These past three days I traveled to St. Louis for my cousin Victoria’s memorial services. She was only 51, and died after a courageous two year battle with cancer. She was a big inspiration in my own battles with cancer during that same time period. My cousins made the services special with music, recollections and tributes. It was good to be with family as we shared both tears and laughter to grieve, remember and celebrate.
Safe from Hurricane Irene
Being in New York during Hurricane Irene was big news here in Chamberlain, South Dakota. We got lots of calls to find out if we were OK. A writer from the local paper even called me to get the scoop. We got 8 inches of rain and strong winds, but were not in any real danger. The inconvenience of canceled flights and not being able to hold the luncheons as we had planned were minor compared to the devastation so many people experienced from the storm. Our prayers go out to all the folks whose lives have been so directly impacted.
I flew in a day ahead of the rest of our group so I could go to a baseball game with some friends. The last time I was in Yankee Stadium, I was in junior high school and in the House that Ruth Built the monuments were still in the playing field. I enjoy baseball games because it’s laid back enough that you can really talk and visit throughout the evening and we had a gorgeous summer’s night to do so.
Thursday I waited for the students and chaperones to arrive, but every hour or so I got a new text message that they were still delayed in Detroit. Instead of arriving at noon with a chance for some sightseeing, they finally arrived just after midnight. Ashley and Angel were two tired 7th graders when they got up the next morning to speak to an enthusiastic crowd of about a hundred donors from the area.
Anne, one of our donors, lectures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and arranged to meet us that afternoon for a guided tour of a few highlights. Before we left St. Joseph’s Indian School, I asked Dave, our art teacher, to have the students look online at some of the museum’s treasures. Angel said she was most interested in seeing items from Ancient Greece and Rome. That was one of Anne’s favorite areas anyway, and with her insightful commentary and care to teach our students, the experience was unforgettable. We also saw pieces of Sioux beadwork that are in the museum.
We did get to see a play, The Lion King, thanks to another generous donor. I sat behind the students. Watching them lean forward with excitement to take in the music and pageantry and look all around the theater as the different animals processed down the aisles was very special for me. Theater can help you feel the wide range of human emotion and the human condition. The play took us through feelings of joy, laughter, fear, sadness, hope and inspiration.
We had lined up a ride to Brooklyn for the Saturday luncheon and with subways and trains shutting down at noon, only 7 of our 70 registered guests were able to come. The ones who were able to make it got very individualized attention! I did have a couple of special guests as well, my niece Allison and her fiancée Steve and got some quality time with them before the “crowd” arrived. One of my favorite moments came as we were talking about Lakota Language. Usually it’s the boys who sing in the drum group, but Angel knew all the words to the Flag Song, since we play it at the start of the school day. Though shy, she sang it for us (she had to cover her eyes and not look at everyone) in a gentle, beautiful voice.
We had to cancel Sunday’s Long Island event altogether. By then the storm was unleashing it’s full fury and we stayed put. Two women got on the hotel elevator with me. I said to them, “I think we’re in for an adventure!”
(Woman 1) “ All you can do is go with the flow”
(Woman 2) “I sure hope we don’t go with any flow!”
By Sunday afternoon the rains had passed, and though it was still gusty, many people came out and walked around. Almost everything was closed, and some of the stores even boarded up, but we walked around midtown Manhattan for a couple of hours, taken in many sites and landmarks. One place that was open was St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and we dropped in there for prayers of thanksgiving, and a look at the beauty of that sacred space.
Our flights Monday were canceled, but it turned out to be a great day in the city. We got on one of the double-decker tour busses early in the day and toured both downtown and uptown. We paid our respects at Ground Zero, looked out across the water at Lady Liberty and saw a TV film crew at work as we strolled through Greenwich Village. Later, we rode along Central Park and through Harlem. The students were wide-eyed taking it all in. Many of the buildings have more rooms than Chamberlain’s entire population!
We got home safe and sound last night with many memories and a few stories to tell.
Economic struggles
Fifteen of our child services staff, including houseparents, teachers and even Fr. Anthony our chaplain, have been taking part in 40 hours of training in LSCI (Life Space Crisis Intervention). This approach helps you to take a stressful event as when a student is acting out or shutting down, and use it as a chance to get to the core of what is troubling them. It takes both patience and practice to make this work, but we have been encouraged by the results. Having some common training also gives our staff a more consistent common approach to working with our students.
This afternoon I traveled west, where Robert Gruss was ordained as the new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City. Last night, a prayer service was held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral, but mass today was held in the Civic Center Arena to allow the participation of more people. The arena is usually reserved for basketball games, concerts and rodeos, but a wonderful spirit of prayer filled that stands.
A high percentage of the West River Catholics are Lakota, since five Indian R eservations are in the diocese. Lakota deacons and their wives offered a ceremonial smudging to cleanse the arena and prepare our hearts for the ceremony to follow. When the bishop elect lay prostrate in prayer, it was upon a beautiful star quilt given to him by students from Red Cloud Indian School.
The three-hour drive to the Black Hills was interesting because I picked up a radio broadcast from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. US Attorney General Eric Holder was there on the first anniversary of the Indian Law and Order Act. He is especially concerned about trying to reverse the trend of unsolved and unpunished crimes of violence against Native American women. One elder gave testimony about the economic struggles many people face. He spoke of the harsh choices families face – do you take your child to the doctor, buy diapers for the babies or hamburger to feed a household of 14 hungry people?
This evening I stopped in a store to pick up a few things and ran into Erin, who will be one of our seniors next year. She just completed her third 6 week summer course in the High School High Scholar (HS)2 Program in Aspen Colorado. They provide an accelerated learning environment in mathematics and sciences for students traditionally underrepresented in these fields. I was pleased to hear Erin handled the calculus and physics well, and had a good summer. I’ll be glad when she and the others return to St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus in a couple of weeks.
Optimism and hope
We hope to break ground for our Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center expansion project in the fall, possibly at our annual powwow on September 17th. I spent several hours in meetings with the architect, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer and interior designer. I couldn’t help but think that my sisters who have such a better sense of beauty and space would be laughing to think of me hearing about carpet colors and wall textures. But it’s a sign that we’re moving along with most of the big aspects of the project and are getting down to the nitty-gritty before we put it out for bids. While I don’t know a lot about electricity, construction or plumbing, we have qualified and quality staff members who work with those every day and have obviously thought things through, so the meetings rolled right along.
Friday is Chamberlain’s Relay for Life and while I won’t be able to attend Friday’s event, we had a Survivor’s kick off meeting at Charley’s Restaurant, where we could sign the banner and pick up our shirts and pins. My one year looked small next to the woman who has had 29 more birthdays since being diagnosed. But it felt good to be part of the crowd and gave me more reason for optimism and hope.
Guiding our Native American youth
I traveled to Sioux Falls, South Dakota today, where the diocese rededicated St. Joseph’s (good name!) Cathedral. It has been closed for renovations for almost two full years. For me the most intriguing part of the blessing of the altar came after the relics were set under the altar stone, and workmen brought up trowels and mixed some cement on the spot and sealed the marble. With restored sculptures and murals, the warmer original colors make for a bright and inspiring space.
At the luncheon, I sat across from a couple of diocesan priests that I didn’t know so well, but enjoyed the conversation. One had a couple of encounters with Mother Theresa as a seminarian, and she has continued to serve as such an inspiration to him. The other works as a prison chaplain. While the Native American population is about 8% of the state, those in the correctional system is much higher, perhaps 25% of the population. That’s another reason to recommit ourselves to the efforts at St. Joseph’s Indian School – to guide our students away from such troubles and towards a better path.
After reading Joseph Marshall III’s book “Walking With Grandfather” I had the chance on the drive back to listen to the CD commentary included with the book. He gives an insightful overview of his Lakota heritage, and the lessons of wisdom he learned from his grandfather. He also wrote, “The Lakota Way”, a book I also recommend for anyone interested in Lakota lifestyle and culture.
Back to normal
Things are getting back to “normal” now that I and much of the support staff are all on campus. I had a run of five meetings, which covered the gamut from finances, to the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, to student admissions, to strategic planning. A committee I’ve been working with is looking at suggestions for how to improve our collaboration with parents, local schools, alumni and mentors. Our goal is collaboration and finding new ways to network with the good things already going on in the community. We’ve gotten input and good brainstorming ideas from a wide range of staff and caring people outside the school. Now we begin to prioritize and look at which will make the biggest positive impact on our students.
The facilities crew has been working hard all summer. Lately the heat waves, high water and humidity have made for trying conditions. But they took a break from all that and shared a meal downtown at the Anchor Grille as a way of saying thanks for all they have accomplished. HR did a little skit and passed out gloves with each worker’s name spelled out in glitter. After lively conversation, it was time to get back to all the projects, as the countdown to the start of school is ticking ever closer.
Quiet weekend at St. Joseph’s Indian School
The weekend was a quiet one, with plenty of time to read, write, pray and exercise. While I did go into the office for a few hours each day, St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus has been rather quiet. Except for the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center’s visitors, campus has actually been quite empty. This Lord’s Day was indeed a day of rest, and I savor these days when they come.
The work I have been doing these past two days is nothing grand or big, but lots of fifteen and twenty-minute tasks that I never seem to have time for during the busy season. I try to get these little everyday tasks out-of-the-way, so when school does begin I don’t have as much baggage holding me back and I can more freely respond to God’s call through people and events. I also know it’s these little acts done with care and love that may not be important in the world’s eyes, but matter to the Lord.
Fr. Bernie spent several weeks in the Philippines working in remote villages with Youth Missionaries. He previewed a slide show of the ministry so we could get a better perspective of SCJ efforts there. Very edifying and inspiring.
St. Joseph’s Indian School’s youth come back on August 14th
One resolution from my annual retreat was to try to get back to more prayer using music, particularly the guitar that I used to enjoy playing so much. I haven’t picked it up much since taking on many administrative duties, but I feel the need to return to that practice. One song that particularly moved me was Come Lord Jesus, Send out Your Spirit, Renew the Face of the Earth. I pray for the strength of spirit to lift up others and inspire us to work together to discover and do God’s will.
During morning break, I visited the dining hall staff. They have been cleaning, organizing, scanning and pricing all the items in our “store” so the houseparents will have both supplies and easy access to their budgets when the food buying begins.
This afternoon, I checked in our crew downtown at the Thrift Store. While we still have many local regulars checking out the merchandise, summer brings a lot of tourists through town and they have fun snapping up bargains and finding those odds and ends that second-hand stores are famous for. Our warehouse on campus is bulging with clothes and supplies that will be just as quickly snapped up when American Indian students come back August 14.
Several of the Family Service Counselors–having finished the lengthy admissions work this week–are ready for a break. Several spoke of vacation plans before the school year begins in high gear.
Helping Native American children
We had a board meeting for the Sacred Heart Center in Eagle Butte. The adolescent program can serve up to 18 Native American youth, ages 11-19, and for the past seven months it has been running over 90% capacity. The program underwent changes and revamping, and the different social service agencies are pleased with what is happening in terms of service plans and reintegration of young people into the community, so placements are up. Unlike St. Joseph’s Indian School, which doesn’t receive tuition or service income from student placements, the Sacred Heart Center does receive per diem monies, and with a full house comes better financial stability for the program. But the best news was the positive reports about the kind of care these youth have been getting.
Another bright spot came from the staff member in charge of community outreach. She herself was a client in the women’s shelter several years ago, seeking escape from her own difficult situation of domestic violence. She is now an advocate for those going through similar struggles, and in great demand to speak to school and community groups.
While there is heart wrenching problems on the Indian reservations, there are a lot of good people striving to make things better.
Prayers and Missouri River flooding
Fr. Anthony and I sat down with calendars and began to map out our schedule of liturgical responsibilities for the semester. We have many times and types of prayer throughout the year and we want to make sure to be able not just to cover them, but have some time to prepare. As chaplain, Fr. Anthony oversees the majority of home prayer and when my duties don’t take me away from St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, we try to split up most of the rest.
But afterward, I was on the road again. Today my travels took me through Pierre and Fort Pierre, South Dakota. Those towns have suffered much from the flooding along the Missouri River, far more than Chamberlain has. (Watch this video of aerial footage of flooding along the Missouri River in Pierre and Ft. Pierre, South Dakota.) Several hundred people have been evacuated from their homes and the flood waters are still quite high and not expected to go down any time soon. Crews worked feverishly to construct earthen levees between the river and town, and sandbags and standing water are everywhere. Much of the country suffers from drought, and here we have the opposite problem.