Giving back to the community

Earlier this year, St. Joseph’s Daughters of Tradition group was given the task of coming up with ideas for a service learning project as a way to give back to the community.  The Native American youth in the group decided they wanted to raise money for the Humane Society in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Recently, they headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to complete the project!

Our Lakota (Sioux) girls decided to donate to the Humane Society. To raise money, the girls planned a walking taco and bake sale.  The girls did all of the baking for the bake sale and group leaders assisted in getting the taco meat ready for the walking tacos.  The girls had two different sales and raised over $200.00 to donate to the Humane Society.  They were very proud of themselves!

While at the Humane Society, the girls were able to tour the facility, walk dogs and spend some time with the cats.  The girls really enjoyed themselves and if they had been able to, I think a few of them would have come home with new pets!  They did a great job and represented St. Joseph’s Indian School very well.  The Human Society was very pleased with their generous donation.

St. Joseph’s Daughters of Tradition group meets two times per month. This is a great place for the girls to talk about any issues they are having.  The group begins with a “Talking Circle,” which gives every girl a chance to talk about how they are doing and voice any issues or concerns they have.  The girls are very engaged in the group and enjoy the time they get to spend together and the opportunity to share concerns with their peers.

As one of the leaders of the group, I am so very pleased with the girls and their effort in the service learning project!

Julie

Family Service Counselor

Field Trip!

On Friday, May 10, St. Joseph’s third grade students went to the Buffalo Interpretive Center on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation, near

St. Joseph’s students visited the Buffalo Interpretive Center on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation.
Using a telescope, the Lakota boys and girls watched the buffalo herd grazing in the pasture.

Pierre, South Dakota, for our field trip!

At the center, students had the opportunity to sit on real buffalo skins, examine real artifacts made from the buffalo, and learn how each of the different parts of the buffalo were used traditionally by the Lakota (Sioux) people.

They loved the hands-on experience of looking at the different artifacts and tools!

At the end of our tour, we watched a movie about the buffalo.  As part of the exhibit,

The Lakota children enjoy cultural field trips as part of their education at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
St. Joseph’s students learned about a traditional Lakota campsite on their trip to the Buffalo Interpretive Center on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation.

students could look through a telescope and find the buffalo grazing near the Interpretive Center.  In all the times St. Joseph’s third graders have traveled to the Interpretive Center, the buffalo have been next to the exhibit only one time. Every other time, students have needed to look through the telescope.

It’s always fun to see the excitement the students have to learn about the traditional culture of the Lakota and the way of life their ancestors practiced.

Heather, third grade teacher

St. Joseph’s students learn about traditional uses of the buffalo.
The Lakota children got to handle tools and artifacts made from different parts of the buffalo.

Students and mentors go roller skating

The Children Count Mentor Committee had their final gathering of the school year last night! Mentors and their Lakota student matches went roller-skating in Platte, South Dakota, which is about 50 miles from Chamberlain.

The Lakota students and their mentors went roller-skating as their last get-together of the year.
Araya and Briyante’ tried roller-skating for the first time.

Everyone enjoyed an evening of roller staking, pizza and games. We also honored those who have been “matched” in St. Joseph’s mentor program the longest.

This year, Celia (staff) and Martina (high school student) have the longest running match.  These two have been paired for seven years!

“The best part of the program is spending time with my mentor,” Martina says. “I can talk to Celia about anything. It also helped me to be more outgoing and to meet new people.”

We also have a newer match, with Wanda (staff) and Irene (high school student) who have been teamed for the past year.

“Having a mentor has been good for me because it has given me a chance to have some fun!” said Irene. “My schedule has been so busy this year. Also, it’s nice to spend time with someone outside of my home.”

t. Joseph’s Native American students are paired with staff mentors for fun outings each year.
Leslie, Ashley, Irene and Vilencia look forward to roller-skating with their mentors every year.

As we wind down this 2013 school year, the Children Count Mentor Committee looks forward to next year at St. Joseph’s Indian School – making many more matches and renewing current successful matches!

Mom, but not in a conventional way

Mother’s Day is just around the corner.

I am not exactly sure what it means to be “mom.”

It is true that as a high school houseparent at St. Joseph’s Indian School, I do a lot of mom-like things.  I see the kids first thing when they get up, and I hear their prayers before they go to bed at night.  I know who won’t eat onions and who shouldn’t eat beans.  I cajole, correct, encourage, exhort, commend and sometimes nag.  I say stupid things like, “If your friends all jumped off a cliff…”  I sing the birthday song off key and with enthusiasm.  But I’m certainly not mom.  Not in a conventional way, anyway.

These precious Lakota children are entrusted to me by their families, and that is a big responsibility.

I find it impossible not to claim these kids, though.  When I’m sitting in the stands watching a basketball game, or the Fall play, or the Spring concert, I turn to the parent next to me and say, “Oh, which one is yours?  That one is mine!”   And if the kids at St. Joseph’s ever pulled shenanigans in public (which they never do of course) then I’d be there, saying, “Um, yeah.  That one is mine.”

And when it comes time to sit up all night with a child who has the flu and is crying for her real mom, well, she’s still mine.    Or when real mom dies and he doesn’t wear a jacket to the funeral, and I see he’s dancing around in the cold, then I worry and fuss.  Because he’s mine.   Or if she becomes a mom herself and wonders if I’m going to be there, well yes.  Still mine.

Come graduation day, I’m going to cry tears of joy, pride and sadness when “my kids” finish their time at St. Joseph’s and move on.  I will probably have to call my mom, who has been through all of this before.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there: real, step, honorary or otherwise.  Many thanks to the moms behind the moms, too—uncis, grandmas, aunties, sisters, and donors who support the children and staff at St. Joseph’s Indian School.  And a big thanks to my mom too.

Peace

Claire—high school houseparent

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.

Track Season is underway!

In addition to track, St. Joseph’s Native American students participate in football, volleyball and basketball.
The St. Joseph’s Braves 2013 Track Team

Our sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students were able to represent St. Joseph’s Indian School in their first track meet of the year on Monday, April 29.  We do not have official results; however, we brought home seven ribbons between eight kids!

Track offers the Lakota boys and girls lessons in both teamwork and individual accomplishments.
Bryan looks on as Craig makes his throw.

It is always a learning experience for the rookies.  We called to have shoes, lunches and water sent to the field for those who did not realize how important these necessities are to pack or ask their houseparents to pack for them.

We have several Lakota boys throwing the shot put and discus.  Our Recreation Center Director is an old hand at this, so Bryan is a great role model and motivator for these boys.  Our Native American Studies teacher, LaRayne, stresses the important of endurance when it comes to running your hardest, giving your best and finishing the race with a smile.

At the end of the day, we had some tired, but smiling, happy kids who were glad that our South Dakota spring weather cooperated so that we could showcase our talent to those outside of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

St. Joseph’s offers track and other sports to keep the Lakota children active.
Anthony lets the shot put fly.

The power of encouragement

St. Joseph’s Indian School recently had its first ever Encouragement Day!  Staff members gave me names of adults at St. Joseph’s that may need some encouragement.  St. Joseph’s teachers then chose from that list of people to have the Lakota students make them cards.  Teachers explained that encouragement can take place at any time.  Students or adults then delivered the cards or put them in the mail.

The Lakota children practice encouraging one another at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
Sometimes a little encouragement is all you need!

Encouraging others has been my own personal goal the last couple of years.  I enjoy sending cards or delivering goodies without signing my name.  We had the student’s sign their names this time, but we also talked about doing nice things just because we want people to talk about how nice we are.  Sometimes, anonymous goes a long way!

Some of our cards went to people whose troubles we knew about: cancer, illness, death of family member, depression, etc. But many were just a name.  Teachers talked to their students about the idea that sometimes it’s nice just to be told to have a nice day or someone is thinking of you.

I also told my class that a smile goes a long, long way in making people feel good.

My goal is to encourage them to look around and be aware of people that need compassion.  We don’t always need to know what is going on in their lives; we just need to know that we can show them kindness!

I am hoping that this can be an annual event at our school.  I also hope that teachers show their students how to encourage others on a daily basis.  What a better world it would be if we all encouraged instead of discouraged each other!

I Thess. 5:11 says “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

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 48th, 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.