helping American Indian youth – St. Joseph's Indian School

Homemade birthday cards and dancing at St. Joseph’s

Health Update – I got back last night from a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I’ve been feeling great, yet still need to check in with the oncologists every six months to make sure the sarcoma doesn’t rear its ugly head again. Recurrence is a problem with soft tissue cancer. All the scans went well, with no signs of problems, thanks be to God. I’m so appreciated of people’s continued prayers and support!

One of our students asked me if I went to boarding school. The answer is yes, High School Seminary. When he followed up wondering if I ever got homesick, I could see the tears forming in his eyes. He had a nice Thanksgiving with his grandmother, and now that he’s back on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, he’s missing her and his relatives so much. He knows St. Joseph’s is a good place for him to be, yet all of us on staff realize how emotionally hard it is to be away. I got homesick several times, even when I moved away for college. Imagine what must go through the mind and heart of a child as young as six! We try to be as supportive as we can, and if family can be reached, give the child a chance to call home and talk. But sometimes there are tears, calling forth a hug or pat on the back, and solidarity with the lonely sadness.

I joined the Fisher Home (6^th– 8^th grade boys) for supper. David and Gayle are two of our newest houseparents and are quickly learning the routine and developing relationships with the boys. Gayle likes to cook from scratch and put a great meal on the table that fed the hearty appetites of ten teenage boys. After supper, everyone pitched in to clean up the area of the home they had particular responsibility for. They rotate duties, since no one is particularly fond of washing pots or cleaning bathrooms. Students take good care of the place, although it helps to have houseparents check things over. Carol is a six day houseparent in Fisher and celebrates a birthday tomorrow. After the table was cleaned up, the guys got out paper and crayons and created a pile of cute homemade birthday cards to greet Carol with when she comes in tomorrow. It’s been a while since I got out the crayons, but I gave it my best effort as well.

I noticed the lights on in the Skating Room and stopped to find a group of 4^th and 5^th grade girls practicing for their “Dancing Dolls” performance. I asked the girls to demonstrate what they have of their routine so far. They started with some timidness and hesitancy, but once they got the beat down, started to lose themselves in the music and have fun. I look forward to seeing how they respond in front of the crowd a couple of weeks from now.

The girls practicing for their “Dancing Dolls” routine.

Guest Blogger: Dianne

Hi! My name is Dianne and this is my first time blogging! I thought I’d start by letting you know a little bit about myself. I have been Administrative Assistant here at St. Joseph’s going on 36 years. I love my job, love the kids, and love what St. Joseph’s stands for.

My job in the office is always very busy—students come to me when they don’t feel well and I determine if they need a cough drop, an ice bag (quite a popular seller here!), if they need to go to the Health Center, or just some tender loving care. We see many students for other reasons like “I can’t find my planner,” “I lost my glasses,” “Which class am I supposed to be in now,” “I’m lost,” etc. !

We have several new students and this way I get to know them personally. Actually, the kids are my favorite part of my job! They come from many different places, but seem to find their place in the world here, make friends, and do quite well! The little first graders are so darn cute—they steal your heart away.

Two scary monsters at St. Joseph's Indian School. — Two monsters at an Academic Awards Banquet!

Today we have many different things going on in the school—we just finished our first quarter of school so I am busy getting report cards out and figuring out who is on the A and B honor roll. We will have an awards assembly and present them with their certificate and a prize. If students are on the honor roll two quarters in a row, they get to attend the Academic Banquet. I have helped with the banquet several years now—we always have a theme with fun decorations, serve a meal and give door prizes and awards. Some of our themes have been The 50’s—Rock and Roll, Tie Dyed—70’s, Monsters, Candy Land, Disco and many, many more.

We are now on Infinite Campus, a statewide program, so the job of grades and report cards has been made easier for all. Also, the students’ parents and/or guardians can check their progress at home. It has been a challenge for us all to acclimate ourselves to doing things a different way, but will be well worth it in the long run.

I keep track of attendance and also of activities on campus which I include on the weekly FYI. I enjoy putting this together and adding clip art and pictures of our students along with the activities. I have been including powwow pictures for some time now as they are enjoyable to look at and very colorful also!

Our school is always a very busy place like all schools—our Native American students live here on campus and go to school also. This gives us a good chance to really get to know them well. I still see kids who went to school here years ago—many of them have their own kids enrolled here! I think this speaks very highly of what we do here.

Thanks for your support!

National Day of Prayer

For today’s National Day of Prayer, the Chamberlain ministerial association sponsored a community prayer gathering at one of the downtown churches. Representatives from local government, the public school system, the hospital, farmers and ranchers, and the Native American community spoke about issues close to their hearts. I talked about the concerns we at St. Joseph’s pray for, and asked the community to lift those issues up in their prayer as well.

I am thankful that because we are a faith-based organization, not only can we pray, but we do regularly pray – in the homes, in the classrooms and dining hall, and of course in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel.

What I hear our Native American children praying most for is their family. Most of our students’ families face some big issues, and our students are all too well aware. About one-third of our students don’t live with either of their parents, so we pray for a strengthening of families in our world.

We also pray that, in the face of high drop out rates, our young people will stay in school and fulfill their potential. We pray they will avoid the scourges of drugs and alcohol that are so problematic in our country, but particularly in the communities our students come from.

From another perspective, we get many prayer requests from our donors when they send us a note along with their donation. The economy is such a huge issue right now. People are praying for better employment opportunities for themselves or a family member. We frequently hear from people when they are facing major health struggles or are grieving the death of a loved one. We try to include all those intentions in our prayers. I was heartened to be in such an ecumenical gathering where we could pray for each others’ needs and the needs of our bigger world.