Lakota (Sioux) youth – St. Joseph's Indian School

Greetings from Chamberlain, South Dakota!

Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph's Chaplain — Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph’s Chaplain

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

It’s another lovely day in the neighborhood… although the evil word SNOW has been mentioned on the weather reports! We have yet to see any and are thankful for mild fall weather.

Since the Lakota (Sioux) youth have begun second quarter, we recently held an awards ceremony for quarter one. The rewards for A and B honor rolls and perfect attendance are a certificate and a WalMart gift card. If a student is on the honor roll with perfect attendance next quarter, the award may increase in value! We also have a contest between age groups to see which class can achieve the highest GPA (Grade Point Average). The one with the highest average gets a pizza party and hangs the award plaque in their classroom.

Lakota (Sioux) students with their teacher. — Ron’s 5th grade class won the award for the highest cumulative GPA for Quarter One!

We honored all veterans and those actively serving our country during Sunday Mass at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. THANK YOU just isn’t enough for their sacrifices.

Last Saturday, the Chamberlain Science Club hosted the 1^st Annual Hot Chocolate 5K Walk/Run, and it began here on St. Joseph’s campus. It was a way to celebrate Native American Month and learn about the importance of exercise all year long. Sanford Hospital set up an informational booth and there were baked goodies and warm drinks for all those taking part.

Students are in the process of learning to sing two Christmas carols in the Lakota language — Silent Night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Aside from what they are learning in class, singing songs is a nice way to keep developing the Lakota language skills of our students.

This week, St. Joseph’s is honored to welcome Mr. Lawrence Diggs, our current Artist in Residence. He is helping our students express themselves through poetry!

St. Joseph’s was honored to have one of our Native American Studies teachers, Allen, give a presentation on historical trauma in American Indian History to a college class at Dakota Wesleyan University. He shared how early boarding schools tried to negate Native American culture and heritage and ‘mold’ them into the white culture by cutting their hair and not letting them speak their native languages. He also spoke about high rates of unemployment, suicide and sexual assaults currently present on the reservations.

Tree in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel — St. Joseph’s Indian School’s Tree of Remembrance

He also shared positive notes about how the reservations are working hard to combat suicides and offer resources to those who are struggling. Change will not happen overnight, but he is happy that steps are being taken to get things headed in the right direction and he is proud to be part of that process. Read more in the article that appeared in the Mitchell Daily Republic!

We hope you have a wonderful week. Say pilamaya – thank you – to a veteran and let them know you are grateful for their service to our country.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

PS: The picture shows our tree of remembrance in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel with the names of our Beloved Dead whom we are keeping in prayer this month.

What a weekend to be a child!

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

What a weekend to be a child! Our students made the rounds trick-or-treating on campus Friday and then had the chance to dress up again on Halloween itself and make the rounds in Chamberlain. There were a wide variety of costumes and I had a hard time judging my favorites! The weather cooperated as well.

Several of the high school homes made the trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to take part in haunted houses and scary corn mazes. On Friday, the National Honor Society students sponsored a dance for the 7^th and 8^th graders from St. Joseph’s and the Chamberlain community. The price of admission was a non-perishable food item to be donated to the local food pantry.

Lakota (Sioux) students walk around St. Joseph's campus. — Our Lakota students enjoyed dressing up!

St. Joseph’s National Honor Society has been busy helping local Special Olympics athletes during bowling practices and will be traveling with them this Friday to Aberdeen, South Dakota for the final bowling tournament of their season.

Each of our St. Joseph’s homes are asked to do some sort of outreach every year. The Ambrose Home (boys in grades 1-3) decided to go to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Fort Thompson and help pass out coffee and treats after the Mass. They enjoyed the fellowship, as did the parishioners!

As the year continues to roll by, new sports and activities commence for the Lakota students to enjoy. The girls’ basketball season opens this week as we host PILC (Pierre Indian Learning Center) and then travel to Crow Creek later in the week.

The intercity basketball program for 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade boys is also underway. St. Joseph’s students combine with Chamberlain area kids to learn the basics of basketball and get some experience on the court. Coaches from both St. Joseph’s and the Chamberlain school district are assisting.

Lakota (Sioux) students at St. Joseph's Indian School — Our students participated in a costume contest!

Other activities for our Lakota (Sioux) youth include martial arts, wrestling, archery and swimming lessons. Several of our older students are practicing their skills in Lakota Hand Games. You might remember that our hand games team took first place at the annual Lakota Nation Invitational last year. They are practicing twice a week for this year’s competition. We’ll keep you informed about how they do this year!

At our Mass on All Saints Day at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel, we had a tree at the front of the chapel decked out with red ribbons. These ribbons bear the names of family and friends who have passed away and are now walking the Red Road. It is our way of keeping them in prayer, asking the Great Spirit to have mercy on them and welcome them into the Heavenly Kingdom. We’ll have the tree up all month as we keep the dearly departed in mind.

Hope you’ll have a wonderful month and that you did not overdo it on any Halloween candy you gathered. May God’s blessings continue to be with you, and thank you for your ongoing support of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

It’s my favorite time of year!

Hello from St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota!

My name is Laura and I have been the Donor Relations Officer here at St. Joseph’s for the past fifteen years.

We are reaching my favorite time of year!

St. Joseph’s students are back on campus. They have been in school for a little over a month and are busy with class and extracurricular activities. I am currently busy speaking with donors from all around the United States, sharing information about our upcoming 39^th Annual Powwow.

I had the first donors register for the 2015 powwow during the 2014 event! There are now over 400 donors and friends registered to attend our powwow. They will begin arriving next week to take in all of the fun!

During the powwow festivities, I get to reunite with people who come every year. I also meet lots of new people who are visiting St. Joseph’s Indian School for the very first time!

The powwow is definitely a highlight of the school year here at St. Joseph’s, for students and staff alike. Don’t get me wrong, it is a lot of work for employees to have campus ready for our visitors, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! Every department on campus pitches in to make the festivities run smoothly .

A Lakota (Sioux) youth dances during St. Joseph's 38th Annual Powwow. — A Lakota (Sioux) youth dances during St. Joseph’s 38th Annual Powwow.

Our 39^th Annual Powwow festivities begin on Thursday, September 17 with guest registration, a reservation bus tour, the powwow royalty crowning ceremony and a meet & greet in the evening. at a local motel.

On Friday, guest registration will continue along with cultural activities, tours of the school, cultural performances and our Tiyospaye Banquet.

Prior to Grand Entry on Saturday, there will be tours of students’ homes and an open house at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. Following the powwow, Mass will be celebrated and dinner is served to everyone in attendance.

If you would like additional information about St. Joseph’s powwow or helpful links in planning your visit , please call 1-800-584-9200 or visit www.stjo.org/powwow. We would love to have you join us!

For those attending, I would like to wish you all a safe trip out to beautiful South Dakota and St. Joseph’s Indian School.

See you soon!

Laura

Donor Relations Officer

Keeping busy at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, South Dakota!

Summer is ‘officially’ over here in Chamberlain. The new city swimming pool is closed for the year and public school started this week.

Our high school students arrived on Sunday and participated in a two-day orientation program before school began on Wednesday. Our high school volleyball, cross country and football teams all have meets and games this week.

I recently attended the football team’s scrimmage and joined the coaches and players when they came out to St. Joseph’s for a team building meal at the Sheehy Home. It was a great night.

You may recall that I recently mentioned our 4-6 grade students can participate in football with the local team. They had their first practice on Tuesday evening. Our students were very excited to try on their equipment and hit the field. St. Joseph’s is honored to be able to host the practices and games as a way to help our students get to know their peers from the Chamberlain community better.

On Saturday morning, some of our students participated in the Chamberlain Youth Triathlon. They were able to swim, bike and run—all on campus. It was a fun experience for all!

A boy dances during St. Joseph's Annual Powwow. — Our Lakota (Sioux) students enjoy learning about their Native American culture and participating in our annual powwow.

We were scheduled to have an inipi— sweat lodge— with our 7-8 grade boys on Saturday afternoon, but the high wind made it too dangerous to have a fire.

Please keep the members of the American Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in your prayers this week. Since our former Provincial, Fr. Steve Huffstetter, SCJ, was elected to our General Council in Rome, we are gathering this week to elect a new Provincial and Council. May the Holy Spirit guide our deliberations.

Our students are getting ready for our 39^th Annual Powwow on September 19. They have several dance practices scheduled and staff members have been meeting to talk over plans to ensure another successful event. We have even started praying for good weather! We hope you will be able to attend. If you have any questions about the three day event, please feel free to call 1-800-584-9200 or visit www.stjo.org/powwow.

Have a great Thursday. May God’s blessings continue to be with you and yours.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Guest blogger: Facilities Team

Summer is approaching fast and St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus is looking nice and green! The kids are in their last week of school and we are all busy working to get campus in tip top shape for our Eighth Grade Graduation on May 25.

Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel at St. Joseph's Indian School. — St. Joseph’s Indian School’s Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel

We are in the process of updating our landscaping and planting some colorful flowers to brighten up our campus. Our grounds crew has fixed up the yard around Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel where the graduation ceremony will take place. We are also adding a special touch to the front entrance of our campus: a flag pole with some rock landscaping around it. This will help add that special touch to the entrance and also help in giving family members and visitors directions to our campus.

Our renovation of the Stevens and Mathias Homes is still progress. All of the major work is complete in the Stevens Home and the students have already started moving some of their home items back to help in getting ready for next year when they return from summer break. The Mathias Home is, for the most part, completely painted except for some minor touching up. They have started installing the ceramic tile flooring and have also started hanging the cabinets in the kitchen.

Welcome to St. Joseph's Indian School. — The new flag pole at the entrance of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

The entire facilities crew is busy laying out the schedule over the summer months and setting up future projects that will be taking place on campus here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. We will be working on doing some updating in the school, start our next home renovations with the Summerlee and William Homes, and many more!

As always, we continue to keep busy doing our best in making the campus feel like home to all the kids that are here over the school year.

Until next time,

Facilities Crew

Guest Blogger: Craig

St. Joseph's Indian Shcool's 6th grade class trip to the Badlands. — Smile if you loved the Badlands!

Hello, my name is Craig, St. Joseph’s Indian School’s sixth grade teacher.

The sixth grade took its annual trip to the Badlands. We took the entire class with the assistance of Linea, Jennie, Fr. Steve, Vajean and myself. It was a little cloudy and cool, but the kids were excited – many had never been to the Badlands before.

We stopped at the visitors’ center first and saw a movie about the formation of the Badlands and its surprisingly vast variety of wildlife. We toured the hands-on museum and then headed out to explore. The high-points of the day were whenever the kids just got to explore and hike. I think they could have done that the whole day! We also had a tasty lunch and the park café: burgers and fries for energy.

We all got back safe and tired, but the trip was a great success!

New recipes and new ideas

Houseparents work for a six day shift and then get three days off, which gives them personal time to recharge their batteries and keeps them fresh over the long haul. Every three days, a third of our houseparents start a break and a fresh group takes over. Each home has one set of six day houseparents, and two homes share a set of three-day houseparents. Changeover days like today, are one occasion when all of the houseparents are here at the same time, and have a chance to exchange information about the students in the homes. It’s also a day when we can do staff training once in a while.

As the school year winds down, today’s changeover featured a fun gathering – a healthy recipe exchange. About a dozen staff created platters of healthy snacks they’ve found the students in their homes enjoy. Everyone could sample them for themselves, and pick up recipes and new ideas. I enjoyed the time to wander and chat, as people start to make their end of the school year summer plans. When the votes were tabulated, Wanda from the Stevens Home (6^th – 8^th grade girls) was awarded Best Tasting, Daniel from the Matthias Home (6^th – 8^th grade girls) was proclaimed Most Creative and Theresa from Cyr Home (4^th-5^th grade boys) had the Most Student Involvement.

While stopping by the Akta Lakota Museum, I ran into Sally and Matt from Wisconsin. Their parish priest, Fr. Pat used to be our chaplain and recommended they visit. I had some time to show them around. Sally is the parish Director of Religious Education, so I made sure she got to hear from our Religious Education teacher. When we stopped in the Art room we got to see some beautiful creations. Bob Miller is our Artist in Residence for the week and he is working with our students to make art that glows fluorescently under black lights. Our students generally like art, but have gone at this work with a real passion. Some are using highlighters or paint, and the work definitely jumps out and make a favorable impression. After school, we stopped by the Afra Home (1^st-3^rd grade girls) where the students proudly showed our guests around the home before they hit the road with many memories.

78 years young today

The kids playing outside in the winter snow. — The kids at St. Joseph's Indian School love to play in the snow.

We got an icy drizzle on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus today that turned the sidewalks into skating rinks for a while. Staff and students alike had to be very careful. We got word that the Carola Home (high school boys) took their annual skiing trip to the Black Hills yesterday. There were a couple harsh wipe outs, it’s a good thing our boys are tough. After mass the younger students on campus flocked to our hills by the football field, which give a fun ride, but nothing compared to the slopes in the beautiful Black Hills.

Fr. Bernie turned 78 years young today, so we took him out to dinner for his birthday. With the roads still worrisome (and maybe with some folks staying home for football playoffs) the normally hopping Al’s Oasis, which can seat hundreds, had just eleven patrons dining when we arrived. D’Kera, one of our high school students was waitressing, and had only two tables in the two hours she had been on duty. Having safely arrived, we sat down to a nice feast and good conversation to celebrate the many years of faithful service Fr. Bernie has given.

A word from Fr. Anthony

Dear Benefactors,

I have the privilege to share with you what has been happening here at St. Joseph’s over this past weekend since Fr. Steve, several of our Native American students and some of our staff have been on a donor luncheon in the Napa Valley area of California.

The Native American students playing basketball. — Basketball is one of the favorite pastimes for our Lakota (Sioux) youth!

From the students’ point of view, the biggest thing on campus is the start of the boys’ basketball and the girls’ intercity basketball seasons. The boys kicked off the season against Lyman here at the rec center and St. Joseph’s came out victorious with the 7^th and 8^th grade teams, but our 6^th graders came up a few points short. The 7^th & 8^th grade teams also had the honor of being invited to attend a recent Chamberlain High School (CHS) basketball game, on which several St. Joseph students are playing, and sit behind the varsity bench and visit the locker room. This came about since the CHS team had been able to use our gym to do some practicing and the coach came up with this as a way of saying thanks. The girls’ intercity began this past Sunday with young ladies from the Chamberlain, South Dakota area joining with 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade students here at St. Joseph’s Indian School. They are divided up into four teams. Their season will run through the start of March. You may recall that when the boys had their season they had a special five-minute quarter for those who were 6^th graders so they had the chance to play a bit; but the girls are trying out a different wrinkle in that each player has to play in each quarter. The coaches are trying to sub so that each plays about 3 minutes per quarter. The purpose of the intercity is to give the young ladies a chance to get to know each other so that when they meet up in high school they will already know something about the new classmates.

Another sports activity, geared to give our students something to do during the months that there should be snow outside, is our bowling program. Again this is offered to the students in the upper grades on Saturday afternoons with staff serving as team captains and coaches. The students enjoy it since there are quarters to be won for strikes and picking up the various splits that occur. The local alley also offers a choice of free drink or nachos if one of the participants gets a strike when a special pin is the head pin. To keep things on an even keel, each bowler has a handicap so that extra pins are given to make it as even as possible at the start.

Lynn and her present from Santa. — The Native American children had such a great Christmas at St. Joseph's Indian School!

The weather finally turned a bit winter-like. We received some snow and cold temperatures mid-week which allowed the students to hit the slopes and try out their sleds and ski boards received when they opened their ‘Christmas gifts.’ They enjoyed being out of the homes going up and down the hills. The joy they experienced reminds me to again say,

‘Pilamaya – thank you’ for your generosity towards our students.

It was amazing how generous you were and how excited the students were to be pulling apart paper and ribbons to see what else “Santa” brought them. Fr. Steve and I enjoyed having the chance to go to the various homes on campus to see the excitement.

However, the change in weather also brought some tragedy to the local Chamberlain community. Since we have had such a mild winter, the arrival of snow and ice did cause a few accidents. One especially, touched many here in Chamberlain as the pastor of the local United Church of Christ, Rev. Gregg King, was killed as he and his wife were taking their daughter to the airport in Sioux Falls. He lost control, crossed the meridian and hit an on-coming vehicle. Several of our staff are members of that local Faith community. We ask that you keep Reverend King in your prayers.

The new Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, the Most Rev. Robert Gruss, is scheduled to take place next week. He has just recently been installed as Bishop. The Diocese of Rapid City covers all the state of South Dakota west of the Missouri River. As many of our students come from West River areas, Bishop Gruss is their shepherd.

May the Great Spirit continue to bless and reward you for your generosity towards St. Joseph’s. I hope each of you have a great day and that your new year is offer to a wonderful start. Am happy to have had this chance to share with you some of what is happening here on campus. Looking forward to the next time I can share with you.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School

Improvement and heavy questions

I made the rounds at St. Joseph’s Indian School this afternoon during reading intervention time. All the teachers had small groups of students working on language art skills, particularly needed by each group. I watched the six American Indian students in the upstairs computer lab who have been identified as needing to improve their comprehension and reading speed. A teacher supervised and reviewed comprehension with them while the computer timed their word speed. Their immediate goal was to improve to 100 words per minute.

I visited the Religious Education classroom. Richard had class with the 15 2^nd– 4^th graders who are preparing for sacraments this year. He had medals of Mary to give to each of the students and we prayed a prayer of blessing before giving them out as a reminder of Mary’s love.

Tonight at the Fisher Home (6^th– 8^th grade boys) the initial talk was of sports, the upcoming basketball season and tonight’s NCAA football championship. But later, Thomas and Andrew started asking many big religious questions.

What happens to your soul when you die?

What are Heaven and Hell like?

Do you think the world is going to end soon?

Can God forgive any sin if you are sorry?

I welcome those kinds of questions and wish they came up more often, but never feel I do them the justice they deserve when they do arise. But I encouraged them to keep thinking and searching to the answers for those types of questions.