February 13, 2007 marked the 25th anniversary of the death of Brother James Miller, a member of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. Born in Wisconsin in 1945, a 1966 graduate of Saint Mary's University, he taught high school in the Midwest for several years before going to Nicaragua. Then he went to Guatemala where he taught English, religion and Guatemalan art to secondary students. Aware of the oppression of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and of their need to be trained both in job skills and leadership skills, Br. James helped to begin an experimental farm where indigenous students learned agricultural methods and improvements. More importantly, Br. James prepared native leaders for rural areas who would work for collective development in their villages.

On February 13, 1982 Br. James was shot and killed by four masked gunmen while mending a wall outside the Casa Indigena Huehueteca where he worked.