Helping Native American children – Page 7 – St. Joseph's Indian School

Mitakuye oyasin – we are all related

I traveled to Creighton University in Omaha. One of last year’s St. Joseph’s graduates, Shay, is a freshman there and I stopped in for lunch and a visit. Like most freshmen, Shay has had her ups and downs, but is gradually feeling adjusted and finding her way. She is doing her work-study in the office of multi-cultural affairs, and spoke of the rich friendships she is developing with students from many culturally rich backgrounds.

I was impressed by the mentoring system Creighton uses. Staff members have 12 – 15 students they meet regularly with to develop leadership, keep students on task and work through issues like adjustment and homesickness.

We sat down for lunch shortly after the Campus Grill opened, and were the first ones to walk through the doors. Our waitress was a friendly, young Native American woman named Meredith. As we looked over the menu I noticed a “Fr. Bucko” sandwich. Fr. Ray Bucko is a Jesuit trained in anthropology who has researched and written extensively about Lakota people and spiritual practice. He teaches at Creighton and in the summer helps here in South Dakota with the Sioux Spiritual Center’s Basic Directions in Ministry program for people who are starting ministry among Lakota (Sioux) people . He is a dynamic speaker and gave me some great insights when I heard him speak.

When I asked Shay if she knew Fr. Bucko, she pointed to the doorway where he was coming in! After saying hello, Fr. Bucko pointed to the waitress, and asked me if I knew Meredith, since she is from Cheyenne River Indian reservation where I worked for ten years. As soon as he said that, I put two and two together and immediately remembered the little girl I knew from Cherry Creek. I think I either baptized her or gave her first communion. She is now in grad school at Creighton, and waiting tables to help make ends meet. We did some quick catching up about her family. Her cousin Tony just started working at St. Joseph this year as a houseparent.

It is a small world after all. And as the Lakota say, mitakuye oyasin – we are all related.

Drug Free is the way to Be

First thing this morning, a group of Lakota (Sioux) students were in front of the school painting the road red to finish off our celebration of Red Ribbon Week. With rollers in hand they painted slogans like, “Drug Free is the way to Be” and other reminders of what this week is about. Part of keeping kids off drugs is talking to them early and often about it, and providing fun and safe alternatives that give them a sense of fulfillment and fun.

Before the snows fly and the cold weather sets in, several construction crews are scrambling around campus. We had to redo the loading dock at the business office and they are getting ready to pour concrete. The Stevens/Mathias Home remodeling project is speeding up to get insulation and siding finished so the inside work can be done over the winter months. And at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center expansion the workers have poured the initial footings and are installing rebar.

I went to a construction update meeting today that was rather technical about how to transition from in the old cooling system to the new without having to shut down the Akta Lakota Museum for too long. I’m glad we have a variety of talents on campus that can deal with everything from mechanical issues to finance to aesthetics. In my role, I just try to be supportive and keep people collaborating to move things along.

A word from Fr. Anthony

Greetings once again from St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ was on the road again having the chance to visit family in Florida to take part in a Baptism. While he was able to enjoy some personal time, it gives me the opportunity once again to share with you what happened over this past weekend.

We saw a lot of red on campus as St. Joseph’s Indian School’s annual Fall Sobriety “Red Ribbon Week” kicked off. It is a program to help our American Indian students realize there are a variety of ways to get high on life that do not require turning toward drugs or drinking. The students wore shirts carrying the saying, ‘My extreme commitment is living drug free’. On Friday night, the rec center rang with oh’s, ah’s and shouts of laughter as several large inflatables were erected for the students to jump on, climb over and slide down. There will be several special theme days this week: on ‘Drugs turn you inside out’ day the students are urged to wear their clothes inside out; on ‘Being drug free is no sweat’ they can wear sweat clothes to class; and on ‘Team up against drugs’ they are urged to wear a sport’s jersey.

Friday also was the end of the First Quarter at Chamberlain High School. The mid-term grades hinted there might be a new name on the trophy our high school homes contend for. The Hogebach Home has been the defending champion, but it looks like Sheehy Home might beat them out by a narrow percentage. We’ll have to see if the grades hold up. Several students were working hard to achieve 4.0 grade points. It seems to highlight a renewed interest in academics.

The members of the football team received some exciting news that they qualified for the South Dakota state play-offs. Though they had a tough season, they played tough teams which enabled them to have enough power points to qualify. We have four young men on the team, one of our young ladies is a member of the cheerleader squad and another student is the Cub mascot. They will be playing Little Wound on Tuesday.

The high school also qualified several for the cross-country championships which were held this past weekend in Sioux Falls. The girls’ team came in 5^th out of sixteen teams. Two of the teams have St. Joseph ties. Talia, who moved up from JV to Varsity, and the daughter of one of our staff were part of the team. They have a strong tradition of cross-country at CHS which ought to continue since several key members of the team return again next year.

On Sunday, the inter-city boys’ basketball season kicked off. This program is geared to offer an activity for the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade young men of St. Joseph’s and the Chamberlain area to play basketball and get to know each other while the girls’ season is underway. Then when the boys have their season, after Christmas, the girls will have the chance to take part in the inter-city program for them. This is the first year that 6^th graders are able to take part and, as they may not get a lot of playing time, the rec center staff decided that at half time sixth graders will have a five-minute quarter just to themselves.

With Halloween on the horizon, our youth are looking forward to the activities for that. There will be trick-or-treating here on campus and the high school students have a dance, movies and games at the high school. The students here on campus will have a grand march in the rec center with prizes given for best costumes.

Have a great week. May the Great Spirit continue to bless you and yours. We are always grateful for your generosity and keep you and your intentions in our prayers. Until next time.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School

Changes to serve more students

Walking down the hill to church, the weather was still frigid. We had the first hard frost of the season and the grass crunched underfoot. I know this is just the first of plenty more to come, but know there is still plenty of time for lovely fall days.

In the development office, Marcia’ turned 50today, and her co-workers decorated her office well. At mid-day break, we had carrot cake awaiting, and Marcia came in wearing oversize silver glittery glasses in the shape of 5 and 0.

Our home remodeling project is moving along well. Next year, all of our homes will be back in play, and we will be able to serve more students. What we are starting to do now is evaluate how best to make use of the beds we will have. Which age group would best be served by expansion? Should we keep an equal number of boys and girls homes or change the mix? Should we change the mix of ages any? We will start to have discussion sessions with staff to come up with good and workable ideas.

St. Joseph’s Indian School at the White House

I always wondered what it would be like to be invited to the White House. Thanks to the efforts of our food services director, Mike Renbarger, and the collaboration of so many of our staff, St. Joseph’s Indian School met the Healthy Schools Nutrition Challenge, and Mike and I attended a reception on the White House lawn.

First though, we visited Senator John Thune’s office, and were given a great tour of the Capital from Katie, who lives an hour west of us in Murdo, South Dakota. She just graduated from Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Indian reservation with a degree in history, and is in DC taking part in an internship. She filled us in on the art and most especially all the history that’s taken place in the Capitol. We even saw the charred columns that witnessed to the burning of the White House during the War of 1812.

Rachel, a young woman from Chamberlain, South Dakota joined us for lunch. She is a research and policy aid, working on important issues such as health care and education, and enjoyed talking to folks from home.

We also squeezed in one hour at the American Museum of History. Seeing the actual chairs and table Grant and Lee sat in at Appomattox Courthouse and Geroge Washington’s dress uniform were treasures that spoke countless words. Also on display were remnants from the Battle of The Little Bighorn.

We did have a long wait to get in to the White House, including three separate ID checks and then a security screening. But we were joined in line by so many great folks dedicated to education that conversations easily flowed and time passed quickly. The folks behind us from Turlock, California ran an alternative high school, trying to provide hope for youth who would have otherwise dropped out. A local teacher from DC taught her students about health and nutrition and the difference that can make. Many spoke of the cuts in education spending, and how they are still trying to do more with less and improve the lives of children. My parents were both teachers; I have great respect for the work they do under often trying circumstances.

All hands were raised with a camera when First Lady Michelle Obama started her speech.

We arrived to the sweet strains of country music being played by the Marine and Navy bands, who were good enough to pass for Nashville studio musicians. Tents on the lawn were set up with fresh crisp apples (what else would you serve a teacher?) and sweet and ice-cold apple cider. It was surreal standing in front of the building that so many of us have had indelibly burned into our psyche from countless news stories and signing ceremonies, joyful times and national tragedies.

After hearing from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a school administrator from Mississippi who helped her whole district achieve the gold award spoke of their efforts. A 12-year-old student from Chicago told us how he has benefitted from the program.

When First Lady Michelle Obama came to the podium every hand was raised high in the air with a camera. Mrs. Obama gave a rousing pep talk about the importance, for the sake of our current students and the generations to follow, to promote healthy eating and lifestyle. After Mrs. Obama finished,

Mike was actually close enough to the podium to receive a congratulatory handshake from the First Lady!

He joked that from now on, he’ll only eat healthy food with that hand!

Benefit from their generosity

While I was in the office working on Sunday’s homily, I got a phone call from the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. A couple from Houston, Mike and Carolyn, had brought up a truck load of clothes to share with us and wanted to meet me and say hello. I was in sweat pants and an old t-shirt, but that actually worked to my advantage as we went to the storage building and unloaded. I took Mike and Carolyn on a tour of campus.

The William Home (4^th-5^th grade girls) were most gracious about showing us the home and talking about their routine. They also volunteered to try on some of the sweatshirts and a coat so the good folks back in Texas who gathered it all up could see the kids who will benefit from their generosity.

Hidden America – Children of the Plains

A day of some sadness with a funeral and a wake to go to today.

Fr. Brian was a 46-year-old priest who pastored in Fort Pierre, South Dakota until an inoperable brain tumor was discovered about four months ago. He had been in the hospital and hospice care since then, and died earlier this week. During the homily, Fr. Michel acknowledged so many people were saddened that a young priest who touched so many people’s hearts should die so young and so quickly. But God’s ways are not our ways. What is most important not the length of our lives, but what we do with the time God gives us. Going to a priest’s funeral makes me more deeply reflect on my own priesthood and ask how I can be a better and holier servant of God.

The moment I was most moved to tears came at the beginning of mass, with about 40 priests lining the center aisle to greet the body. Fr. Brian’s niece and nephew sang a gospel song, “I will Rise”. I couldn’t help but think of my own cancer, which is still in remission. I had a sense of, this could have been me. But it led to a deepening of the psalmist’s attitude – “What return can I make to the Lord, for all the good God has done for me in seeing me through?”

One of our secretaries suffered a family tragedy when her college aged son died. This evening at the wake the church and hall were packed as tightly as possible, with a tremendous outpouring of care and support from the community.

Tonight ABC news 20/20 program with Diane Sawyer ran a special on Hidden America – Children of the Plains. South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was the location for the reports. The images and stories were powerful and well done. The journalists were realistic about the tough living conditions on the Indian reservation. And they also showed some of the hope and promise in young people trying to break cycles of poverty and alcoholism. Those are much the critical issues we at St. Joseph’s Indian School try to address.

I value the wisdom shared

We had an all day Board of Directors meeting. The longest segment of discussion revolved around the new strategic plan that we have been working on. With the added input and approval of the Board we should be ready to begin in early 2012. We went through the annual audit; we were glad to hear there were no major problems or findings. We reviewed the plans for the museum expansion and alumni center, and heard reports from our outreach programs on the Indian reservations.

I’m always trying to make sure St. Joseph is headed in the right direction, and asking the right questions. It helps to have others who care about the mission of the school to ask the big questions too, and provide direction and recommendations.

While I finish these meetings feeling a bit worn out, I also value the wisdom shared, which makes the load of administrative leadership easier to carry.

Making the Akta Lakota Museum into a small town treasure

Today, 15 Northern Plains artists submitted their latest creations to our Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center acquisition committee, and the museum picked up several nice new pieces. The things I usually like are not the same ones our more knowledgeable artists recommend, and in the long run, they have done a great job of making our museum into a small treasure in town.

Two fellow SCJs Fr. Jack and Deacon Dave arrived for tomorrow’s Board of Directors meeting. Deacon Dave was my predecessor as director of St. Joseph’s Indian School. When I saw the school secretary at 11:30 mass, I asked her if anything special was happening at school today. “Deacon Dave dropped by to see us, so that made the day pretty special.” People still appreciate all he did to build up St. Joseph’s into the place it is today.

Adrian and Merrill are two 8^th grade boys chosen to represent St. Joseph’s at our next donor luncheon, which will be in Pittsburgh in early December. I practiced with them after school, asking typical questions our donors want to know. They’re excited and a little bit nervous, but that gives them incentive to practice harder. It will be a great chance for them to experience a big city and see what life is like there.

Gifts all around us

I’m back from a Donor Luncheon trip to Palm Desert/ Palm Springs California. Thirty years ago, I entered religious life with a year of Novitiate in the High Desert, about an hour away in Victorville. I remember at first being intimidated by the desert. Once I slowed down to explore and observe the myriad of life in what I thought was a wasteland, I was astounded by the beauty.

There is a lot to learn by going to the quiet.

This part of the Desert though, is well-developed and filled with hustle and bustle. Two high school girls, Erin and Danisha, represented St. Joseph’s Indian School at the luncheons. Both work part-time jobs after school and have been saving up their money to check out the clothing stores hoping to find different and unique items compared to what is available locally in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Shopping, especially clothes shopping (it seldom takes me long to find my basic black !) requires lots of patience on my part, but I know it brings joy to them. I walked around and got my exercise, and had time to visit with Cheryl, the girls’ houseparent and trip chaperone. She told of her interaction with the students’ families. As she’s built up a trusting relationship the girls have shared with her many of the difficult circumstances that brought them to St. Joseph’s Indian School in the first place.

We were joined by about 70 donors on Saturday and 45 on Sunday. With some students, I worry they will get stage fright and be afraid to speak up. Erin and Danisha are both seniors and over the years have developed the self-confidence that made it easy for them to talk to our gathered friends and answer their questions. That bodes well for their future as they prepare to move on from St. Joseph’s in a few months. Both are applying for college.

Danisha’s family sew beautiful Star Quilts, and wanted to honor those folks whose generosity has made her education possible. Danisha brought along a beautiful quilt and at the end of the Saturday luncheon, she drew a name from those in attendance. Lucille was the lucky winner, and we couldn’t have picked someone for whom it meant so much.

Lucille herself taught for 50 years, and felt so honored that her excitement moved me to tears.

We drove by two of the huge Indian Casinos of the area. One of our donors is a member of the Morongo Tribe. They have shared their resources by taking materials to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation here in South Dakota to help those in need. While many of the Sioux tribes in South Dakota have tried casinos, the low population to draw from on the prairie has most of them struggling and not the massive operations like we saw in California.

Today I spent catching up on mail and messages. The bulldozers moved in and started the groundwork for our Akta Lakota Museum expansion. It will block off traffic flow for a while, but we look forward to the end results.

Two girls who have been here for 3 ½ years are transferring to another school. Their mom has moved and is in a better position to have them come back to live with her. Our goal isn’t to keep students here as long as possible, but prepare them for life when they and their families are ready to move on. We easily get attached to students and miss anyone when they leave. When students transfer like this in the middle of the year, we look to our waiting list and offer the spot to another child.

Our principal Kathleen is in the midst of teacher evaluations, and this year is trying a new technique – actually videotaping lessons. This allows her to show the teachers how they present themselves and the materials in an even more concrete way. Because she also videotapes the class and how the students are responding, the teacher can observe student attentiveness and notice anyone who is having difficulty keeping to task.

I think it is a gift to see ourselves from others’ perspectives, and we can learn a lot from that.

At day’s end, I watched the our 7^th and 8^th grade girls’ volleyball teams defeat our upstream neighbors the Crow Creek Chieftains. Many of our students are from the Crow Creek Reservation. Instead of an intense rivalry, play on the court was friendly. In the 8^th grade game, Martina started the second game with the serve. Before she relinquished it back to Crow Creek, the score was already 18 – 0! Awesome job Braves!