Problems of alcoholism and drug addiction are rampant in the community, along with homelessness, disappearances of women and children, and suicide.
On Aug. 11, the Knights will join the Diocese of Gallup and the Southwest Indian Foundation to break ground on the construction of a new shrine in Gallup, N.M. to St. Kateri Tekakwitha-the first Native American saint.
"It is our hope that in the years to come this St. Kateri Shrine will become a national spiritual home for Native Americans and for all Catholics in North America," Anderson said on Tuesday.
And in the coming months, the Knights will work with the Black and Indian Mission Office and will encourage councils to reach out to reservations and begin working with them to see what their greatest needs are.
"I don't think we often appreciate what that kind of loneliness means for people, and what an idea that this is a Church that's a community of brothers and sisters that care," Anderson told CNA. "That means a lot."
As the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border shows no signs of abating, Anderson announced on Tuesday that the order is "prepared to commit at least $250,000 immediately in humanitarian aid for refugees."
"We're going to do a lot in terms of volunteering, and material support," Anderson explained to CNA, while the Knights will "try to stay out of the politics of the issue."
"Maybe our activism will encourage the politicians to get serious and try to solve it," he said of the crisis. "It's a solvable problem, but we can do a lot just to make their situation better."
Anderson capped off Tuesday with another call for unity, this time a plea for Catholics to lead the way in promoting civility.
After presenting the Caritas Medal to the family of Kendrick Castillo, Anderson ended the States Dinner by noting the decline in civility in the current discourse, with Catholics making personal attacks with words like "bigot," "heretic," and "schismatic," and "with alarming regularity."
Citing the work of the Knights to fight anti-Catholic vitriol a century ago, he asked "every Catholic commentator and every candidate for political office, and especially Catholic candidates" to sign a pledge of civility that the Knights will be circulating online.
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The Knights launched a similar effort during the 2012 elections, Anderson noted, but none of the presidential candidates signed the pledge.
"I think it's fair to say that things have only gotten worse since that time," he told CNA.
Yet "Pope Francis has spoken out on this," he said, and "we hope we're going to be with each other in heaven. So we ought to try and treat each other a little better on earth."
Regarding theological debates and accusations of heresy made online against Catholic figures, "this is what theologians and schools of theology are supposed to be about," Anderson said.
"I think it's certainly the role of scholars of the Church to try to understand things better, and when there's ambiguity to try to point that out," he said. "And when maybe somebody has misspoke, or has developed a line of argument that may lead in a new direction that's unintended, I think that's fair to point that out."
However, he said, "stop the name-calling," he said, and "let's have an honest debate on issues."