St. Joseph's Indian School

Guest blogger: Fr. Anthony

Greetings once again to all of you who have a special place in your heart for St. Joseph’s Indian School. As Fr. Steve is away for some meetings and another donor luncheon, he has asked several of the staff here to keep you informed of what is happening on campus.

I just got back from the airport in Sioux Falls, South Dakota picking up one of our college SCJ’s who is on Spring Break. As he has been out to St. Joseph’s before during the summer when very few students are around, he desired to come and see the program in action. He’ll be helping out as a student aide and will help with our Home Prayer program in which each of our 19 homes are visited for the purpose of a prayer service based on a selected theme. This month we were reflecting on self-control.

Yesterday, I had the chance to go with St. Joseph’s Indian School’s principal and the victors of St. Joseph’s spelling bee to the Corn Palace Regional in Mitchell, South Dakota. The students were broken up into class groups. This is the first time St. Joseph’s students have been entered into the program that ends at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. Some went out on first or second words, others went deeper into the competition and our 8^th grade student won third place. For being a first time endeavor, we are very proud of all those who competed. They set the bar high.

We got back from Mitchell with time to spare, so we got to help officiate in the Chamberlain Chamber of Commerce basketball tournament. This tournament is offered for 4^th, 5^th and 6^th grade teams from the local areas around the state of South Dakota. St. Joseph’s hosted the 6^th grade boys and our team earned 4^th place. The championship game went into overtime and was won literally on a last second lay-up that brought victory to a team from Spearfish over the Chamberlain Cubs team. Our recreation staff was happy to help since it gives people from around the state the chance to see our school and find out about what we have to offer here at St. Joseph’s. Many kind comments were made about our gym facilities, which your generosity makes possible. Thank you.

The wanbli - eagle - is a winged symbol for the Lakota (Sioux) people.

All the grade school students had the chance to take part in a bald eagle presentation put on by the Minnesota Raptor Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. They brought over four birds to show our students—a red tail hawk, a peregrine falcon, a horned owl and a magnificent bald eagle. The presenter shared insights into their lives and capabilities, then answered a wide variety of questions from our Native American students. It was an impressive sight since several of the birds have special significance for the Native American people. It was also pointed out how the birds are being affected by the use of chemicals for farming and lead for fishing. Read more about bald eagles on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s website.

The last bit of good news this weekend is that another of our high school graduates received word about being accepted at the University of Minnesota-Morris and receiving a scholarship. Two other graduates also found out they will be attending the schools of their first choice, so is this selection the first choice of the student involved. We congratulate them all.

May the Great Spirit bless and keep you all safe and healthy this upcoming week.

All for this week, but I’ll be in touch again next Sunday since Fr. Steve will still be away. May the Great Spirit bless and keep you all safe and healthy this upcoming week. If anyone wants snow, we have lots to share since we got hit again Saturday morning.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School

On the road again

I hit the road for the next 11 days, and spent much today wrapping up things in the office as best I can before traveling.

First, I travel west to California, where a group of us from the business office have been invited to attend a planning retreat that starts on Monday. I’m going a few days early to visit my aunt and cousins in the area.

When that’s finished, I head east to Waukesha, near Milwaukee Wisconsin, for donor appreciation luncheons. I will be back in the office March 8.

In the meantime, I’ve asked some of our staff to be guest bloggers, and give you a different perspective in the coming days. I’ll fill you in more when I return.

Stretching the Lakota children’s horizon

Burnt toast set off the fire alarms in Central Offices and got our attention as we were just settling in for our morning meetings. We all passed the impromptu fire drill. Several of our staff are on the volunteer fire department, and once everyone had cleared the building, they checked things out and quickly determined the threat was past, and we all went back to work. A fire could break out most anywhere on campus and it was a good reminder to be prepared.

Fr. Steve, William and Tray at a donor luncheon earlier this year.

I practiced with LaToya, one of our Lakota high school girls who will speak to donors in the Milwaukee area about her experiences at St. Joseph’s Indian School. The high school boys for the next trips in April and June were also selected, so I stopped by their home to congratulate them and answered their questions.

The students are very excited to get to visit a different part of the country and experience something different from what they’ve know and experienced in South Dakota. One of St. Joseph’s Indian School’s mottos a few years ago was, “The World as a Classroom”. Travel and meeting new people stretches their horizons and their understanding of the world. And for me too!

PS – for schedules and more information about attending donor appreciation luncheons, please visit: http://bit.ly/cyor7m.

Decisions and advice

This morning our principal stopped in to discuss our priorities for next year in hiring specialist teachers, since we had some turnover last year. Do we add to our Lakota studies program? Can we find replacements for our Music teacher or Personal Living Skills teacher who have taken jobs elsewhere?

We have so much that we want to teach our children in need, but only so many class periods in the day to do it. We even talked about possible electives at the end of the school day or offering some Saturday lessons. It is a hard balancing act.

God never promised trying to reach out to people in need would be relaxing or easy.

Most days are fun and delightful here, but some days are heavy and draining. This afternoon, I fielded a call from an alumni who was having lots of personal difficulties and was very depressed, struggling to find reasons to keep going.

After that, I met with a disabled person who is in danger of losing his apartment. Then it was a trip to the law office to try to straighten out complicated legal issues we’ve been working on for a long time.

At day’s end, I felt tired and had a tension headache. God never promised trying to reach out to people in need would be relaxing or easy. That’s just part and parcel of the call to ministry.

Another cold weekend

Interstate 90 was closed in South Dakota from Chamberlain–west 150 miles– to Wall, and many of our students who went home for the weekend couldn’t get back. Our facilities crew did a great job of plowing our parking lots and roads, and we were able to open school on time. I stopped in the classrooms this morning, and found them to be missing a few students – 44 absent in all, about a fourth of our elementary school. By day’s end, the roads were clearning up and I saw many families dropping their children off at their homes away from home.

One of our 4^th grade girls was in the Dean of Students’ office, which meant she was having some problems and was acting up in her classroom. We have cubicles in there for students to study at while calming down. This student preferred to sit on the floor, behind a door, almost hidden from view. She was supposed to be working on the South Dakota state map, identifying Native American reservations, towns, and natural formations but she didn’t have much focus. I didn’t try to deal with the behaviors that landed her there, or scold her in any way. I just tried to be as kind as I could, knowing that she has worries and struggles in her family. We talked about a safer subject – the geography she was working on, and she again found the interest to continue her project. The teachers, counselors and houseparents will talk over how to work through the things that are bothering her.

10″ of snow this weekend

The predicted snows did hit!

We got about 10 inches of powdery, blowing snow. Interstate 90 is closed for 150 miles going west in South Dakota. Our maintenance crew has been out plowing; keeping the roads on campus open to allow us to still get around. It was however, easier to travel on foot rather than in a vehicle. Our chapel had the usual crowd for mass, since all our students are here anyway, and just had to walk a block or two.

That’s part of being in community.

After church, I didn’t have any other scheduled activities and I climbed the snowy hill back home for a true day of rest. As the snows continued, you couldn’t go anywhere anyway. I’ve always liked a good snow day, once everyone is safely where they need to go. I read, made some phone calls, exercised and prayed. I don’t often get bored, but try to make my most out of the time given. To be sociable I watched TV with Fr. Dominic for a while. Hockey and golf were on, two sports I never watch on my own. But that’s part of being in community, trying to take interest in what other people are interested in, making small talk and enjoying the time together. When Fr. Anthony got back from a home prayer the three of us played some cards before calling it a night.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Children

Our school assembly room hosted a good crowd of students and their families as part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Children (RCIC) retreat.

We’re working with a few older students, but mostly a lot of 2^nd and 3^rd graders. They gravitate toward the hands on activities best of all. I enjoyed the presentation by our principal Kathleen, and Steve, the 4^th grade teacher, that compared the gifts of the Holy Spirit to different treats that the students then helped to pass out. In my presentation on the symbols of baptism, the youngsters were fascinated by the baptismal font and crowded around it in a human chain to feel the water and rub into their hands the olive oil I passed around. I don’t think any of them will qualify as distinguished theologians by the time they finish the program, but they have such good hearts and intentions. I hope we do give them a solid basis of faith they can grow into.

We had planned to go through the Rite of Enrollment tomorrow morning at mass, but we changed plans on the fly due to a blizzard predicted for tomorrow. We worried families would get stuck here or on the road when the snow started to fly. We decided to hold a prayer service at the end of the retreat. I called the homes around campus and most of the other students on campus showed up in a sign of support. The families were able to take part and still make it home safely and not worry about tomorrow.

20 children kids wrote their names in the Book of Enrollment. 6^th grader Zooey broke her arm and had surgery, so her houseparent Frank stood by her side and did the writing for her.

The four homes with 1^st-3^rd graders all had several children involved in the retreat. We ordered pizzas, and the homes each brought fruits, vegetables and deserts! We sat down for a festive meal after it was finished. It gave all our staff more time to visit with and get to know the families.

Tiyospaye – extended family

The eldest elder on the Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota, 96-year-old Mabel Driving Hawk, was buried today. When I was pastor in Lower Brule, I often stopped by her home to take her communion when Mabel wasn’t well enough to come to church. Mabel always had a houseful of grandchildren, or great-grandchildren that she was looking after. Counting 31 great-great grandchildren she had 151 living descendents!

When big crowds are expected, families often move the services to the larger community center, but Mabel made it clear she wanted to have her funeral in the church that she belonged to for so many years. Fr. Joe led the services, and I just helped out by being there. More than anything else, I enjoyed standing at the entrance to the church hall, where the viewing was going on, and saying hello to her Tiyospaye – extended family as they streamed in. Some were St. Joseph’s students. Many other I’ve had some connection with in my years in this part of the country. Dave and Jean, houseparents at St. Joseph’s Indian School also came. They are close to one of the granddaughters and were asked to be her godparents, so they’ve kept the connection over the years.

Four singers carried and played the drum while leading us all to the cemetery. Afterwards, we gathered back at the hall for a meal and conversations about the memories about Mabel and catching up with one another.

In the evening, I met with a couple to begin their marriage preparation. I still occasionally fill in were needed in the parishes. I haven’t done a wedding in a couple of years, but I’ve done enough that I won’t forget how.

Lakota challenges, opportunities and struggles

Due to a few people being away, our Development Office meeting got canceled. We do a lot of good working meetings, but I seldom cry or complain when one gets canceled. Since I planned to spend time there anyway, I wandered around the offices with a little extra time to check on what folks are working on. Donors have been generous with the annual heating appeal and the Lakota (Sioux) star quilt raffle, so there are many letters to answer, along with prayer requests and questions. With any kind of ministry, you imagine yourself doing great and life changing things. Today, we spent time trying to figure out the best use of a fur coat that someone generously gave us. Every day brings unique challenges and opportunities.

Over lunch, we had a training session for all of our supervisors. The topic was time management, and I did notice that everyone was there on time. Most interesting to me was the acknowledgement that one of the biggest problems is that we too easily get distracted by “shiny objects” – things we find more interesting and attractive that pull us away from focusing on what is most important. I can make a list and cross off many things, but if I’m not getting at the most important tasks, which are often the most demanding, I’m not making much real progress. In the spiritual life, we so often speak of discernment, and trying to look to God to show us what is important, and what we can and must let go of. When I see something important that I cannot accomplish myself, that’s where teamwork and dialogue become so important.

Our 7^th and 8^th grade boys were in basketball action again tonight. The 7^th grade continues to roll with a 6-0 start to the season. The 8^th graders played hard but came up 5 points short. One of the kids was visibly upset when the coach took him out of the game, and other choked back tears when he fouled out. I spent most of the 4^th quarter over on the bench just sitting there, trying to be a calming influence and be of support. We all have a tendency to think of our kids as tough, but those times remind me that their self-esteem is fragile, and some have wounds that are not easily healed. A basketball game, school activity or home event may trigger a reaction that tells us to look beyond the behavior and ask what we need to address. Our programs try to take all that into account and help them through the difficulties of growing up years.

I was able to dunk a few times

For staff appreciation day, we started with breakfast in the school dining hall. Staff from the business office and maintenance shop don’t get as much regular interaction with our students as teacher or houseparents do, and they seemed to enjoy eating breakfast and talking to the kids. I wandered around the tables to check up on everyone. I find out more about what’s going on around campus in those settings than I do at staff meetings! The dining hall crew had to work for their own meal, but I hope they felt appreciated too.

A lovely couple from Sioux Falls, South Dakota stopped in to visit. They’ve been to our Akta Lakota Museum & Culture Center many times and make it a regular stop when friends and relatives not familiar with Lakota (Sioux) culture come to visit. But they’ve never seen the rest of what we do, and asked for a tour of campus. I met up with them while Jona was giving a tour. We get a lot of visitors in the summer, but not so many in February!

The kids at St. Joseph's Indian School love playing baseketball!

Today, was actually a wonderful day for a tour. The temperature climbed over the 60 degree mark, remarkable for February! After school when I walked around campus, I smelled beef on a grill, and my nose led me to the Speyer Home (6^th-8^th grade boys) where Mark, the houseparent, was supervising three students as they honed their own skills as cooks while grilling cheeseburgers for supper. I had to pass on that invite, for I was headed to Rooney Home (6^th-8^th grade boys) to join them for supper. The guys were outside playing basketball, so I decided to test my leg and join them. The good news was I was able to dunk a few times. The bad news is that was on a 7 foot rim! I’m walking around with no problems, but when it comes to running and jumping, I know what I want to do, but the legs don’t follow my mind just yet. I’ll keep up the exercise and therapy and keep trying for those incremental improvements.

We have a donor luncheon in the Milwaukee area in a few weeks, and this evening I met with two of our high school students, Shaylene and LaToya to help them prepare for what they want to say when they speak. Shay is a senior and has been at St. Joseph’s Indian School for 12 years, so she has previously represented St. Joseph’s Indian School. This will be LaToya’s first chance and she’s both nervous and excited. Both have a lot to say, and it was fun working with them.