Lakota (Sioux) – Page 23 – St. Joseph's Indian School

Preparing for the Lakota Nations Bowl

After mass, I ate brunch at the Sheehy home (high school boys). Like many parents do, we give incentive money for good grades. Since 7 of the 9 guys made B honor roll for the quarter they had some pocket-money they were yearning to spend. They’d been on a quick trip to Mitchel, South Dakota to do some shopping, mostly for clothes.

This afternoon, I stopped by the Rec Center to watch a couple of boys intercity basketball games. Our students and Chamberlain students play together and while the coaches play to win, everyone gets lots of playing time.

Steve works in the high school as tutor and advisor. Today he gathered six students who have been chosen to be on our Lakota Nations Invitational Knowledge Bowl team. Our students will compete against other schools at the annual event in Rapid City, South Dakota this December. While studying Native American History, it became obvious they need to brush up on that. In a quiz about Crazy Horse, the great Oglala Lakota warrior and leader, they missed most of the questions. When I was in school I learned very little about Native American leaders or history. Once I came to South Dakota to work I had to learn a lot that I’d not been introduced to. The quiz was a wakeup call to our team and I think they’ll be prepared when the competition rolls around.

Think, plan and dream

My day off was exciting and fun!

I love the traditions in college football. I grew up close to Notre Dame and occasionally got to games there. Today, I got my first experience of a Nebraska Cornhuskers college football game. Kory, our Director of Development had tickets and invited me along with his family.

We had a glorious fall day. The morning was chilly, but by mid afternoon we were shedding our jackets to enjoy sunshine in the mid 60’s. The Quad was buzzing with activity, and I most enjoyed hearing the drum line rousing up the crowd with their performance.

I was impressed by the sea of red in Memorial Stadium, except for a corner of Michigan State Spartan green in one small area. The Cornhuskers have sold out all their games since 1962, and the home team played well and sent the fans home happy, 24-3.

I had my first Runza sandwich (hamburger and cabbage) and some red and white popcorn (salty white and sweet red). Winding through the two lane highways of Nebraska and South Dakota was a long but relaxing drive home. The open road gives me a chance to think, plan and dream, and hopefully come back to work better for having the relaxation, which we all need.

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.

Please pass the “Farmer John” cheese

Each year, there are always a few staff who have babies, and this afternoon Chris, our Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator brought her newborn son, Mavrick to the office for everyone to ooh and aah over. His dad Jason is an avid hunter and he was wrapped in a camouflage colored afghan. We teased Chris about being out during one her normally busiest times, Red Ribbon week. But we know how important that initial bonding time between mother and child is. We look forward to her return in a couple of months.

We had a phone conference with Split Rock Studios who is helping us develop the historical portion of the alumni center and tell the history of St. Joseph Indian School. We’ve been setting money aside for the project for the past couple of years. A few of their ideas would have taken us over budget, and since we’re very conscious of that, we talked about alternatives that would get us back on track.

At the end of the school day, we held our Honors Assembly. Our principal, Kathleen, announced the students who had perfect attendance or were on the A and B honor roll. Fr. Anthony and I helped with the distribution of certificates and congratulations for a job well done. We pass out some small tokens or prizes. I think it’s the recognition that our students appreciate most, and always hope it helps more students to believe in themselves and work for excellence in the classroom.

For supper at the Cyr home (4^th-5^th grade boys), Odis made his homemade pizza.

The parmesan cheese was next to me, and one of the students asked me to, “Please pass the Farmer John cheese.”

I got a chuckle out of that, and enjoyed the lively conversation. For enrichment class, right before the students watched a Veggie Tales cartoon about the Golden Rule, they saw the wisdom about treating others they way they would like to be treated, but it’s not always easy to live up to that.

We are all God’s children

I traveled to Eagle Butte, South Dakota for the Sacred Heart Center’s Board meeting. They do some great work in working with victims of domestic violence and Indian reservation youth who find themselves needing a group home living situation to get them through some of life’s trouble spots. Access to quality health care is also a problematic area on many of South Dakota’s Indian reservations. I was happy to see how near completion the new Indian Health Service hospital is, eliminating the need for tribal members to travel hours away to take care of injuries and illnesses.

Sue, a houseparent in the Speyer Home (6^th– 8^th boys) wanted to show her appreciation to our maintenance staff for all the work they did to completely renovate the Speyer Home. She and her daughter Wendy, who owns a BBQ restaurant, prepared a feast of ribs and pulled pork and invited the entire crew to lunch. Our staff at St. Joseph’s Indian School works hard at what they do, yet it always feels good to get some added affirmation and appreciation. While my travels kept me away from lunch, I made it home in time for supper, when the boys of Speyer and Fisher got to sit down to a similar feast.

St. Joseph’s has been sponsoring the Institute for Healing Racism in our community. A year ago, a group of 24 staff members and leaders from the community went through a two-day training session and have been working to find ways of following through to address the issues that cause tension and misunderstanding in our area. As a follow-up, a second group of 21 is meeting these days, and an open meeting was held tonight to fill in anyone interested from the public to learn about these efforts.

Addressing racism has to begin by looking inside and changing ourselves and our own attitudes, especially those ways we distance ourselves from others who are different from ourselves. When we are curious and learn from other people’s stories and experiences, there is so much that we can share. All our high school students were in attendance, and they were most at attention when the speaker was addressing racism within the Native American community. Sometimes our students judge each other on the lightness or darkness of their skin. Sometimes animosity exists between “breeds” and “full bloods”. “Apple” (red on outside / white on inside) is another slur that isn’t helpful to people pulling together for the good of their own community. Race is an ongoing issue that we as a nations constantly struggle with, and have to get right.

Really there’s only one race, the human race, and we are all God’s children.

Very excited and happy

This weekend was one of travel for me as I baptized a nephew in Florida. It was a joy to spend a little time with a lot of my family who gathered for the occasion. Today it was back to the desk to look over the mail and messages that have come in over the past few days.

I met with two junior high girls, Zoey and Mia, who were chosen to go on an upcoming donor appreciation luncheon trip. In my first meeting, I want to try to answer any questions they may have. For both girls it will be their first airplane ride and they are excited. But they threw me a question I couldn’t answer. Zoey broke her arm quite badly last year, and now has a metal plate. “Will that set off the metal detector at the airport?” I’ll make sure we have a doctor’s note just in case.

Otherwise they’re very excited.

We have our exchange program with a sister school in Handrup Germany, which is also run by the Priests of the Sacred Heart, and we also raise funds in Germany. Kory, our Director of Development just got back from a meeting with the German SCJs, so he filled me in on we talked about how things are going there. The SCJs were gracious hosts and supportive of a continued relationship and collaboration.

The students took on the St. Joseph's Indian School staff tonight - and won!

Tonight, was our faculty verses student volleyball game. Bryan, our Athletic Director, said that the students were more motivated tonight than in any game of the season and he wished they could have played like that every game. They played their best game of the season and beat the faculty in straight sets.

The staff was happy to make it through the matches with no injuries, except maybe their pride!

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.

Lots of giggles

When I arrived back in the office, I had several baskets of treats for Bosses’ Day awaiting me. While I try my best to affirm the staff at St. Joseph’s Indian School for their work and dedication, I receive far more affirmation than I ever give out.

While walking through the school to catch up on the news and see what our Lakota (Sioux) youngsters were up to, I met new Robin, our new Special Ed teacher. Robin isn’t exactly new, since she worked here at St. Joseph’s several years ago and we’re happy to have her return.

In first grade I met Glenn, our newest student. She was still a little shy and overwhelmed, but giving it her best try. When there are openings here because students are able to move back with their families, we look to our waiting to see who else in need we can be able to serve.

I ate supper in the Crane Home (high school girls) and was pleased to see that besides stories, they were full of lots of giggles. The house had that comfortable feeling when students are cooperating and helping one another. There is drama and conflict to be sure, but we always work towards creating more of the happy kind of memories.

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.