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.

Guest Blogger: Fr. Anthony

Dear Benefactors:

Greetings once again from the banks of the Missouri River at St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, SD.  Fr. Steve is in transit coming back from a donor luncheon in the Boston area.  He stated there was good attendance and when they were finished the team had a chance to do some whale watching.

Since he is away, I was asked to ghost write his blog.  My name is Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ and I am the chaplain here at St. Joseph’s. I had the chance last year to help out when Fr. Steve was away and am happy to be in contact with you again.

The students and staff are starting to settle in as we begin the third week of school for grades 1-8 and second full week for our high school students who started on August 15th.

Several of our high school students are part of the Chamberlain High School Cub’s football team.  They had their first game this past Friday night out in Hot Springs, in the Black Hills, and brought home a 7-0 victory.  This Labor Day weekend, they will have their first home game against Valentine, Nebraska.

Football is in the air at St. Joesph’s just as many of the pro-teams are in the midst of their training camps.  Practice is underway for the Chamberlain/St. Joseph’s youth tackle football fundamental league open to students in the 5th and 6th grades.  The young people have some fun while learning the basics and it is a good way for all involved to make new friends.  In early September flag football will get underway for those in grades 1-4.  There will be footballs being thrown, kicked, fumbled and caught four nights out of the week.

This past Saturday morning, we saw 60+ young people from the local area around Chamberlain come to St. Joseph’s campus to take part in a youth triathlon.  Those under six took part in a bike ride and run.  The 7-15 age group  swam, biked and ran around the campus.  Many of our younger students took part in this event.  St. Joseph’s is always honored to take part in events that strive to offer fun and safe activities for local young people and their families.

Progress on renovations at St. Joseph's Indian School.
Progress on the Akta Lakota Museum!

The new addition to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center is making a lot of progress since the groundbreaking at last year’s powwow. (Reminder that this year’s powwow will be September 13-16.  Hope you can come.)  Most of the new structure’s exterior is done and the remainder of time needed to get it ready will take part inside as the new display area is worked on along with the section on the history of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

One benefactor came through this past weekend on her way to view the Powwow at Pine Ridge.  She is coming back to visit St. Joseph’s and make a tour of our campus and facilities.  She came all the way from New York state.  The students welcomed her at our Sunday liturgy and then many of them and our staff thanked her for the items she brought.  We are always grateful for your generosity and keep you in our prayers asking that God will continue to bless and strengthen you.

Hope all of you have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

Reconnecting with the Native American youth

Since the high school students have returned, I’ve tried to spend some time in their homes, catching up on their summer activities and looking ahead to what they hope to accomplish this year. Since school is just beginning and there’s not yet a lot of homework or ballgames, it’s a good time to catch more of the students at home.

The other night at Hogebach Home (HS girls) we enjoyed a home cooked meal around a full table, with no one having to rush off. Erika, one of our seniors, was at the kitchen counter with job applications from four different fast food restaurants and two retailers in town. She is ambitious about trying to find a part-time job that will help with extra-curricular expenses now and begin to put some money away for college.

Another one of the students was feeling very overwhelmed thinking of all that she had to accomplish between now and graduation. Our houseparents and counselors are aware of such feelings and support our students through it all, encouraging them to work at projects slow and steady, in manageable chunks.

Our powwow committee had its first full meeting of the year. We’ve been doing this for 36 years, and have the routine down pretty good. When Tom, our head of facilities, was asked during the maintenance report/ update if he had any concerns, he simply said, “I hate to brag, but our guys got it all covered.” And they do. It takes a huge amount of work and lots of cooperation from every department on campus. It is a special duty and definitely worth the effort for staff, students and our visitors.

With all our Native American students now back, we enjoyed an opening school liturgy and picnic. Our picnic pavilion is still filled with furniture from our remodeling projects, so we decided to hold it in the dining hall. With the temperature at 92 degrees the air-conditioned area definitely worked out better. Some of the homes did choose to eat outside on the picnic tables. Seeing the students in small groups of about 8 to a table gave me the chance to walk around and visit. Between seeing students at school, church, in the homes and on the playground, it reinforces my memory and makes it easier to learn who each of the new kids are.

At school the 1st graders are still learning the basics. Teachers have their own system to get them to line up and move to a different activity, be it art, recess, lunch or Native American Studies. But it takes a while for them to settle down and they take a lot more time to get between point A and B. Given time and practice, they’ll soon settle into the routine.

The construction at the Akta Lakota Museum took an interesting turn as the workers used a crane to install the granite slabs that will be part of the water wall in the Medicine Wheel Garden. We hope that by the end of the month all the outside work will be completed.

High school orientation

Hello again; my name is Shana and I’m the High School Residential Director here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. We’ve had a great two days for our HS Student Orientation on Monday and Tuesday!

All of our HS students returned Sunday in order to participate in our HS Student Orientation and get ready for the upcoming school year. Students are happy to be back on campus; seeing their St. Joseph’s friends and staff that most of them didn’t get to see over the summer months (after our HS Summer Program ended in June). It’s great to see all of our high school staff and students get together for a welcome back, announcements and a full two days of reminders, learning and new program items. These days can get long, but they are stress free since no one is worrying about studying or doing homework (YET!).

The ninth and tenth graders meet with our Transition Specialist to talk about College Visits and Career Explorations, and also meet with our tutor to review study skills. The juniors and seniors meet to discuss Senior Planning and Transitional Living. These older students (along with tenth graders) meet with our garage staff to review car care and maintenance. A representative from Wells Fargo comes to campus to talk to all of our HS students about bank accounts. I review Internet Safety and new program changes for the upcoming year and, finally, all of our students go up to Chamberlain High School to get their laptops.

The students are eager (and nervous) for the first day of school on Wednesday! And after several weeks of preparation, all our staff are eager to begin another great year in the High School Program!

This weekend, high school fall sports kick off with the first football game on Friday, followed by the first volleyball game and cross-country meet on Saturday. Our student athletes are pumped up and everyone is full of school spirit! The motivation and inspiration at the beginning of the school year is amazing!

I would like to say a big thank you to all of our donors that make our High School Program such a success!  We couldn’t have such amazing staff, homes, resources (not to mention happy, successful students) without the generosity and care we receive from all of you.

God Bless!
Shana
HS Residential Director

Festivities at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Our high school students started two days of orientation. They will review the student handbooks and expectations, set up house responsibilities for chores, and do some settling in.

After their meetings, I got together with two of our juniors, Michelle and Amber, who will represent the school next weekend at donor appreciation luncheons in Boston. They’re both nervous and excited, and we went over what they can expect, and practiced what they want to share with the folks who are able to join us.

School staff did a double take when they saw me walking to my car carrying a big bowl of summer garden soup and wearing a bright and loud Hawaiian shirt over my usual black cleric shirt. Today, our development staff held their end of the summer pot luck meal. Our culture committee wanted to liven things up and chose a luau theme at American Creek Campground, just a few blocks south of campus.  Staff members got to vote for which supervisor was in charge of flipping burgers on the grill, and Mike and Kory did the honors.  The hula hoop and limbo contests added a fun flair to our time.

One nice aspect of having the pot luck at this time of year is that so many people have fresh vegetables coming ripe in their gardens, and we did indeed have a feast. The office also had three staff birthdays to celebrate, one from Saturday and two today, so that added to the festivities.

God’s blessing on our school year

We had our first weekend mass with the students.  Some of the students who attend St. Joseph’s aren’t all that familiar with church and it takes a while for them to learn the songs, find their places in the book and get used to the routine. But there was a good and lively spirit in the pews as we gathered to pray and ask for God’s blessing on the new school year.

While the grade school students have completed a full week, our high school students didn’t have to be back until today. The students staying in the two homes open early for those participating in sports moved from their temporary quarters into the rooms they will have for the year. In the Giles Home (freshman boys) everyone was back early. The supper table was full as they wolfed down Aaron’s homemade vegetable beef soup. Melissa remarked that they worked with 1st-3rd graders last year, and they are going to have to adjust the quantity of food they cook considerably!

The upperclassman straggled in a little later, and one or two called in because of transportation difficulties. But it’s good to have the campus mostly full again and coming back to life.

Overcoming obstacles

This weekend the Crow Creek Indian Reservation held their annual fair and wacipi – powwow. I view powwows much like a family reunion. Since I worked in that community before coming to St. Joseph’s, I know quite a few folks when I go.

Last night, besides taking in the dancing and ceremony, I enjoyed walking around the arena and visiting with familiar faces and catching up with old friends. I noticed several St. Joseph’s students with their families. A few of our St. Joseph’s homes also loaded up a mini bus and came for a few hours.

Today I had to drop some items off at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. Glancing at the visitors log book, I was tickled by the number of overseas tourists who visited us. The notes told of folks hailing from Japan, Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands and France, besides a great number of different states in the good old USA.

The "Trust Fall" was very successful!
The “Trust Fall” was very successful!

As I walked back to the office on a lovely Saturday afternoon to finish up the weekend homily and prepare for Sunday, I heard laughter coming from atop the hill behind the Dining Hall. I followed the path to the area where we’ve developed our Project SOAR obstacle course. Mark and Nate were working with a group of boys from Fisher Home (6th-8th grade) at the nylon stringed spider web. The group was trying to help everyone cross from one side to the other, which involved lifting, carrying and passing teammates. The object was to help them learn to work together, and develop needed social and life skills such as cooperation, communication and planning. I even joined them in the next activity – a trust fall – where each of us had to fall backwards from a short ledge into a tangle of arms waiting to catch us.

On the playground, I noticed the Dennis Home girls (1st – 3rd grades) arguing about someone calling another student a cry baby, and hurt feelings escalated until they were mad at each other. One of the third grade girls was upset to start with. She  asked me to pray for her two-year-old cousin, who sadly died in a drug related accident. When our students act out or misbehave, all of our staff are trained not to overlook the possibility that there is a deeper issue or problem that may be upsetting the child. In their young lives, many of these children have know a lot of sadness and difficulty.

Guest Blogger: Claire

Hi again!  My name is Claire, and I am a houseparent in the high school program. I’m excited to be back, starting my fifth year here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. This week is all-staff orientation.  Those of us that have been gone part of the summer rejoin our hard-working year-round colleagues for a week of training, refreshers and refocusing.  This can be pretty exciting, especially when we all arrive in chapel on Monday morning and someone holds up a “free hugs” sign.  Woo hoo!

We usually start off with smudging—the Lakota tradition of burning sage—which is a symbolic cleansing of our minds, hearts and bodies with the smoke.  This sets a prayerful space and atmosphere for our work together in the upcoming year.

Our orientation theme this year was “Nourishing Mind, Body, Heart and Spirit.”

How cool is that?

After all, we are not just about teaching reading, writing and arithmetic.  Our goal is to prepare kids for life outside of St. Joseph’s, so they can be strengthened by relationships, faith, a sense of culture and history, and skills for living.  In order to do that, we have to bring our whole selves into the equation—which is why we start the year with prayer, sage, free hugs and even some darn good bread which the Pastoral Care staff handed out.

A lot of this week is about remembering our mission, and focusing on what we hope to accomplish in the upcoming year.  For us houseparents, one challenge is to bring the oyate values outlined in our Circle of Courage into our daily routines.  Those values are: Belonging, Independence, Mastery and Generosity.

We all agree that we do a great job at building a sense of belonging.  We are very good at building relationships with our kids, their families and with each other.  We are turning our attention to other areas where we are not so strong.  Sometimes, in our efforts to build relationships, we end up doing too much for our kids, to the detriment of their sense of mastery, independence and generosity.  We had some serious and thoughtful discussions on how and where we can work on these areas.

Not all of orientation is fun, I will admit.  Our newly hired staff have already completed a full week of training, and their heads are about to explode with facts, figures, rules and guidelines.

Veteran staff members groan a bit when we get to the part that we have heard every year.  Over and over and over.  For those of you who are uninitiated in the joys of orientation, let me sum up Day Two as briefly as possible:

  Rule #1:  Treat your co-workers with respect.  Play Nice.

Rule #2:  If you make a mess, please clean it up.

Rule #3:  If the mess involves blood or other body fluids, use gloves.

Rule #4:  If the mess is on fire, call 911.

Rule #5:  If you can’t seem to follow Rule #1, make SURE you follow Rules #2-5.

I think I can manage that!

Thank you for continuing to hold the kids and staff at St.  Joseph’s in your prayers as we kick off the 2012-2013 school year.  So far, we’re off to a good start.

 

 

 

Powwow preparation

Though our Lakota students have only been back a few days, powwow preparation has begun in earnest. Both the boys (grass, traditional and fancy) and girls (fancy shawl, jingle dress and traditional) have been busy learning to dance. Once they decide on the style they will focus on, LaRayne (our Native American Studies teacher) and a few helpers will match the many children who don’t have their own regalia with dance attire.

Besides the dancers, Mark, our Rec Center Specialist called an organizational meeting to gather all the drummers and singers. A strong group of eighth grade singers graduated last year and moved up to high school. But, there has been good interest in the next grades of boys who want to step up and sing out and learn the traditional songs.  As Mark reviewed their commitment and responsibilities, he reminded them that in learning how to respect the drum, they will also learn to respect and care for one another. Eleven singers signed up, as well as five girls who will learn the songs and circle around the drummers to support them.

Guest Blogger: Julie H

Over the last few weeks, St. Joseph’s campus has been noisy with construction.  But campus has begun to ring with a new and happy noise… The noise of students returning to campus!!  I had the opportunity to visit many of the students I work with over the summer and most of them are ready to come back to campus and go back to school.  What a great thing to hear!  The students are excited to return and staff is just as excited to see them.

I have worked at St. Joseph’s Indian School for close to 11 years.  I have often been asked “What brought you to St. Joseph’s Indian School?” or “Why have you stayed at St. Joseph’s Indian School?”  The answer is really pretty simple.  I came to St. Joseph’s Indian School because I was excited about the opportunity to work with Native American youth.  I have worked with kids since I was in college and that is where I found my niche.  I love working with kids.  So the opportunity to work with Native American youth was something I just could not pass up.

Why have I stayed?  Well, that answer is pretty simple too.  What brings me back to St. Joseph’s Indian School, as well as most staff you will ask, year after year, is the students and the families I am blessed to have the opportunity to work with.  I have the opportunity, each year, to work with some of the greatest kids on the planet.  They are creative, fun, out-going, resilient and all around good kids.

I grew up in a wonderful environment and I feel God has called me to help be a part of the great environment we offer the students and families we work with here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.  Every day is not great, sometimes our students struggle, but being able to be a positive role model and helper for our students and families, humbles and honors me.

As we come to the close of summer, I would ask for prayers for our students and their families, as well as the staff of St. Joseph’s Indian School, as we return to school.  We will all keep you in our thoughts and prayers as well!  Have a wonderful rest of the summer and if you are ever in the area, stop by and say hello!

Julie

Family Service Counselor

Bikes, ABCs and peaches

Today, I again visited the first grade classroom, where I have the most new names to learn. I was confused, and got a few of the names switched around. The first graders were also confused about my name.

“Are you really our teacher’s Father?” one asked!

They were reviewing the alphabet, and learning the letters by learning a chant and clapping pattern. While there are some things kids learn that we forget over the years, I was still pretty solid remembering my ABCs, and joined along to help them review. While most of our students have returned and breathed new life and energy into the campus, something was missing, and I couldn’t identify it until today. After school I saw the procession of the bicycles from their storage place in the picnic pavilion. The children parked them in their rightful places in front of the homes, and now the place is looking more like it should. It does my heart good to see the smiles of glee on youngster’s faces as they pedal around Wisdom Circle.

While on my way across campus, I came across a kickball game among the Afra Home (1st-3rd grade) girls. They got excited when I jumped in to take a turn. I kicked the ball over their heads, but ran slow enough for them to throw at me and get me out between second and third bases, before I went on my way toward another meeting. While I can’t always spend long blocks of time with the students, it’s those brief moments for a little fun and joy in life that create lasting memories and give meaning to my role here.

For our school lunches in the dining hall, as well as in meals served in the homes, we have been trying to emphasize more fruits and vegetables. Parts of South Dakota, especially Indian reservation communities, are often classified as a “food desert,” which is an area where choice and variety are limited and located more than one mile from the nearest grocery store. That point was brought home to me tonight in the Speyer Home (6th-8th grade boys). One of our new students was really enjoying the bowl of freshly frozen mixed fruit set before him.

“These orange things are pretty good – what are they again?” – the answer was peaches!

It was his first experience with peaches. If we’re going to help the next generation stave off diabetes and other health issues, we need to get them to try a variety of foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Without too much homework to rush off to yet, and sports practices still a week away, the guys sat around the table without rushing off, and talked about fun things they got to do over the summer.