St. Joseph's Indian School

One year ago today I was under the knife for 8 ½ hours when they removed my tumor at the Mayo Clinic. While it has been a hard year in very real ways, it has also been a year of tremendous blessing and support. Just by coincidence, the local paper is doing a story on cancer survivors, and one of the reporters stopped by my office to ask me about my experiences.  And I am so appreciative of all the people who have encouraged me and walked with me through this journey.

It was a therapeutic way to see where I’ve been and how far I’ve come.

Students are cleaning out their lockers and getting ready for the school year to end. Today Mary Jane put out many of the children’s books that have been donated in the Assembly Room; students all had a chance to look through them and take a bag full home with them for the summer. Reading during vacation times is so helpful for vocabulary, comprehension and retention. Very few of the Indian Reservation communities have libraries, so it’s even more crucial that our students have access to some material they will enjoy and learn from.

After school Kathleen, our principal, ordered fresh-baked pies from Casey’s restaurant and the teachers and staff sat around to relax and start to dream about their own summer vacations.

Today was “Step Up Day” at the school. The first graders moved to the second grade classroom to see what that was like, 2^nd grade moved up to 3^rd and so on. The 4^th graders moved up from the middle floor of school to the top floor where they will be 5^th graders. They were mostly excited that they get their own book lockers.

After school we had the spring sports awards. Medals were presented to the winning teams for T-Ball and Softball, and trophies were given for outstanding track and archery efforts. Jerry Vaad’s daughter came to present a trophy in her dad’s memory to the home who placed highest in our Wednesday night enrichment activities. And Leonard, a houseparent was named “Rec Center Volunteer of the Year” for all his work with T-ball and the pep club.

The 6^th– 8^th grade homes had an end of the year cook out, and then we had the staff versus 8^th grade co-ed softball game. The staff prevailed 13-8, but it was more fun than real competition. The staff had to hit a larger softball which didn’t travel as far and the students were given 5 outs per inning to level the playing field a bit. We had a beautiful night with lots of laughs and a few impressive hits and catches. My leg didn’t hurt, but I still haven’t recovered any speed or power. I looked pretty lame trying to run in for a foul pop up, but did make a nice over the shoulder catch later to snuff out a student rally. I had two singles in four at bats and saw lots of action at third base.

This afternoon, 61 high school students received their diplomas from Chamberlain High School. Three of them represented St. Joseph Indian School and a fourth was a long time student who left our program, but stayed in town with family and finished. Several of our staff’s children also graduated. I’ve seen them grow up as well as they’ve come onto campus for various activities over the years, or I know them through church, sports or school activities. I went to a couple of the open houses held for the kids and heard about the St. Joseph’s Indian School kids’ future plans.

One of our St. Joseph’s Indian School graduates had a reception at the guest house on campus. With nice weather, her family sat around the picnic tables and had a festive celebration. I enjoy the chance to meet our students’ extended family, especially since several of them live quite a distance away and I don’t always get the chance to do so.

I’ve been on the road for three days traveling to Texas to help celebrate the priesthood ordination of one of our youngest SCJs. The ceremony was simple, since he was the only one being ordained, and lovely. Participating in the ordination reaffirmed my own commitment to being a good priest. My favorite part of the ritual is when the one to be ordained lies prostrate on the floor in prayer and the whole congregation sings the litany of the saints. During my ordination, that’s when I most strongly felt the love and power and prayer that has supported me all these years, and I was again very teary eyed as we prayed for Greg.

When our religious community gathers, it’s the laughter, storytelling and camaraderie I enjoy the most. There was ample opportunity to do just that.

Greg’s family have been long time donors to St. Joseph Indian School. I told them that donors are very generous with us in many unique ways, but to send the SCJs a vocation is very special indeed.  While he hasn’t been assigned to South Dakota, who knows where the future might take him.

I lived in Texas for 5 years and enjoyed the people and culture immensely.   I had some time to visit good friends in the area and enjoy the 85 degree summery weather by taking a long walk. Since I worked up an appetite, I got to enjoy a hearty breakfast of chorizo and eggs, and later have brisket and sweet tea as mouth-watering as I remember.

Today was Jerry’s funeral. The youngest three grades didn’t attend, but all the other students who wanted to were given the chance, and all but a handful loaded up on busses and made their way to the service. While the focus last night was more on our students as the mourners, today the proper attention was paid primarily to his family. We learned more about his life and how he helped people as a neighbor, as he ran cattle and took good care of the land.

Fr. Anthony found an appropriate quote from a Northern Cheyenne Chief, “On the day you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in a way that on the day you die, the world cries and you rejoice.” That seemed fitting for the kind of man Jerry was.

After the funeral we stayed for a meal and socializing. The family provided frybread and Indian tacos for everyone, which was a lot of work, but well appreciated.

We had other farewells today. At the end of the school day we gathered back at the Rec Center to say farewell to our four houseparents who will be moving on to other pursuits next year. The low turnover in our staff does speak to the stability of our programs.

This evening the Hogebach Home (high school girls) won the trophy for highest home Grade Point Average, and invited me to go out to eat with them in a victory celebration. High school ends classes on Thursday and as I sat across from two seniors, Shay and Andrea, I realized this would probably be the last time this whole group ate together. The service was very slow, but it worked out nicely as it gave us more time to reminisce, visit and laugh. When kids not only go to school together, but live, play and grow up together, there are some lasting and special bonds created.

Today at mass was our chance to honor our 8^th grade graduates. Our high school graduates, Andrea and Shaylene were presented with a shawl and Dominic was given a ribbon shirt. A woman who attended St. Joseph’s Indian School in the 1970’s, Rose Ann Dillon Kracht, was given our distinguished alumni award. Rose had a 15 year Army career and now works for the State of South Dakota in the juvenile justice system. She has helped many youth through the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program and as a foster parent. She also made Christmas very special for several of our Homes last year.

After mass, we gathered in the Dining Hall and our staff put on a wonderful feed for family, friends, and all our American Indian students from 6^th grade on up. We watched a slide show of the time at St. Joseph’s for our seniors. Between the three long timers, they totaled 28 years here on campus. Shay has been here all 12 years, what we call a “Lifer”. They each offered words of thanks and shared memories from St. Joseph’s Indian School. A few teachers from Chamberlain High School joined us and took the microphone, then several of our staff members and a few former students spoke as well. The 7^th graders were our waiters, and the high school students took care of the cleanup. When you reach this point in the year, it makes the difficult times quickly fade into the past, as we are filled with nostalgia, gratitude and hope.

This afternoon on a wonderful spring day,the 6^th-8^th grade homes held an outdoor 3 on 3 basketball tournament. The teams were co-ed, and had to have one student from each grade. There were lots of good games, but the Blue Bunnies made it through the double elimination tournament with an unblemished record. Congratulations to Kyle, Martina and John!

In the evening, the spring flag football league wrapped up. Again, lots of fun activity.

Crow Creek Tribal High School, which is about 40 miles north of Chamberlain, South Dakota, held their graduation this afternoon. I got invited by parishioners I used to work closely with in Fort Thompson. It was also a joy to see five former St. Joseph’s Indian School students graduating as well – Brittany, Celine, Josephae, Matt and Dylan.

The high school graduation rate for Lakota/Dakota youth in our area is only around 50%; it’s great to see these Native American children  overcoming obstacles, completing their education and preparing for the future.

Much like St. Joseph’s, the program included a honor song, a slide show of senior year and roses passed out to family and teachers who have been so instrumental in these students’ lives.  Going through the receiving line at the end is a good chance to visit with lots of people and catch up on dreams and plans. Afterwards, I was invited to a dinner at the church hall and enjoyed the company there.