indians. Although students were exempt from the military, two days before the shooting a native student was forced into the army. A different Christian Brother went to the authorities to obtain the student's release. The military refused and the Brother, adamant, had infuriated them.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse sponsors an annual Brother James Miller Social Justice Award.