At St. Joseph's Indian School, our privately-funded programs for Lakota (Sioux) children in need have evolved over 90 years of family partnership, experience and education. Because of generous friends who share tax-deductible donations, Native American youth receive a safe, stable home life; individual counseling and guidance; carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs and tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem and improve cultural awareness. All of this helps children to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future.
After a two-week vacation, our Native American students returned to St. Joseph’s campus shortly after noon when our homes opened.
Today, was still the legal holiday for our year round staff, so morning was very quiet in the office. I’m going to miss the uninterrupted times to work on projects. But, I missed the students and child services staff being away even more, and was delighted to welcome them back.
I made rounds of most of the homes. Early in the afternoon, when only a handful of students were back, proved to be a good time to check in with houseparents about their holiday break. Closer to supper time, more of the children were around. Some were unpacking or doing laundry. Since our students come from across the state, they may not get to see each other when they are home. Many were checking in with the friends they hadn’t seen in a while.
All of the kids were so happy to be back at St. Joseph's Indian School.
Twenty-six degrees seems cold, but when I came by the football field, the Ambrose boys (1st-3rd grade) were out under the lights and were having a great time tossing a ball around and dreaming of one day playing in a Bowl game. I’m glad that our students are more likely to play games outside than watch them on TV. I am concerned that when like most kids, they have a tendency to overdo the video games.
The health center was a hub of activity. After each student dropped their belongings at their homes, they came to see our nurses for a brief examination, a screening for head lice and a check on medications, cuts, bruises or injuries needing attention. We try to keep a close check on health issues, fully buying into the maxim that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Semester breaks are also times of student transitions. I met Kayla and Anthony, two of the new students we accepted from our waiting list once we had an opening. They are both excited about the opportunities here and scared about how they will fit in. I tried to learn their names right away. It’s important as a child when adults know you as an individual and can call you by name. (Something biblical about that as well!)
I hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas and through the love of family and friends, felt the love of God as well.
After three days with no one other than Fr. Bernie and I around, campus is gradually coming back to life. Two break homes opened on Monday. About 15 high school students who are in sports are back, along with a few younger students who have a need to be here. Yesterday Laura, one of our custodians, made her usual 7:30 a.m. stop at the high school home to empty trash and accidentally set off the alarms! During the school year, students are already up and on their way to school by then. With the holiday schedule, they were all still sleeping, and when she opened the doors the horns and whistles started blaring. Our students got out of bed much quicker than normal – maybe something the houseparents can keep in mind for the future!
The week before and after Christmas brings different rhythms to St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus. Some days are frenzied, others so very quiet. Last week, our grade school youth were home for break, but our high school students stayed through Thursday. Stress levels were high as the students took exams and finished the final semester projects and papers. I could see the visible signs of relief on their faces as families came to campus to pick them up for vacation.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
My holiday temptation toward over-eating had several worthy opportunities. Our facilities department had their annual holiday luncheon on Tuesday. They can be proud of the quality and quantity of projects they can say they accomplished as they look back over the past year.
The development office had their Christmas pot-luck on Thursday. The fall pot-luck features a lot more fresh vegetables from the garden, while this spread was filled with dishes that you need to eat in moderation, but I don’t always have the will power not to fill your plate.
While the campus is quieter without children around for a few days, many of our staff are still hard at work. We have thank-you’s to send to the many generous donors we heard from during Christmas. With the homes empty for a few days, it’s a good chance for the fix up projects that are too noisy or messy to otherwise do.
On the partial list for facilities this week:
Painting several rooms in the school
Removal of old storage tank in boiler room
Tile and freezer floor work in the Dining Hall
Changing many – many – many air filters around campus
Spray for Bed Bugs
Also on the list is snow removal – but we haven’t had much of the white stuff yet. The mild weather has allowed us to focus on other projects, especially the Stevens & Matthias Home remodeling.
The milder weather has also let the outside construction contractor to make good progress on the Iya Tokeya Inajin – They Stood Here in the Beginning – Alumni building. This week and last they have put up support columns and attached the aluminum studs. The frame of a building going up is one of the most noticeable and dramatic parts of any project.
Last week, three members of our committee took a drive to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to make some decisions about concrete castings to be used for the exterior. A four-hour round trip for a half hour meeting seems like a lot, but in South Dakota we get used to the mileage. What we don’t have too often is traffic. My brother, who lives in Chicago, can get stuck in traffic that long going but a fraction of the distance. With the good company of Tom (facilities) and Dixie (museum director) our conversation made the miles fly quickly by.
On Christmas Eve, I traveled north to the parish in Stephan, on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation. When we don’t have campus masses, I enjoy returning to the area parishes I used to serve. Christmas is a wonderful time in small towns to see the extended clans and I caught up with many people who have moved away, but came home for the holidays.
Because of a larger than expected crowd, we completely ran out of hosts and I had to break the last few I had into tiny fragments. But I suppose even a little bit of Christ can do a lot for people who believe.
I hope Christmas services strengthened people’s faith and experience of God’s love.
On Christmas Day, I did the cooking and invited all our area SCJ parish priests to relax at our community house after a long weekend of Masses.
This week, I have very few meetings. The end of the year gives me a chance to clear the desk and dispatch with the 15 and 20 minute projects I pushed aside in the pre-holiday rush and also have time for some of the long-range planning that we’re in the midst of.
Greetings everyone, Richard here! May I wish you all a blessed Christmas time and my prayers for all to have a healthy and joyous new year. Now that the frenzy of shopping hopefully is over … except for the returns … let us take a moment to reflect of the meaning of this season and what the message of the Gospels is all about. Christ came in peace and lived in peace, yet His simple message has eluded humanity since His birth.
On December 11, in the Chapel of our Lady of the Sioux, we had the First Rite of the RCIC program. It is the Rite of Welcoming. We had twenty-five Lakota (Sioux) students partake in this ceremony conducted by Fr. Steve. This is the Rite where students ask to join the community in learning about becoming Catholic. The students ask for acceptance and the community pledges to support their endeavors. The community also prays that I be guided in teaching the students about faith issues. As part of the Rite. Fr. Steve blessed their senses and their hands and feet so they may walk in the path of Jesus. Each student at the conclusion received a Bible for them to read, as we journey on path to receiving First Holy Communion.
Before break, Fr. Anthony conducted class Masses for the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Each class had their own Mass in the morning before the start of the day. The students reflected on the experience and all said it was the best Mass they ever attended. They liked the shared intimacy and members of each class helped serve and did the readings of the day. It was a good experience for the students.
Before break, we also had confessions for the students. Many students who are not Catholic also attended and had the chance to speak and pray with the priest in the confessional; it gives the student an opportunity to focus on their spiritual development.
My name is Mary Jane. I work with the alumni of St. Joseph’s Indian School. Each year we try to have three to four alumni luncheons at various places in South Dakota.
On Sunday, December 18, a group of us traveled to Rapid City, South Dakota for an alumni luncheon. Four of our high school students, RJ, Erin, Cody and Makayla along with another staff member, Maija who was a houseparent and is currently working with our high school students.
During the course of the luncheon we had twelve alumni along with their families join us. We had a total of 40 people for lunch.
We had so much fun reconnecting, sharing and learning what was new with each other.
Henrietta, who currently lives in Rapid City went to St. Joseph’s Indian School in the 50’s. Henrietta’s cousin LeAnn attended St. Joseph’s in the 70’s and also joined us for lunch. Both ladies shared their stories with Erin and others about their times in the dorms, school days and chores that they had. Currently LeAnn owns her own cleaning business. She stated that she learned to clean so well as a student at St. Joseph’s. Erin, our high school senior, shared her stories of being able to travel to Florida for a donor luncheon and Germany for an exchange with our sister school.
Three others had been students here during the transition from the dorms to the homes and were able to share many experiences. Kory, David and Janice all were classmates in the sixth through eighth grades during those days. Kory and David were in the high school program and a year in the college program together. It was amazing to watch them reconnect, share their stories and learn what each other have done since their ‘St. Joe’s days’.
Parents of several of the alumni came as well. They too talked about how much they appreciated all that St. Joseph’s had done for their children while they were here.
Steve, our 7-8th grade science teacher and Kara, our 2nd and 4th grade teacher also came. They too enjoyed seeing former students and joking about their times together in ‘the olden day’ as they call it.
The day was filled with laughter and reconnecting with old friends.
Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel hosted the Chamberlain Area Churches Choir as they graced the space by singing an uplifting Christmas Cantata. This is the third year the community has gathered for the event, which gets better attended each year as word spreads. The singing and Christmas story “The Love of God” certainly helped lift my spirits and place me more deeply in the Christmas spirit. Afterwards fellowship and Christmas goodies were shared in our skateroom. My only regret was that our Native American youth weren’t around to be able to share in such a lovely tradition.
Only one other staff member was in the office all day, and I took advantage to work on several project uninterrupted. I gave several hours to answering Christmas cards. I answer cards as they come in, so some friends and relatives won’t hear from me until after Christmas, but I figure you’ve got twelve days to celebrate anyway, right? With each note, I say a little prayer and remember people with nostalgia. I wish time and distance didn’t separate us so much from all the people who have made such a difference in our lives. I wish we were more connected, but I believe we will be in God’s greater plan. As the Lakota (Sioux) say – Mitakuye Oyasin – We are all relatives and I’m grateful for all those I share this path of life with.
Activities continued at the Lakota Nation Invitational Tournament (LNI) in Rapid City, South Dakota. After the Knowledge Bowl concluded, our Lakota (Sioux) students took individual tests in their strongest school subjects. They competed against other gifted and talented Native American youth from across the state of South Dakota, but mostly, I emphasized, they were competing against themselves, as they try to grow in knowledge. Not winning, not being the best or brightest can be a powerful incentive to study harder and learn more.
True wisdom begins when we know what we don’t know.
Our high school team will stay on another day, but I had to get back to Chamberlain for our end-of-the-year staff Christmas party. On the first part of the drive, I turned the radio on to hear how some of the basketball games were going and head a ballgame broadcast entirely in Lakota! That’s a creative way to spark interest and keep the Lakota language alive. It wasn’t too long before the reception faded, I turned off the radio, and appreciated the silence on the three-hour drive home. With little traffic, traveling in South Dakota can be very meditative and a good time for taking stock of blessings, and things I need to work on.
Jodee won the shiniest sweater! She looked great!
Many of our staff, including the maintenance crew and the development office people who are still answering all the mail and donor requests work year round. Our teachers and most houseparents are on a school schedule and will have the next two weeks off. Tonight was a night to relax and celebrate the successful completion of the first semester.
The planning committee threw in a new wrinkle this year and awarded prizes for the best Christmas sweaters – shiniest, most beautiful and most creative. We had some characters with lights and bulbs and tinsel which let to lots of laughter. Good food and good company. Thanks to all who worked so hard to make the evening a fun success!
Every year, I get to teach an area of Lakota (Sioux) culture that is close to my hands and heart-loom beading.
The 7th grade class has begun the task of learning what it takes to make those beautifully created drops for regalia, barrettes, hair ties, name plates, bracelets and whatever other ideas the kids come up with in their minds and hearts.
We begin with looking at some old and new pieces of beadwork so that the kids can see examples of what they can make. Some of these items are decades old and some are as new as last year. I also encourage our Native American youth to take a deeper look at any piece of beadwork they come in contact with in their world.
My objectives are many. I want the kids to connect culture to their hearts, of course; but also to see the difference between designs from tribe to tribe. Our Lakota (Sioux) designs are very geometric and math is a big part of loom beading. Counting, centering, dividing, designing, measuring and creating are all a part of this project. I also encourage understanding the colors and what they may mean to different tribes, individuals and cultures. The final product is very rewarding for me and the students. The loom pieces are given as gifts, worn or used for themselves and some are sold to staff for a little extra spending money. This is also a part of the objectives. This is an art our culture has done for generations and it can be a money-making venture for someone who is motivated and educated to embrace that challenge and talent.
From here, the students create or find a design they draw out on graph paper. Next is learning to string the loom appropriately and accurately. I tell the students that the hardest part is threading their needle and putting the first row of beads on their loom (which were made by our very own maintenance department elves in the workshop here on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus). From here, the possibilities are endless. It is an art you love or don’t. Many of our students love it.
Today, I am waiting for a response from Fr. Steve who is attending the Lakota Nation Invitation conference in our beautiful Paha Sapa/Black Hills. I submitted two pieces of loom beadwork from our school and I am hoping for a ribbon to hang by their stocking upon returning from Christmas Break.
Wanikiye taampetu!=Jesus’s birthday/Christmas
LaRayne, Native American Studies Teacher 1st -8th grades
Here's a beautiful piece from one of our students!
Six high school students made up our St. Joseph’s Indian School’s Knowledge Bowl team, and traveled to Rapid City, South Dakota for the Lakota Nation Invitational Tournament (LNI). The competition was double elimination, and our team won three games before losing our second in overtime. All but one game was decided by 3 points or less – those back and forth games kept me tense and on the edge of my seat the whole time. I wanted so badly answer some of the questions myself. What young people often lack is the breadth of knowledge and countries, cultures and history that come from reading, travel and a few more years of life experience. In one game, I was pleased that Erin earned our winning points by completing one of my favorite phrases, “It’s better to light a candle that curse the DARKNESS”. Our Lakota (Sioux) students represented the school and themselves well.
Besides two seasoned seniors, we had a junior, two sophomores and a freshman on the team. The newcomers intend to study harder, hungry to return next year.
The LNI is a combination basketball tournament, knowledge bowl, art show, wrestling tournament, Lakota language competition and much more. It’s like a huge family reunion for so many of the tribal people in the great state of South Dakota. I ran into folks from all three of the Indian reservations I’ve worked on and several former St. Joseph’s students. The Rapid City Civic Center was filled to capacity with so many people and activities.
Several students entered pieces in the juried art show. In the category of “Traditional Native Arts”, Merrill, one of our 8th graders, took home first place. Merrill painted and decorated a deer skull, which also included a handmade dreamcatcher. He earned a coveted ceramic plate trophy from Sioux Pottery. Congratulations Merrill!
The kids had so much fun at their Christmas concert!
For grades 1 – 8, the first semester is in the books. Our staff still has a couple of days of in-service, but classes wrapped up today and the students are now on Christmas break. The high school students still have another week of classes.
Today’s student Christmas program was a big hit. Most of the performances were done in larger groups, but three of our students had enough confidence and stage presence to serve as Masters of Ceremony. I was also delighted to see a few students brave enough to sing a duet. Sixth graders Caden and James did a rap song about Christmas that had the chapel rocking. We had an appearance by Santa and a teacher led Elvis rendition of “I’ll have a Blue Christmas Without You”. The families who were able to come for the show, were all invited to lunch at the school cafeteria before hitting the road.
Here’s just a glimpse of Santa’s Workshop at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
I faced one of the tougher challenges of my job when I was on a three panel team to judge the decoration competition in the basement of the Benedict Building between Human Resources and Facilities. They worked frantically this week to transform the offices into a winter wonderland. HR made their section of office look like a Ginger Bread house, complete with gum drops on the wrapping paper walls. Problem was we spied a few 1st graders on their way home from school plucking them from the wall to have a snack! HR’s was more beautiful and appealing to the eye, but Facilities brought in a secret weapon – students dressed up as elves pretending to use the tools to make toys at a table labeled “Santa’s Workshop”.
With no collusion at all, when we added up the points for originality, arrangement, theme and overall presentation, we ended up with a real honest to goodness tie. But everyone who walked the halls had a smile on their face and felt like a winner.
