Tag: Helping Lakota children

Wednesday, January 26, 2010

Tonight was our honors banquet for our American Indian students grades 4-8 and high school who made the semester honor roll here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Our school staff picks a colorful theme, and tonight was disco night. I haven’t seen so many shiny, glitzy clothes since my college days, when disco was truly the rage. Erica (8^th grade) sported a three-foot high Afro wig that her dad dug out of his closet. Shelby (first grade teacher) and Cassidy (7^th grader) wore roller skates as part of their outfits.

After supper, we passed out the certificates and a Native American feather with each student’s  name sketched onto the quill.

For fun, they also received a colorful necklace with min disco ball attached. Choreographed by our school secretary Dianne, a group of teachers and counselors entertained dancing to Stayin’ Alive, Dancing Queen, and YMCA. On the last song many students jumped in and participated.

Jim, a houseparent, told me that he grew up in a tradition where dancing was not allowed. He said he appreciated how it could be fun and wholesome when done in the right circumstances. We had fun, and honored students for their academic excellence, hopefully encouraging them to keep on that path to knowledge.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I had lots of emails and updates waiting on my computer this morning. Will it be important on my tombstone to say, “He answered all his emails”? Obviously not, but that’s what I spend a good amount of time with, and each message (except of course, most of the forwards people pass along) matters to the person who is sharing or asking.

It’s the little daily things we do with love that matter more than headline grabbing activities.

I also try to pay attention to co-workers around campus that I run into because what they are about is very important to me. Walking over to the business office for my weekly meeting with our Director of Development I saw Mary Jane, our Director of Alumni who is working with a former student looking for help going off to a treatment program; Foster, our groundskeeper, on his way to Pest Control training, finding ways to control critters, but are safe for our students; Peter, a houseparent, using his break during school hours to exercise, and strengthen his muscles after surgery; Laura, in planned giving, her desk surrounded by happy birthday balloons; Marina, working on a newsletter and wanting me to proofread a copy; and Shirley, answering a donor letter, wanting to make me aware of a man’s struggles.

My days are filled with multiple, brief encounters, but I try to be caring and attentive in each situation.

Dennis Home (1^st – 3^rd grade girls) celebrated Mercedes’ 9^th birthday. To celebrate, besides a nice cake, Mercedes got to pick her favorite meal, which tonight was super nachos and cantaloupe. After she opened up presents, I found myself in a game of musical chairs with the children, who laughed to see me prancing to the music with them.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Sister Anthony Davis, OSBS, died at the age of 95. Fr. Gary and I traveled to Marty Indian Mission for her funeral. I worked with Sr. Anthony in Eagle Butte years ago. She was a gentle, happy person, and a woman of deep prayer. In her latest years of convalescence, the list of people she kept in her daily prayers was four pages long! I knew I was in good hands since I was included on that list. I was happy to share a few of my memories with her relatives and friends who gathered to remember and say their farewells.

Sr. Anthony was Chippewa, hailing from the Turtle Mountain reservation in North Dakota. Last year, Sr. Anthony celebrated her 75^th anniversary of religious profession! She is the last founding member of the Oblate Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, an order specifically started for Native American women.

The community was organized by Fr. Sylvester, a Benedictine under the patronage of Saint Katherine Drexel. When I think of a Saint, it’s often a distant historical figure, but Sr. Anthony met and spoke with her.

When Mother Drexel visited the community, Sr. Anthony was working in the kitchen, very nervous about getting everything right. She got so busy with potatoes that she left the buns in the oven too long and they started burning. Though mortified, during those depression years the community didn’t have the luxury of much extra, so Sr. Anthony had to serve the bread as it was. Mother Drexel came from a wealthy Philadelphia family and was undoubtedly used to the finer things in life. But she ate what was offered, and commented “These are the best buns I’ve ever had”!

Fr. Gary worked in Marty for several years and recounted many memories.

The roads coming home were difficult, with large drifts blowing across the road; the snow that had earlier melted turning back to ice. But we just took it slow, and with the camaraderie, the hundred mile journey really took no time at all.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The temperature was -13 degrees in Chamberlain, South Dakota when I left the house this morning to cover the weekend masses at the local parish and its mission church. The country roads changed from icy, to clear, to drifted over and back again every few hundred yards depending on the shelter belts and wind direction. Like many areas we continue to cope with wintry weather.

Getting out into the community was an enjoyable experience. I can get so busy with life on campus, that I don’t get to mingle with families in the community enough. Many have been praying for my recovery, and were heartened to see that I’m up, around and getting closer and closer to a normal routine. While I enjoy our children’s liturgies at St. Joseph’s Indian School, I also miss preaching in a congregation of all ages, and tried to find examples that would connect their lives and struggles, hopes and dreams, to Jesus’ call to follow.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Today’s highlight was a trip to the high school for the drama department’s presentation of “The Pirates of Penzance”. The  rousing singing and fun interplay kept everyone laughing and entertained. Two of our St. Joseph’s Indian School students had roles in the chorus. They got to have a lot of fun with their parts, and play a role totally out of character for them. I applauded their efforts, and saw that a lot of other St. Joseph’s Indian School staff and students were there to cheer them on as well.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Besides serving at risk youth through St. Joseph’s Indian School, I also serve on the board of an adolescent program in Eagle Butte, South Dakota and I traveled North for a board meeting today. When I arrived, all the child service staff were meeting with the counselors and reviewing case service plans and addressing the unique needs of each individual in the program so all the staff are on the same page. As the state faces budget cuts and closes other programs, we are called upon to serve greater numbers of Native American youngsters, and are consistently running near capacity in the 16 bed program. We reviewed the auditor’s report  and crunched a lot of numbers, but the real story is the human one behind the numbers. Staff tries to provide a place safe from violence, where young people can put their lives back together and build toward the future.

Sometimes it is help with the little things that can improve quality of life in an immediate and real way.

We also got a report from the secondhand store where St. Joseph’s Indian School sends up a trailer load full of clothing and other items on a regular basis. What is needed more than anything else surprisingly, is everyday household items that I just take for granted: pots,  pans, plates and bowls, ect. When those items come in they are snapped right up; people ask for them all the time. Another surprise was how fast baby items quickly disappear as well. Baby blankets and clothes are always needed by the families. While the needs of those who are poor can seem great and at times overwhelming, sometimes it is help with the little things that can improve quality of life in an immediate and real way.

St. Joseph’s Indian School has many ways you can help the Native American youngsters here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Follow the link for more information about how you can help the Lakota (Sioux) children in need.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I’ve had lots of meetings these past two days, which cuts into the time that I’m able to spend directly with the students. But, so many of the meetings are about students, their issues and finding the best ways to reach and care for them. Meetings aren’t as immediately satisfying as hearing a Native American  9-year-old read you a story or hearing about a 12-year-old’s rendition of their own life’s Lakota Winter Count  they are drawing for Native American Studies class. But when good decisions are made and followed through, they do make a difference in the daily life of both staff and students. And the work I have to offer up to the Lord is the fair amount of time sitting in meetings.

Today, we announced the 1st – 4th grade Honor Roll for the 2nd quarter, and passed out perfect attendance awards for the semester. The students were proud when their name was called and they came forward to claim their certificate, and take their choice of a small prize, like a gel pen or hackeysack ball. We want to affirm all children for what they do well. But we don’t inflate grades and give something to everyone. Students must put in the effort to earn honor – an important Lakota (Sioux) value.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Our 5th graders have been learning about Math and Science all week in a special unit designed by “Operation Starbase” a program put on by the State of South Dakota. In past years they build rockets they ignited and shot high into the air from our football field. 

January in South Dakota is not the best time to try an outdoor launch, since the field is covered with snow and the temperatures are in the single digits. The program did undergo a change anyway this year. These new “rockets” the students built were made of plastic straws, rubber tipped cones, and feather shaped fins they themselves designed. They were launched with air pressure rather firepower, and the goal was to try to land their craft on a moon shaped target. Students had to adjust air pressure and angles to shoot for the moon. While it may not have had the wow factor of a rocket hissing high into the air, our students got to launch multiple times, and had lots of fun. This approach helped teach about angles, numbers and basic science.

Chamberlain’s superintendent of schools gave our staff a presentation on a school board proposal to build a new gym/ exercise facility/performing arts center onto the public high school where our St. Joseph’s students attend. It will take the community about 15 years to pay off a bond to finance the center. Money for education is getting tighter as the state cuts back to meet budget shortfalls in this economy. It’s been a dream for several years, and this school board is trying to find a way to see if it is feasible.

At Afra Home (1st-3rd grade girls) I welcomed Alyssa, our newest student. Her brother is in the high school program, and she has several cousins at St. Joseph’s Indian School, so she was already adjusting quite easily. At supper, Lynaiah asked for something that surprised me, “May I please have seconds on peas”? We do make sure the students take some of each kind of food for a balanced diet, and I’m glad when they discover that eating vegetables isn’t a bad thing. I helped review spelling words and math homework before calling it a night.