Today was Jennifer’s farewell. She has been a houseparent at St. Joseph’s Indian School for eight years. When her husband Chris decided to go back to school this past fall to become an electrician, we knew it was just a matter of time before Jennifer found other work closer to home, which she did. We are glad for her generous service to our students. In addition to the houseparent roll, Jennifer also helped with our admissions and record keeping.
After school Monday, we had an open house in the Rec Center, with refreshments and a large farewell card made of poster board. Each student and co-worker wrote a few words of remembrance as they said their goodbyes. Thanks for all the children’s lives you helped and cared for!
Tonight the Chamberlain High School Band and Show Choir performed to the backdrop of a lasagna supper. The big band jazz pieces got my toes tapping under the table. The junior high group rocked out with a 50’s number with the girls wearing poodle skirts and the boys with greased back hair and black leather jackets. The show choir performed a group of five songs that all had to do with falling in love, including a crowd-pleasing “Kiss the Girl” Reggae number, complete with dreadlocks and knit caps.
Although we’ve had students in past years involved in the show choir, none of our current students are in this year’s ensemble. Several of our staff have children who sang or played instruments, however. One of the people at my table admired that I show up to be supportive at so many community events. With other commitments, I don’t get to do that enough, but try especially to support youth activities in the community.
Friday I was in Eagle Butte for a Cheyenne River Indian Outreach (Sacred Heart Center) Board meeting. The adolescent program seems stable, and is gaining the confidence of tribal and state placement agencies so it has been running close to capacity. Some youth in need of services have had to be put on a waiting list until a bed opens up, or referred on to other programs. The question we started discussing was keeping the program running as it is, or working at licensing for a greater number of children to meet the need. The tough issue is training and retaining enough reliable staff to keep up a good quality of service. The needs are great, and I applaud the Center’s mission of working to eradicate violence and serve those who have been hurt.
I traveled up and back with Fr. Joe, who is pastor of six parishes on the two reservations the SCJs serve. Personnel is an issue for him as well. The two religious sisters who have worked for many years among the people are both being called back to their community. It may be hard to find replacements, in which case the Pastoral team will have to work closely with the parishes to encourage local leadership to come forward to a greater degree.
Saturday morning I met with a young couple I’ve enjoyed working with for marriage preparation, and spent a couple of hours answering letters. With the previous days’ travel and meetings, I took the afternoon off for some rest and relaxation.
President’s Day weekend is an extra long one for our high school students, who were free of classes on Friday, and again on Monday. Many of them are checked out for the weekend with family. The Sheehy boys are on their annual ski trip to the Black Hills, and the Hogebach girls went to Sioux Falls on a shopping expedition. With so many away, we had a noticeably smaller crowd in church.
Today after mass, I visited the Rooney Home (6th-8th grade boys). I try to have a meal in each of the homes at least once a quarter, to be in touch with what students and houseparents are up to. Today’s visit meant I completed a round of all 18 homes, and will start the rotation all over again. What I noticed about the Rooney boys was that they have hearty appetites. Brunch consisted of waffles, sausage, eggs and hash browns. In some of the homes the kids eat and run. This group ate and talked and ate some more and told a few stories and ate some more . . . luckily they have a little more for food in their budget than the 1st– 3rd graders do!
Our local SCJ group gathers at least once a month, and this afternoon we met to go over budgets for the year. At the evening meal, it was our turn to eat and talk and tell stories. With everyone finished with church for the weekend, there was no hurry to rush off, but rather a leisurely time together for catching up and fellowship. Living as part of a religious order, that mutual support is not just appreciated, but necessary to keep a vocation healthy and alive.
Today we held our annual healing camp for students who are grieving the loss of a loved one, especially those who have lost someone dear to them over the past year. Fourteen staff members volunteered to spend the day with 15 students (two sisters shared one counselor) in a variety of activities that help them express feelings and memories.
Harlee loves singing!
We began the day with our drum group – The Chalk Hills Singers – singing a prayer song. We now have a dozen boys crowded around the drum! Next year Mark, the advisor, is considering starting a second drum group because of all the interest. There are also three girls who came forward. Traditionally, they don’t drum, but stand around the circle and add their lovely voices to the song.
To begin healing camp, I shared the scripture from John’s gospel about Martha and Mary’s reaction to the death of their brother Lazarus. One ran out to meet Jesus, while the other stayed at home. Each of us handles grief differently; some may need the company and support of others, but others may need down time to be alone. I wanted to give students the freedom to feel whatever they would feel during the day, and know that was okay.
One of my favorite activities was when everyone gathered in the Akta Lakota Museum classroom for a guided imagery about a conversation they would have with the loved one they were missing. As students and staff shared, they each had a glow-in-the-dark pendant, which they snapped to activate. The room gradually lit up, and the sharing produced both tears and happy memories. We ended with a circle of hugs and handshakes all around, then went outside to tie a memorial prayer tie in one of our trees on campus.
Other activities included writing a letter to the deceased and placing it on a fire with the smoke rising to the heavens, some fun time in the gym and rec center, Q and A about death and heaven, and one-on-one walks with the staff buddy.
Fr. Anthony led the group in a closing prayer service, with a lighting of votive candles and a prayer in memory of the beloved deceased. Many of our students have suffered significant losses in their young lives, and this is one way we’ve found to help lead them through such difficult days.
Gerald "Heavy Duty" Krueger visited St. Joseph's Indian School.
Gerald “Heavy Duty” Krueger is a former pro wrestler who is now a certified addictions counselor. At the end of the school day he gave our students a presentation in the school gym. Our Native American students were impressed by his feats of strength, like ripping decks of cards and car license plates in half. He took a frying pan and rolled it up like a burrito!
More important, however, was the message he tried to leave to them about being strong means not bullying and trying to treat others right. Picking on other kids, especially with cruel words, leaves long lasting scars and painful memories. He also ran with a crowd in his younger days where drugs and violence were common, and urged our kids to steer clear of those. He also connected with our students who don’t have a strong male role model in their life, reminding them that we don’t always understand the struggles of men who become absent fathers. He spoke out forcefully against suicide, and urged kids to get help when they feel overwhelmed.
As our students left the rec center, I saw several who had collected the torn up playing cards, or pieces of ripped up metal. Hopefully they will also remember the message Heavy Duty tried to communicate as they go through life’s ups and downs.
This afternoon was our annual rivalry basketball game with Chamberlain’s 7th and 8th grade teams to earn bragging rights for the year. Both teams play hard to win, but since many play together in our fall intercity basketball league, there is also a good sense of familiarity and friendship. I noticed at the tip-off of the 8th grade game, Michael was jumping against a boy he played on the same team with in the fall. They had huge grins and gave a warm handshake before the competition began.
Chamberlain has a strong group of 7th graders, and easily defeated our crew. In the 8th grade, we have a strong group of boys and definitely had a height advantage. But, the Cubs played good team ball and forced overtime. Our Braves finally won by three. Since it’s really a local game for both schools, we had a great crowd in the stands to cheer the players on. Many of our staff had kids or grandchildren playing for the Cubs, and most of us had to root for all the kids on both sides of the ball.
A reporter from the local newspaper came to interview me about the progress of our Akta Lakota Museum expansion and alumni/ historical center. The workers have lifted the ceiling beams into place and are working on roofing now, so it’s really taking shape. Still, it will take another year plus for the whole project to be completed.
Tuesday was Valentine’s Day! At the end of the day our students passed out cards, many store-bought, but a few homemade, to friends and classmates. The boys at Cyr Home baked treats to share with their 4th and 5th grade classmates – yummy and very appreciated!
Speaking of Valentine’s Day, in my spiritual reading, I came across this quote about love from Pedro Arupe, former superior general of the Jesuits:
“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything.”
In my weekly meeting with Mike, director of Child Services, we discussed our Lakota cultural programming. In our strategic plan we identified the need to add another staff position to complement what we are already doing in this regard. We’re looking at moving forward and hiring someone for next school year. We have begun some good things in terms of dance, drum group and language and see the need for continued staff education and development as well.
At the William Home (4th and 5th grade girls) for supper, I got to meet Chuck, our newest houseparent, who is shadowing Mike and Jessica to learn how we do childcare here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Chuck had his two year old son Izzy with him, and the girls were quite enamored with the little guy. Izzy had a dozen big sisters willing to play and watch after him, and seemed to enjoy the attention.
Our weekend was filled with lots of activity. Friday evening, grades 1-5 gathered in the Rec Center for a Valentine’s Day Sobriety Carnival. Older students helped with the games, which included a fish pond, bean bag throw and ring toss, to name a few. We had lots of smaller prizes sent in by our donors, and the students were happy to win fun little knick-knacks, toys and games.
Lots of kids lined up at the cake walk, trying to win a small personal-sized cake. We joked that as many dill pickles as our Native American students buy at the concession stand during basketball games, we could try a pickle walk instead and it would be just as popular!
Who doesn't love a little face paint?
One group of junior high girls staffed a face painting station, and many of the students got colorful temporary decorations to highlight their features. I got in the act and, since it is Valentine’s Day, (or maybe because I’m a Priest of the Sacred Heart), I got a bright red heart painted on my cheek.
After the younger students cleared out, grades 6-12 came back for a dance. Chris, a junior in high school, helped DJ. He pointed out to me that he’d edited a lot of the popular songs on his playlist so they could be marked with an asterisk denoting “clean,” meaning there was no inappropriate language.
Like many dances, boys spent most of the time on one side of the room, and girls on the other. A few brave souls occasionally ventured out. By the last two songs of the night, everyone wanted to dance, and bemoaned the fact it was ending so early.
Saturday we hosted a four team 8th grade basketball tournament. St. Joseph’s won their first game. We played Pierre Indian Learning Center evenly in the first half of the championship game, but they caught fire in the third quarter and won going away. The Stevens Home (6th – 8th grade girls) made chili dogs and sloppy joes for the concession stand, along with some homemade baked goodies that were popular with players and fans alike. They’re saving up money to get a few extra fun things for their home.
The Summerlee Home (4th-5th grade girls) took a day trip to Sioux Falls and spent the day learning to ice skate. They came home a little sore, but with lots of giggles and laughter and are eager to try again soon.
Our local bowling alley has eight lanes, and St. Joseph’s had them all for a couple of hours Saturday night as the high school students had a bowling party. Some take the bowling more seriously than others, but all have a good time just hanging out. There was a 25 cent prize for each strike, and students pooled their money to pick songs to play on the juke box.
Saturday also brought another dance, this one in town, for 6th-8th grade students. Several of our boys have joined the local Explorers Club, which is a service organization that teaches them to become young gentlemen, and give back in service to the community. This dance was held at the public elementary school, and our students mingled well with peers from town. As our kids do more with Chamberlain children now, it starts to build relationships that will make the transition to public high school less scary for them later.
Sunday at church, Peter from the Raphael Home (1st-3rd grade boys) introduced me to our newest first grader, who just began this week. He told me the child was both excited and nervous because he had never been to church before, and didn’t quite know what to expect. His housemates helped him figure out when to stand and when to sit, and where to find prayers in the books, and it turned out okay.
Sunday afternoon, our junior high girls had two rounds of inter-city basketball. Afterwards, I hung around the gym when the younger grades came in for their recreation time. I worked with a couple of young girls on how to pass a basketball and shoot a layup, then took some time just walking around the gym and talking to the kids. Most of the time they seem me in black clerical attire, and they were fascinated to see me in sweat pants and shirt, learning that I do have other clothes!
This morning started with a staff appreciation breakfast at the dining hall. The food services crew put together a waffle bar with four different kinds of fruit toppings, along with syrup and whipped cream, that one could make into a creation to suit their own tastes. At these events, we also have a fun trivia contest to give staff a chance at winning door prizes. Donna, our Human Services Director told me we will have to figure out a new approach because, with the advent of smart phones, most of the people can just look up the answers at their fingertips!
I’m experiencing that time of year when there are fewer big projects to attend to, but lots of little, ongoing, daily events. While those aren’t the kind most likely to make headlines, sometimes it is most satisfying just to roll with the day as it unfolds and be able to pay attention to the people who pass my way.
Today I wrote copy for upcoming newsletters and visited the classrooms at school. Our photographer, Emily, was around and snapped a few shots that you’ll probably see somewhere down the road. This evening, I met with two of our high school girls, Daylon and Erica, who will travel to Miami, Florida next month. Both are freshmen and both have been here for seven years.
I learned a lot from their perspective as they talked about what they will share with our donors about their lives at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
St. Joseph’s sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students are hard at work for the spring semester!
In language arts,
7th and 8th grades have just finished a unit on fiction, learning the elements of fiction and discovering author’s purpose, etc. Now we are moving on to nonfiction work starting with autobiographies and biographies, memoirs, journals and personal essays. We’ve also been working on reading and summarizing informational text.
Our 6th grade students are discovering Great Expectations and learning about the inventions that have changed our lives. We are also studying characterization and understanding elements of plot and dialogue in drama.
Learning can be challenging, but the teachers at St. Joseph’s Indian School also make it fun!
In math class, students are working with coordinate planes, learning order of operations and ratio word problems. We are also learning about adding and subtracting fractions with and without common denominators, as well as having to borrow with fractions
In science classes,
Sixth-grade students are learning about energy transformations.
Seventh-grade students are learning about DNA
Eighth-grade students are learning about rock cycles
For students who are having some struggles within a subject, we have Educational Interventions. They can work in any subject during this time, which takes place daily, for the last 30 minutes of the day.
The woodwind quintet entertained our Native American students.
St. Joseph’s Indian School had another musical treat again today with the performance of a woodwind quintet, The Tradoc Winds, from the US Army Training and Doctrine Command in Virginia. One of the soldiers is from the Chamberlain area, and she and her group met with our Native American students to explain their instruments and encourage our youngsters to stick with their musical instruction, since many of them began at 9 or 10 years of age. I wanted to get up and dance when they played the Clarinet Polka, but had to be satisfied with tapping my feet in time to the music.
Besides a whole bunch of catch up meetings, I had the pile of College and Vo-Tech scholarship applications to look over and sign off on. We have a committee who makes recommendations. We have 26 St. Joseph’s alumni who will receive help continuing their education. The variety of majors is broad, including auto mechanics, pharmacy technician, business management, construction management, chemical dependency counseling and nursing.
It’s gratifying to read the application letters, seeing how we can help people pursue their dreams of a better life for themselves, their family and tribe.
We got back late last night from our donor luncheons in Austin, Texas. After 8th graders Dawson and Kyle shared their experiences living and going to school at St. Joseph’s, one donor asked,
“How many times have you spoken before a group like this?”
“Never!” Dawson exclaimed.
But for a 13 and 14-year-old, they did a great job and now walk a little taller and more confident.
Our donors come from a wide variety of backgrounds. This trip I met two men who became interested in St. Joseph’s Indian School while searching out their own tribal roots. In periods of our nation’s history when tribal people faced persecution, some families kept quiet about Native heritage. Some children were adopted without knowing of their original people or roots. We hope all tribal people, especially our students, can draw on the wisdom and beautiful aspects of their tradition and culture to overcome obstacles and move toward a brighter future.
While in Austin, we had to visit the University of Texas. With over 50,000 students enrolled, if it were in South Dakota, it would be the 3rd largest city all by itself, and not far from 2nd place Rapid City! The students got a glimpse of large scale residential halls, educational buildings and football stadium on a major university.
We explored the downtown area, which in a few places lived up to the city’s theme of “Keep Austin Weird!” The boys got a kick out of the Museum of the Weird, with its PT Barnum-like displays of a two headed calf and exotic lizards. Some of our donors gave the boys Texas sweatshirts and mementos, and the downtown trip gave them a chance to pick up a few souvenirs for family and friends.
For both the boys, it was their first plane ride, and they found it fascinating to see the world from a higher view. When our students travel, I have a rule about food – they have to try some new foods, and I keep a little notebook to have them rate what they tried. Kyle would have broken the old record of 11, but Dawson was very adventurous, setting the new record for the weekend trip at 23 foods he had never tried, and said he’d eagerly try most of them again!
The Lakota youth had so much fun singing along with Jami Lynn Buttke.
Back on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus today, we have a young guitar-playing folk singer, Jami Lynn Buttke, as our artist in residence through the Artists in the Schools program, through the South Dakota Arts Council. She has been teaching our students some of the old folk songs, which I’ve always loved hearing. She also involves the students with some simple percussion instruments that they can join in making some entertaining music.
