Things have really picked up lately

Greetings to all!  My name is Mike and I am a houseparent in the William Home here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.  We are home to ten 4th and 5th grade girls.  This is my ninth year in the William Home.  This has been a very quick and exciting start to our school year.  We have been very active and have had some very fun moments here at St. Joseph’s.  We took the girls to Custer, South Dakota in September and went to the Buffalo Round-up in Custer State Park as well as taking in Crazy Horse Monument.  The laser light show at Crazy Horse was awesome and the tour of the facility is very educational for our Native American youth.  The round-up is an experience as almost 15,000 people sit on the hills and wait for the cowboys to bring the tatankabuffalo to the corrals!

The girls at St. Joseph's Indian School have done a great job in basketball this year!
The girls at St. Joseph's Indian School have done a great job in basketball this year!

Things have really picked up lately.  We had five of our girls make the first quarter honor roll and we are very proud of them.  The girls are involved in dancing dolls with the Chamberlain community and have their performance in December and our 5th graders are in band.  I also have the pleasure to help coach our 4th and 5th grade girls basketball team which is always an enjoyable time of the year.  We have played four games so far and have five left before Christmas break.  It’s a good fit for me since this time of year in my off time I referee college basketball and will soon start working high school games for the 27th year.

 

It is hard to believe that we are on the door of Thanksgiving break and Christmas is right around the corner.  We would love to have you stop and see the great things St. Josephs has to offer.  Hope you have a blessed and safe holiday season!!

We all danced

Today the Native American Club and Chamberlain High School held their annual pow wow at the Armory. Attendance wise, it is a small pow wow, but it’s symbolic importance is great to our students who want to share that part of their culture with those in the community. Several of the families participated in a soup cook off, so when it came time for supper, awards were announced and those of us who got to eat the fruits of their labor were awarded with mighty tasty fare.  D’Kera, a junior was chosen as Miss Chamberlain High School and will represent the club at other pow wows and events throughout the coming year. The most enjoyable part of a pow wow for me is the social aspect.  Visiting with family and alumni who were back help celebrate re-establishes ties and memories.

Andrea is one of our graduating seniors. During the pow wow her family wanted to honor her in a special way, and had a giveaway. Two dozen beautiful star quilts were given to the staff and a few classmates who have helped Andrea since she came to St. Joseph’s Indian School nine years ago. Andrea said words of thanks and acknowledgement to each of them. I was given a magnificent multi-colored silky star quilt and was honored to be honored. Then the drum group played a honor song and we all danced in line with those in attendance coming forward to shake our hands.