Author: St. Joseph's Indian School

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: Meet the High School Students Part 1

Hello there! I’m Maija, and I have the best job at St. Joseph’s Indian School! I work primarily with the Lakota (Sioux) students in high school and junior high. I get to plan

Maija works with St. Joseph's high school students — Maija

fun activities with the kids, train new houseparents, call applicants and more.

I had the pleasure of putting together a series of five blog posts that you’ll see over the next few weeks – one post from each of our high school homes!

St. Joseph’s high school students live on campus, but attend Chamberlain High School, so their schedule is a little different than our younger students.

I hope this blog gives you a glimpse into our world; the activities the kids are involved with, their hopes, and goals.

HOGEBACH HOME: When one enters the Hogebach Home, they can just feel the good vibes emanating from these young ladies. They describe their home as:

Positive
Smart
Busy
Loud
Full of laughter
The best home ever
Amazing
Full of independent girls

Michelle sums it up by saying “we’ve got style.”

There are two freshmen and six upperclassmen in St. Joseph’s Hogebach Home. — Ashley, Michelle, Amber, Cassidy, Irene, Melvina and Angela, along with Eya the Dog, make up the Hogebach Home.

Hogebach houses two freshmen and six upper-class Native American girls. The upper-class girls are glad to have such smart freshmen in their home and have done a great job encouraging the younger girls to keep their grades up. They do this in part so they can earn back the academic trophies.

In St. Joseph’s High School program, there are two traveling trophies that circulate through the high school homes:

highest average home GPA
fewest missing assignments

These trophies are awarded at mid-term and at the end of every quarter, so the homes have eight chances each year to steal it away from the previous winners.

The Hogebach Home once proudly held both trophies for quite a long time. The Hogebach girls have been working hard and hope to win at least one trophy back at the end of the third quarter, which is March 7.

The girls love having Eya, their houseparent’s 13-year-old Australian Shepherd, in their home. They are the only home on campus with a dog and consider him a part of their family. Irene says that Eya loves popcorn and is smart; he knows when someone is sad and he’ll sit by them. Amber states the dog is hers. Either way, the smart dog and smart girls get along very well in the Hogebach Home!

The girls in the Hogebach Home enjoyed a weekend trip with their houseparents. — On their home trip to the Black Hills, the girls and their houseparent, Cheryl, had a blast tubing!

The end of the school year will be here before we know it. All the girls in Hogebach hope they get the trophy back, have no missing assignments ever again and everyone finishes the year staying positive!

Pilamaya – thank you – for your support of St. Joseph’s and these awesome kids!

Have a great week,

Maija & the Hogebach girls

Meet Celia and her mentor match, Martina

Hello, my name is Celia and I am a Residential Coordinator here at St. Joseph’s Indian School; I supervise houseparents in our first, second and third grade community. I

St. Joseph’s mentor program matches Lakota students with caring staff members. — Celia has been Martina’s mentor since 2007.

have been a part of the Children Count mentor program since 2002.

I wanted to be part of the program because so many of our Lakota (Sioux) children could really benefit from another positive adult relationship in their life. I have been matched with Martina since 2007.

She was in third grade when we were matched and is now a sophomore in St. Joseph’s high school program – time goes so fast! I enjoy mentoring her because I feel like I can give her another person to talk to in her life. I can also be there for her if she needs someone to just listen.

We enjoy the activities scheduled by the mentor committee, like picnics, movie night and scavenger hunts, but also enjoy going out to eat or to the movies. I have watched her grow into a nice young lady, and she has so much potential to do great things in the future!

I feel that our time together has been beneficial for both of us. Martina has also said that she feels having a mentor has helped her through the years. I look forward to continuing our relationship as she graduates from high school and continues her journey through life.

Snow, Basketball and Good News from St. Joseph’s Indian School Alumni

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

The weather is in the news again. It snowed heavily Monday afternoon and is supposed to be cold the rest of the week. Some of the local school districts shut down early

Cody, one of St. Joseph’s seniors, is on the basketball team. — Earlier in the year, the Chamberlain boys varsity team came to St. Joseph’s for a “Red & White” Scrimmage. Coach Allan and Bryan, St. Joseph’s Rec Director, talked to the Lakota boys and girls about what it takes to be a good player and a good student.

to get students home safely, and started late this morning.

The basketball season for the students at St. Joseph’s and Chamberlain High School is winding down.

Our sixth, seventh and eighth grade teams have their final games Thursday at Todd County. St. Joseph’s Inter-city league will end Sunday.

Play-off games for the boys’ and girls’ state basketball tournament are about to begin for our high school players.

Allan, coach of the Chamberlain Cubs varsity boys, invited St. Joseph’s fourth and fifth grade teams to come into the locker room Friday to experience pre-game preparation and the coach’s pep talk to the team. Allan’s wife Shelby is a teacher at St. Joseph’s; we’re grateful for the connection and his efforts to encourage the Lakota students to be part of the high school team.

Friday night was also parents’ night! St. Joseph’s players presented flowers to their houseparents if their own families were unable to attend.

Our Alumni Liaison, Mary Jane, has recently been reviewing scholarship applications and had some great news to share about former St. Joseph’s students and scholarship recipients:

Andrea is working towards her LPN in Lake Andes, South Dakota.
Nicole is studying to be a Paramedic in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Elijah is taking athletic training at SDSU in Brookings, South Dakota.
Keenan is taking Liberal Arts at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, where Sheena is also studying Business.
Cody, one of St. Joseph’s seniors, is on the basketball team.
Savanna is working on a BSN in nursing at the Kramer School of Nursing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Jeannine is taking nursing at Oglala Lakota College in Kyle, South Dakota, along with Michelle who is working on an AA in nursing.
Erika is taking Digital Film & Video Production at The Art Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Marilyn (Health Information Management) and Weylin (Transportation Tech/Heavy Duty) are both looking forward to graduation in May from Western Dakota Tech in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Claudia is taking online courses working on becoming a Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York while she works for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe as a Youth Care Manager.

Pilamaya – thank you – for your generosity! The gifts you give help these Native American students prepare for their futures and develop skills they can bring back to their tribes and communities. You are making a real difference!

May God continue to bless and reward you for your generosity for the ongoing needs of the Lakota boys and girls. Have a great week!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Outstanding Customer Service at the Akta Lakota Museum

Hi everyone!
As we gear up for the busy tourist season to start in May at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, I’m excited to share some good news!

Charleen is a key staff member at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. — Charleen, Historical Center Coordinator, welcomes guests to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center.

Charleen, St. Joseph’s Indian School Historical Center Coordinator, was recognized by the South Dakota Department of Tourism and the Governor’s Tourism Advisory Board for her efforts in providing outstanding customer service! For her outstanding effort, she has been awarded the Governor’s Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Hospitality and Customer Service.

Way to go Charleen!

She is the key member of our frontline team at the museum. In most cases, she is the first person our visitors and donors meet when they visit St. Joseph’s campus. So many visitors have shared positive comments about her pleasant and helpful attitude. We are very pleased to have her as part of our organization!

Plan your visit to St. Joseph’s and the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center now!

God bless!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

An earthquake in South Dakota?

We recently had a bit of excitement with a mild earthquake in our neck of the woods! It only measured 2.9 on the Richter scale and was located about 17 miles southeast of

St. Joseph’s staff and students visit donors in cities around the country from time to time. — Jacquelynne and Alyssa are excited to visit Florida!

Chamberlain. Nobody at St. Joseph’s Indian School felt it, and there was no damage in the area. Thank goodness!

Two of our young Lakota (Sioux) ladies, Alyssa and Jacquelynne, will be joining other staff members traveling to St. Joseph’s next Donor Luncheon in Cocoa Beach, Florida this weekend. Cocoa Beach is in the Cape Canaveral area. They are looking forward to visiting with benefactors and friends who attend.

While they may not make it to any of the Daytona 500 going on up the coast, they are looking forward to the Florida weather, a dip in the Atlantic Ocean and a visit to the Cape Kennedy Space Center. If you are going to be in the Cocoa Beach area and would like to attend, please let us know as soon as you can by calling 1-800-584-9200.

Not going to be near Cocoa Beach? Check our schedule of donor events. We may be coming to an area near you!

St. Joseph’s fourth, fifth and sixth grade basketball teams had the chance to take part in a tournament sponsored by the City of Chamberlain over the weekend. There were teams from communities in the area and even some who came a great distance. There was good play on everyone’s part. Though some of the scores were a bit lopsided, the players had fun. Our fourth grade team captured 3^rd place in their age group thanks to a last second, buzzer-beating shot by Keshaume as he was falling out of bounds! You may recall Keshaume recently won his age group at the Knights of Columbus regional free throw contest.

St. Joseph’s houseparents care for the Native American children in their campus homes. — St. Joseph’s staff members – from teachers to houseparents to counselors – make our work possible with the Lakota children!

St. Joseph’s will be holding a Staff Appreciation Breakfast this coming Wednesday morning. The Priests of the Sacred Heart (the religious community that runs St. Joseph’s) does this each year as a special way of saying wopila tanka – many thanks – to our employees.

Their efforts combined with your generosity enable us to offer the programs the Lakota boys and girls need – a safe home, food, clothing, counseling and more. We hope this humble gesture is one way of showing our gratitude and appreciation for those who are part of the team here on campus.

I hope each of you has a great week ahead! We will finish the novena of Masses for you and your intentions on February 19. We offer up a novena each month for all our Benefactors as our way of saying pilamaya — thank you – for your support.

God bless!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Akta Lakota Museum featured by South Dakota Tourism

Did you know that St. Joseph’s Indian School is home to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center?

St. Joseph’s Indian School holds a powwow annually for the Lakota children, their families and guests from around the world. — St. Joseph’s annual powwow will be held September 12-13, 2014.

Preserving and sharing the Lakota (Sioux) culture is a core part of our mission at St. Joseph’s. In addition to Native American Studies classes for our students and our annual powwow, the museum is located on campus for students and visitors alike to broaden their knowledge of the Lakota culture.

Read more in this blog post from South Dakota Tourism and plan your visit today!

Want to receive regular updates? Follow the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center on Twitter and Facebook!

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic for the Lakota students

Lots of reading! I am Linea, and I teach reading to our sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students at St. Joseph’s.

Linea teaches reading at St. Joseph’s Indian School — Linea, St. Joseph’s reading teacher for sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

We are already at the halfway mark of the third quarter at St. Joseph’s Indian School! This school year is going by really fast – I can hardly believe it. In our reading classes, the Lakota (Sioux) students are currently finishing up a unit on nonfiction. We will take our test next week.

Everyone has done well with the informational text such as news articles, science articles and web pages. They also studied types of visual media such as photographs, illustrations, charts, diagrams and maps. It’s important that our students are able to comprehend these types of nonfiction because it will help them succeed in their everyday lives.

Next, we will be entering the world of poetry.

In other campus news, the boys are in the middle of their basketball season. Sometimes I think I have as much fun watching them as they do playing!

St. Joseph’s Lakota students study reading, science, math and other core subjects. — St. Joseph’s sixth graders worked with Linea on a unit about nonfiction writing.

We just finished up Catholic Schools Week and provided our Native American students with a few extra activities for them to enjoy. One activity was Academic Game Day in where the teachers provided a game for the students to enjoy. There was a wide variety and the students moved from classroom to classroom so they could enjoy them all. In my class, we played Language Arts Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I was pleased with the number of millionaires I had!

Thank you for being part of our tiyospaye – extended family!

Linea – 6 – 8^th Grade Reading Teacher

Celebrating Sobriety, Shooting Hoops at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Good Day! I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend and the week is going great so far.

St. Joseph’s Native American students play basketball and say NO to drugs! — The Lakota students choose basketball and other sports instead of doing drugs!

On Friday, St. Joseph’s students participated in one of our many annual sobriety celebrations. This is a real celebration for the Lakota (Sioux) children, as most have been faced with these adult choices at a very young age in their communities on South Dakota’s Indian Reservations.

The evening began with the children sharing how they have or will turn away from the temptation to use alcohol. Many mentioned sports, hanging out with friends and playing video games as their safe choice. The fun was complete with dinner, games, a movie and prizes.

Saturday, St. Joseph’s Indian School hosted Lower Brule, Miller and Pierre Indian Learning Center (PILC) in an eighth grade boys’ basketball tournament. The St. Joseph’s Braves squared off against the Lower Brule Sioux, coming out on top. The Miller Rustlers and PILC Warriors matched up in the second game with Rustlers claiming the win. The SJIS Braves came up short in the championship game against the Rustlers and the Chieftains secured a third place finish over the Warriors.

The fourth, fifth and sixth grade teams will take part in the Chamberlain tournament this Saturday. It was great to cheer on the older boys – they are great role models for the up-and-coming players!

You’ll recall that the Chamberlain High School’s one-act play, The Afghan Women, qualified for state competition. They performed this weekend with more than 30 other South Dakota schools this past weekend. Chamberlain High School was one of the four schools to earn a SUPERIOR rating. It is a wonderful compliment to the actors, crew and school staff to achieve this rank again this year. It reflects a real commitment to the arts and great opportunities for our high school students.

Sunday, four of our students traveled to Highmore, South Dakota to compete in the advancing level of the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest, along with the son of two of our houseparents, Ian.

Four St. Joseph’s students advanced to the regional round of the free throw contest. — St. Joseph’s students advanced to the regional round of the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest. Back: Rudy and Richie. Front: Keshaume and Pearl. Not pictured: Ian, son of St. Joseph’s houseparents.

Keshaume and Ian won first place in their age group. Rudy and Pearl came in second in their groups. Richie tied for first, hitting 16 out of 25 but came up short in the shoot-off by just one free throw. We are proud of our students and their efforts! Keshaume and Ian will progress to the State Finals in the next few weeks.

May God’s blessings be with you this week. We keep you and your intentions in our prayers. Thanks again for your generosity.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Prayers of the Lakota children float on the wind

It’s that extraordinary time of year when Mother Nature’s emotions run from the peace and beauty of gently falling snow to the terror of a blizzard to the dreary, chilly

St. Joseph’s students all take Religious Education as part of their regular curriculum. — The Lakota children create prayer flags in their Religion class.

in-betweens when melting snow gives way to drab patches of brown and grey.

Last year, we struck upon an idea to help brighten the winter landscape at St. Joseph’s Indian School – prayer flags. The Lakota (Sioux) students created colorful flags bearing messages of hopes and dreams, grief over lost loved ones, wishes for a better world and any other prayer imaginable.

It was a wonderful success, so we decided to do it again this year.

We begin the process with a short video teaching about how prayer flags originated in Tibet. We also discuss different forms of prayer: petition, intercession, adoration, blessing and thanks.

Our Native American students answer questions about their hopes, dreams and the most important things in their lives. Next, they choose a theme for their flag and draft a pattern on paper. The final flag is painted on fabric using special markers that won’t fade in the weather.

Some interesting flags emerged; some are memorials, many are dreams for the future, many more honor family.

When the flags are finished, they are ironed to set the colors and then hemmed to string on clothesline.

The most treacherous part of the project involves getting out the tall ladders and hanging the flags.

Prayer flags originated in Tibet and are now displayed at St. Joseph’s Indian School. — The prayers of our Native American students float on the South Dakota wind.

Religious Studies Associate Joe bravely mounts the ladder to string the flags from tree to tree along the front walk to the school. There they will fly through May carrying the students’ prayers on the wind.

Clare, Director of Pastoral Care

Super Bowl, Polar Plunge and fun for all!

Greetings from a snowy St. Joseph’s Indian School!

The weather continues to bring excitement in that you never know what will be next… We had relatively warm temperatures (almost 40) on Sunday and then 4 inches of

With 56 participants and lots of fans, Chamberlain’s Polar Plunge event raised over $29,000 for the South Dakota Special Olympics! — St. Joseph’s Polar Plunge team – the Dunk’n Go Nuts – raised $1,500 for the Special Olympics. Go team!

snow to wake up to Monday. Ice and wind – plenty of wind – have also been plaguing the South Dakota prairie.

Comedian Steve Martin is noted for saying “I’m a wild and crazy guy” and, this weekend, ‘wild’ and ‘crazy’ things took place at St. Joseph’s. The ‘craziest’ was the polar plunge that took place before a large crowd on Saturday. Local communities in central South Dakota have been hosting a ‘plunge’ as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics.

Four of St. Joseph’s staff, calling themselves “Dunk’n Go Nuts,” joined with 56 others to plunge into the Missouri River when the temperature was just 11 degrees with a wind chill of -5! Together, participants from Chamberlain and surrounding communities raised over $29,000.00! The announcer said this is the most money ever raised in this part of South Dakota for a first time event. The good news helped warm up all those polar plungers after their chilly swim!

St. Joseph’s Lakota students enjoy a Super Bowl party. — The Sheehy home hosted a Super Bowl party for our Lakota high school students and eighth graders.

The ‘wildest’ was the Super Bowl party hosted by Sheehy Home (high school boys). The young men in the home invited staff as well as high school and eighth grade students to come to watch the big game on Sunday and have some fun.

The home is divided into two living rooms. Normally, one is for television and one is for studying or reading. But on Super Bowl Sunday, it was divided into those supporting the Denver Broncos or the Seattle Seahawks! For those who preferred socializing over football, other activities were available, along with good old fashioned chatting. Of course, there were also great snacks and even a few door prizes! The score may not have come out exactly as everyone hoped, but fun was had by all.

As you may be aware, St. Joseph’s took part in Catholic Schools Week last week. During that time, a video was taken asking our Lakota (Sioux) students what they have

learned so far this year.

Several mentioned they felt safe, some enjoyed learning about their Native American culture and learning that God loves them. Of course, some simply said they have learned to swim and play basketball. But, most often, the Lakota children said they have learned respect – for themselves, others and elders – at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

What wonderful news!

I believe this reflects the positive impact of the Olweus Anti-bullying program that has been implemented on campus this year.

There was also a touch of sadness over the weekend as we received word that one of three remaining students who were part of the founding student body back in 1927 had passed away. Mr. Orville G. Webb was 97 and had been married to his wife, Irene, for 74 years. Sadly, she had just passed away about a week ahead of Orville. Please keep Orville and Irene in your prayers, and also lift up the family who lost their mother and father in such a short time. Mary Jane, our Director of Alumni, and I were honored to attend the funeral and represent St. Joseph’s.

Did you attend St. Joseph’s Indian School? Let us know!

Hope all of you have a great week. Thanks again for your generosity to the Lakota boys and girls!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

P.S. Chamberlain High School’s one act play, The Afghan Women, qualified for state competition which will take place this coming weekend. Several of our high school students are involved. Break a leg, kids!