Fr. Steve’s updates – Page 3 – St. Joseph's Indian School

Graduation Celebrations

Sunday, five of our St. Joseph’s students and 65 of their Chamberlain High School classmates celebrated graduation as the Class of 2013. It seemed the whole community was packed into the armory.

St. Joseph’s Indian School provides education and residential care for Lakota children in grades 1-12. — Five St. Joseph’s students graduated with the Chamberlain High School Class of 2013.

The school choir and band performed some nice selections. The main event, however, was simply these youth proudly walking up the aisle accompanied by flashing cameras and rolling camcorders to mark this transitional time in their lives. We pray and hope for a wonderful future where their gifts and abilities can help meet the world’s needs.

We had some controversy with this year’s graduation. Chris, one of our St. Joseph’s seniors presented a petition to the school board to add a Lakota Honor song to the graduation ceremony to add a cultural element and to honor all the graduates.

Disappointingly, the school board turned it down. Community members from town and the nearby reservations held signs of protest across the street, gathered around a drum to respectfully played an Honor Song as their tribute to graduates filing out of the auditorium.

Afterwards, I attended some of the many receptions held all over town. Besides our St. Joseph’s students, several staff had children graduating, and I wanted to offer special congratulations to them.

Coleman’s parents have been houseparents on campus for many years. While Coleman didn’t attend St. Joseph’s Indian School, I watched him grow up with our kids in the Pinger Home. It truly felt like one of our own had reached this milestone.

I also knew some area graduates from the parishes I used to pastor. Kids I knew as first graders have now received diplomas and are preparing to go off and make their mark on the world.

Feathering ceremony honors Native American seniors

Chamberlain High School hosted a feathering ceremony for Native American graduates at St. Joseph’s Indian school. — Thirteen Native American graduates were honored in a feathering ceremony at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Friday
Chamberlain High School used St. Joseph’s Rec Center for a feathering ceremony honoring 13 Native American students enrolled in area tribes who will graduate this weekend. Five were our own St. Joseph’s students. Wayne Two Hawks, a Crow Creek elder, gave some instructions to the graduates about what an honor it is to receive an eagle feather, and now it was up to them to wear it proudly by choosing a good path through life.
After a ceremonial blessing song, everyone in attendance filed past our young graduates and shook their hands or gave hugs to wish them well. St. Joseph’s drum group, the Chalk Hills Singers, sang an honor song as well. The students presented Allan, the principle, with a lovely Lakota star quilt to thank him for the support he’s been during their years at the high school.
Our five high school homes have emptied out, and all the students are gone for summer vacation. For most, it will be a short one, as many of our students will return after Memorial Day for driver’s ed, summer camps, or independent living where they stay on campus and take care of their own cooking and meals and work a job to put away some savings for the future.
Saturday
The Cyr Home (4th-5th grade boys) invited me to tag along with them on their last outing of the year. We loaded up one of our white St. Joseph’s mini buses in the morning and headed east to Mitchell, South Dakota. Instead of a video to pass the time, houseparent Odis pulled out his I-Pad, which had some games loaded on it. Six of us passed it around and played the computerized version of Risk, a game I would often play with my brothers and cousin into the wee hours of the morning, trying to conquer the world. It was fun to relive those times and not have to worry about wooden pieces falling off the board in a moving vehicle.
We ate at a Chinese buffet. Paula, one of the houseparents, encouraged the boys to try some new things. She recommended just taking small amounts, and if they liked it, go back for more. Two students were brave and followed Odis’ lead by slurping down an oyster, but the faces they made while

The Lakota boys enjoyed a trip to Mitchell, South Dakota. — Boys in the Cyr Home enjoyed trying new things at the Chinese buffet.

swallowing them showed they were not interested in seconds at all. They boys had fun trying to get their fingers to work the chopsticks. I’ve never seen anyone eat orange jello or ice cream with chopsticks before!
We watched the new Star Trek movie (I’ve long been a fan of all the Enterprise and crew), then enjoyed a nice afternoon at the park. Mitchell has a Frisbee golf course, which I’d never tried, but we had lots of fun. The first couple of holes took forever, but then we decided to play best ball rules – everyone getting a chance from wherever the best throw landed. That moved things along better. No one worried about keeping score and everyone had some best throws.

St. Joseph’s boys finished their trip to Mitchell with a round of Frisbee golf. — After lunch, the boys played Frisbee golf.

A few days before graduation…

Wednesday

When I come out of morning mass in the winter and walk past Wisdom Circle, the playground is empty. With the warmer weather, however, it has been filled with the laughter of the Lakota children squeezing in some play time before the school day starts.

Spring has finally arrived on the South Dakota Prairie! The flowers and bushes on campus are filled with fragrant and colorful blossoms. We seemingly went from winter to summer, skipping spring altogether, though we know our temperature swings will still be wild for some time to come.

Our Native American students from fifth through eighth grades have a chance to learn to play musical instruments. Yesterday, we gathered in Our Lady of the Sioux chapel to hear the fruits of their practice as they held a recital. Their skills are still pretty basic, but I admired their courage to get in front of their peers and risk hitting the wrong chord or note. We heard six piano solos, four guitars, two flutes, and clarinet and a drum. Some of the songs were very short. I was disappointed one of my old folk favorites, Oh Suzanna, finished before the rousing chorus. But you’ve got to love the kids for trying!

The Lakota children at St. Joseph’s have the opportunity to take music lessons. — Caden and Richie worked hard on their guitar pieces for the music recital.

After that, we held a farewell gathering in the Rec Center for St. Joseph’s Child Services staff who are retiring or moving on to new things. Huge cardboard greeting cards were laid out for everyone to sign, while looking over pictures and remembering. After everyone grabbed some refreshments, each of those staff were called forward, given a gift, and the opportunity to say a few words.

Steve started as a houseparent, but since I’ve been at St. Joseph’s Indian School, has been the lead tutor at our High School Learning Center. With a concerted effort from students and staff, the collective grade point average of St. Joseph’s high school students has gone up almost a full point over the last four years!

Gary and Marty guided high school girls for the past two years, and Anita has mentored our young men for the past four.

Frank and Wanda have been houseparents for 26 years!!! They are retiring to spend more time with their own children and grandchildren. Over the years they’ve parented so many St. Joseph’s kids who consider them family. They were each wrapped in a Lakota star quilt as a sign of honor and appreciation. Many tears and tons of hugs followed. We pray for all those moving on to new adventures.

St. Joseph’s high school students finish classes at the end of this week. Elijah, one of our seniors, had high enough grades to be exempted from his finals and is completely done. This evening, our houseparents organized a back yard end-of-the-year cook out. Hot dogs and hamburgers taste mighty good when shared in the beautiful outdoors with good friends, conversation, and a few games thrown in to boot.

With the help of the local ministerial association, Chamberlain High

School organized their Baccalaureate Ceremony this evening. We hosted the service in our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. Area pastors offered some words of prayer, but all of the readings and music were organized by the students. The evening was uplifting as we prayed for God’s help for all the youth of our community who are transitioning on to the next stages of their education and careers.

Native American Career Day

I always grow concerned when I hear the wail of an ambulance siren. One day last week, it cried loudly outside St. Joseph’s Indian School. But no cause for alarm – the ambulance was on campus to present to our students for Native American Career Day.

Paramedics showed our Lakota students the equipment they use to save lives, and talked about what the job as a first responder entails.

Chamberlain paramedics visited St. Joseph’s Indian School for Native American Career Day. — St. Joseph’s first graders wait to see the inside of the ambulance.

Another group from Catholic Social Services runs the Lakota Circles of Hope program. They work to prevent elementary students from abusing drugs and alcohol. From the medical field, St. Joseph’s students heard from a physical therapist and a woman overseeing medical records for Indian Health Services. The state Director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes talked to the students about showing the values of sportsmanship and care while pursuing the games we all love.

The presentation which fascinated me the most, was hearing from an alumnae who went into law enforcement. I knew Fancy when she was a tiny baby and I worked in Red Scaffold, South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Now, she stands 6’2” and with her police vest and equipment on, she is an imposing figure!

But, she has learned good people skills. While she can be strong and tough when needed, she shared with the students that she gets more done not by the use of force, but by kindness and checking in with people. She asks about what is going on, and builds relationships in the communities she works in. She listens to the hurts and suffering.

I asked Fancy how she deals with the ugly side of life, where she sees things no one wants to see. She said, “I pray. I pray for the people who are hurting. I pray I can take care of my kids. I pray for strength and compassion. And St. Joseph’s helped teach me the importance of that.”

The Lakota children learned about numerous careers during Native American Career Day. — The Lakota children check out the stretcher inside the ambulance.

St. Joseph’s 2013 Distinguished Almnus

During mass last Sunday, we had a whole host of events. For Mother’s Day, we invited all St. Joseph’s moms and house-moms up to the front of Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel, where they were serenaded by our children’s choir and given a carnation in appreciation of everything they do.

We prayed for all of our eighth grade and high school graduates. The seniors will walk up the aisle Sunday, May 19 and our eighth grade class a few days later on Friday, May 24.

Artist Del Iron Cloud was welcomed as our distinguished alumnus for the year. He attended St. Joseph’s Indian School in the late 50’s and thanked Brother Bonaventure for helping nurture his love for beauty. Since retiring from the United States Air Force, Del has dedicated himself to painting, and we carry many of his works in the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. In a touching gesture, he painted beautiful watercolor feathers, each unique and original, and presented them to each graduate as his way of honoring them.

St. Joseph’s 2013 Distinguished Alumnus, Del Iron Cloud, presents a gift to the Lakota graduates. — Iron Cloud painted beautiful watercolor feathers and presented them to each graduate as his way of honoring them.

After church, we held a reception for our five seniors in the dining hall. For each Lakota senior, the time they had spent on campus ranged between 5 and 10 years – so many memories to share! During dinner, a slide show of each looked back over their years at St. Joseph’s.

Instead of giving a speech, each made a short video to share about the activities they were involved in, future plans and, of course, advice to leave behind for those up and coming high school students. The video brought lots of laughter and recognition. Then, their teachers and houseparents came to the microphone and spoke from their hearts about the struggles, growth and accomplishments we’ve seen in these young people over that time.

There were a few tears shed as we think about parting. But, that’s what they’re meant to do – learn enough to start venturing off on their own, with our support and care in tow, to pursue their dreams. Four plan on college, and one the Armed Services.

In the afternoon, the scene shifted to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center for our ribbon cutting and open house celebrating the completion of our new addition. Mark Shields, who worked on our maintenance staff for over 40 years, did the honors after we blessed the facility and offered words of thanks to all who helped make it possible. I enjoyed visiting with the alumni, townsfolk, students and donors who filtered in throughout the day.

Visiting St. Joseph’s Donor Care Center

The Chamber of Commerce recently set up a ribbon cutting ceremony at St. Joseph’s Donor Care Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Our boys’ drum group – the Chalk Hills Singers – and girls who serve as support singers rode the bus to help open the building with style and festivity. Their songs and participation made the day special. Our Chalk Hills Singers began with an honor song dedicated to the “common man” for hard work, service and humility.

South Dakota Public Radio taped the song as part of an upcoming story. St. Joseph’s high school students and others from the community have petitioned the Chamberlain school board to include a Lakota (Sioux) honor song to pay tribute to all the graduates at Chamberlain High School graduation. The board votes next week.

At the ribbon cutting, I welcomed visitors and thanked all those who worked hard to renovate and open the office. St. Joseph’s Indian School is proud to have worked so well over the years with the Chamberlain community, and now we’re excited to be part of the Sioux Falls community also. Some great, highly qualified staff have already joined our team from the area. Lisa, who was a houseparent for almost 10 years and just moved over to the Donor Care Center, was a bit of a star our Native American students gravitated toward her to catch up on how she’s doing.

After a scrumptious potluck lunch, our students used sage to smudge and bless the building and staff. Fr. Anthony liberally sprinkled holy water throughout the facility. We ended with a circle of handshakes, allowing our students to say thanks for the work these staff do to make their education possible.

Afterwards, I got to play tourist and see familiar sights through the eyes of a first-time visitor. Fr. Jose hails from Portugal. Besides his late night flight into South Dakota a month ago, this was his first chance to see the Sioux Falls area. He was impressed with Sioux Falls’ replica of Michelangelo’s David statue, though he has seen the original with his own eyes. We spent time at Falls Park, from which the city gets its name.

We also made a couple stops on the way home.

The small town of Alexandria, South Dakota, has a Fatima Family Shrine. Since Fatima is so important in his native Portugal, we paid a visit. And of course we had to stop in Mitchell and take in the “World’s only Corn Palace.”

Fr. Anthony and Fr. Jose, enjoyed a visit to a waterfall in South Dakota. — Fr. Anthony and Fr. Jose at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Visitors from far and wide

While South Dakota is a very rural and out-of-the-way state, we get a lot of visitors at St. Joseph’s Indian School who are passing through in the summer on their way to visit the Badlands, Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. There is also a great interest in Native American culture, and our Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center receives a few hundred visitors each day during the summer.

We’ve noticed many visitors from Europe but recently, a groups of six Spanish-speaking tour guides stopped in to look at our museum. There is a great interest in travelers from South America as well, and they plan to bring folks from there our way this summer.

I dusted off my rusty Spanish to welcome them and say a few basic things about campus, which made them feel more at home. A guide from Argentina studied with the Jesuits, and shared that his best teacher was Jorge Bergolio, now Pope Francis. I called Fr. Jose over to the museum since he is fluent in several languages and he spent more time helping them tour and become familiar with what we can offer visitors.

German lessons

With a last name like Huffstetter, I definitely have some German ancestry, but my forebears came to this continent in 1736, before there even was a United States. I have picked up a few words of German over the years, but it is still very limited. We recently had a donor from Germany visit the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center – Anna, who spoke no English. Once I got past my basic greetings of welcome and hello, I relied on her daughter, Gabriele to translate as we toured the campus.

When Anna said that she had a great interest in Native American culture, even as a young girl, I remembered learning of the German author Karl May whose books about the American west captivated many generations of folks overseas. I recalled a phrase and asked:

Haben Sie Karl May gelesen? (Have you read Karl May?)

Gabriele started to translate what I asked, then stopped as she realized that I had actually asked the question in German. We all had a good laugh.

We visited one of the third grade classrooms to observe the students in a reading lesson. Anna hoped to get a picture or two and plenty of hands went up when I asked for volunteers. St. Joseph’s students are taught to be polite and greet visitors by introducing themselves (first names only). I told them that if they wanted to say “My name is (I am called)” They should say:

Ich Heisse . . . Fr. Steve

St. Joseph’s students enjoyed a German meal to learn basic phrases in the language. — Foods and dishes were labeled in German to help students learn basic words.

Shaniece was the first to gently put out her hand and quietly say “Ich Heisse Shaniece.”

Jaren followed with a similar greeting, and several other kids offered their hand and greeting as well. It brought a smile to our visitors, and a nice lesson in cross cultural understanding and hospitality.

We will have four of our Lakota high school students visit our sister school in Handrup, Germany in June. To help prepare, Clare, Anita and Maija planned a German-themed meal in the Crane home. Dishes and foods were labeled in German, and each participant was given a sheet of simple but helpful phrases like bitte (please) and danke (thanks) to practice.

In the background, the TV ran a slide show of past German trips to encourage student interest. Maija gave quizzes about elements of German culture. Wyatt shared that he found an app for his phone that will help him with some basic translations. Anita’s combined creation of German Chocolate Cherry Black Forest Cake may not have been authentic, but it was certainly delicious! All in all, we had a fun and festive evening.

St. Joseph’s high school students will visit our sister in Handrup, Germany this summer. — Ashley and Erica enjoy their German meal.

Thanking Donors in Delaware and Philadelphia

Last weekend, a group of us traveled to Dover, Delaware and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (just outside Philadelphia) for donor appreciation luncheons. Eighth grader Deavontay and seventh grader Keaytan were the guests of honor as they shared with folks about their routines and adventures at St. Joseph’s Indian School. The boys were great travelers, and enjoyed meeting about 70 guests each day who journeyed to the luncheons. The donors were most kind and hospitable, filled with insightful questions and lots of enthusiasm and encouragement for the Native American youngsters.

One man was a cancer survivor. Upon learning I’m going on three years since surgery to remove cancer, he took off a green wristband he had made for himself and gave it to me.

The words engraved on it are “never give up.”

That’s a good message not just for me, but also for St. Joseph’s Lakota students as they pursue their dreams.

St. Joseph’s students and staff at Independence Hall. — One of our first stops in Philadelphia was Independence Hall.

Seeing the Liberty Bell helped history come alive for the Lakota boys. — Seeing artifacts of the past – like the Liberty Bell – helps history come alive!

Upon meeting me, many people say, “I know you from your pictures.” I heard that often on our trip, but in addition I had to laugh when one woman said to me afterwards, “you’re nothing like I pictured you; you’re lots of fun!”

I’m glad she found the afternoon lively. I really do love the mission at St. Joseph’s and am glad that joy comes out.

We flew into Philadelphia with the students gawking out the window at the widespread city below. When I asked them about places they wanted to see and experience, our first goal was to taste a genuine Philly Cheesesteak for lunch. The weather was perfect for walking to stretch after a long flight and explore a colorful South Philly neighborhood. We tried Pat’s King of Steaks and sat at a picnic table outside to enjoy a mouth-watering sandwich that hit the spot.

The Native American boys and their teacher enjoy a genuine Philly Cheesesteak. — It was a beautiful day to enjoy a Philly Cheesesteak!

Downtown, we saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross’s home and Benjamin Franklin’s grave. My favorite was the portrait gallery in the Second Bank of the United States, with iconic paintings of famous Americans we recognized from history books. Actually seeing places and artifacts instead of just reading about them makes history come alive!

Sunday afternoon, we were able to spend some time at Valley Forge and learn of the hardships the Revolutionary patriots endured through some harsh winter months.

I’ve traveled a lot both before and since coming to St. Joseph’s, but I’d never been to Delaware before. The First State was my 48^th, leaving only Hawaii and Alabama that I’ve yet to visit. St. Joseph’s is planning to visit Alabama a year from now. We have no Hawaii travel plans set, but if we ever go there, I’ve already had many people say they’ll volunteer to chaperone!

The Lakota (Sioux) boys learned about the Revolutionary War at Valley Forge. — Sunday, we visited Valley Forge.

Inspiration at the end of the week

Yesterday, I was off campus to attend a diocesan sponsored workshop on preaching. Most surveys on religion highlight the need for improved quality of preaching across denominational lines. I was inspired by hearing how others approach their homilies. One priest starts every preparation period with the prayer, “O God help me to love these people and give them the very best I can.”

In addition to prayer, a good preacher must also know the needs of their congregation, and what issues and concerns are closest to their hearts. The day reinforced the urgency and importance of sharing the good news of the gospel. While most of my homilies are geared toward the Lakota (Sioux) children at St. Joseph’s Indian School, that may even take on greater importance because they soak in all that we say (and especially all we do).

…

St. Joseph the Carpenter was skilled with tools of his trade. In preparation for the feast of St. Joseph the Worker (May 1), our religious education classes have embarked on a service project. They are building a tool shed. When it’s finished, they will donate it to the local crisis center in Chamberlain, which provides shelter for families suffering from domestic violence.

It’s interesting to watch how some kids dive right in and really enjoy such a hands on project, knowing that it will be doing a lot of good for others.

The Lakota children are helping build a shed in service to the community. — Anthony and Daryl stand in the framework of the soon-to-be shed for the local crisis center.

…

About 30 students of all ages recently gathered in our skating room. The occasion? The annual rib feed hosted by one of our long time houseparents, Steve! Each year around his birthday, Steve invites all the Native American students on campus for whom he has been a houseparent.

The menu is always the same – his mouthwatering BBQ ribs, corn on the cob, baked potato and topped off with his Butterfinger cake. It’s a delightful reunion and students share memories of their homes in their days with Steve. Often, houseparents will work with sibling groups over the years, and I noticed family members who are now spread out in different homes because of their ages sitting next to one another and enjoying some of the comforts of real family bonding.