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.
St. Joseph’s Indian School nurses wear full personal protective equipment (PPE) while preparing supplies for student returns on December 28.
“I’m scared my grandma is going to die,” a young boy tells his St. Joseph’s Indian School counselor.
It’s a sentence spoken by too many students at our school. While this boy worries about his grandmother, another is anxious about his mother, her father, her aunts, uncles and cousins. Continue reading “Finding Resilience during Troubling Times”
Students take time to write what they are thankful for and tape the leaves to the tree as part of an exercise to focus on the things they are grateful for this season.
The following is a guest blog written by Erin, a St. Joseph’s Indian School Family Service Counselor.
As the leaves begin to change and then blow away in the bitter winds of fall, people start to decorate for Thanksgiving and prepare to celebrate all that they are thankful for. This Thanksgiving may look very different for many families as travel restrictions, quarantines and COVID-19 precautions hinder many from gathering in the traditional sense. Continue reading “‘The season of thankfulness supersedes a single holiday’”
Helping others feel joy during this uncertain time, brings joy in return to our students. Their cheery pictures brightened the day of 60 nursing home residents.
As one of our Family Service Counselors, Nicole, puts it: one of the hardest things about the pandemic is not being able to keep in touch with those you love. At least not as much, or in the same way, as you might have done before. Continue reading “Showing People We Care, Even from a Distance”
Mother-daughter-pair Stephanie (back) and Lauren (front) enjoy kayaking excursions together. They never suspected that one such trip would lead to them finding something they’ll forever cherish.
“It’s a beautiful day today,” said Lauren Corbin. “Let’s go out on the water. I promise we’ll take it slow.”
Stephanie Corbin hesitated at her daughter’s words. She hadn’t been kayaking in years. After her diagnosis with breast cancer, a double mastectomy and the peaks and valleys of her healing process, she hadn’t had the strength. She hadn’t felt brave enough … she had been too sick to do one of the things she loved so much.
Three of the newest members of the equine therapy team include Black, Blue and Violet, all miniature horses.
Perhaps you don’t spend your day rolling around in the dirt, eating a bucket of oats or providing therapy to young students — but doesn’t that sound great!
It’s the life of the equine therapy horses who are lucky to spend their days doing all of this and more! St. Joseph’s is home to seven horses — three regular sized and four mini horses! According to Patty, the Equine Therapy Specialist, each is a very sweet šúŋkawakȟán — horse. Continue reading “A Day in the Life of an Equine Therapy Horse”
Hope graduated from high school in 2018. Since then, St. Joseph’s Indian School has been able to continue supporting her through scholarships as she completes her higher education journey.
St. Joseph’s Indian School recently awarded a total of $90,200 in scholarships to Native American students across the nation for the fall 2020 semester. The school awarded a total of 81 scholarships to 22 alumni, 17 family members of St. Joseph’s Indian School alumni and 42 others enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and pursuing higher education. Continue reading “St. Joseph’s Empowers Native American Students through Scholarship”