Lakota – Page 17 – St. Joseph's Indian School

Celebrating graduations, end of year at St. Joseph’s Indian School

One graduation down and one to go!

On Sunday, nine St. Joseph’s students (out of a class of 61) took part in the Chamberlain High School graduation ceremony. The armory was packed with graduates, family

and friends. It was an especially important day for Errol – he is the first St. Joseph’s high school graduate to do so with honors. He is also a Regent Scholar and member of the National Honor Society. Congratulations Errol!

As the last graduate was leaving the stage after receiving his diploma, Chamberlain Principal Mr. Bertram, commented that

this was the largest number of graduates we’ve had from St. Joseph’s Indian School to date.

This brought a very nice round of applause from those assembled. It definitely brought a proud smile to the faces of all the St. Joseph’s staff, families and supporters attendance.

Pilamaya – thank you – for helping these students reach this milestone!

Congratulations to St. Joseph’s Class of 2014! — Thanks to your generosity, nine St. Joseph’s seniors graduated high school this year!

Chamberlain school is out for the year, but St. Joseph’s students still have the remainder of this week.

Spring sports awards were given out yesterday. Archery and track participants were recognized for their accomplishments, houseparents were thanked for helping with ball games. T-ball coach Leonard spoke about a young lady who began the season not even knowing how to hold the bat – it was almost bigger than she was! But in the last game of the season, she smacked two home runs! It’s wonderful to watch our Lakota students learn and grow throughout the year.

After the awards were handed out, it was on to the softball diamond for the annual eighth graders vs. staff softball game. The rules are a bit different than a standard game – staff had to hit big 16” softballs, while students hit a normal-sized one and also had the benefit of getting five outs per inning. A good time was had by all and the game ended in a 20-20 tie.

Please keep our eighth grade students in your prayers as they receive their certificates on Friday.

We hope all of you have a very safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. As always, we are grateful for your generosity which enables us to offer the programs our Native American students and families need.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Poetry, snow & sixth grade at St. Joseph’s Indian School

The end of the year is here! It is a very busy time at St. Joseph’s Indian School, fitting in class trips, end-of-the-year activities and wrapping up projects.

Linea teaches reading at St. Joseph’s Indian School — Linea, St. Joseph’s reading teacher for sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

In reading classes, the Lakota students completed units on poetry. During this unit, it is always a treat to have our principal, Kathleen, come and read to us. She does an amazing job and captures the attention of all the students.

We read mostly lyric and narrative poems, and students explored the different ways authors presented their words. Some used humor and others appealed to our senses and emotions.

I also discovered we have some talented young poets right here at St. Joseph’s!

During the reading of the poem “The Dream Keeper,” our Native American Studies teachers came into our classroom and helped us make our own dreamcatchers. The students did an awesome job and had a lot of fun.

Spring is also the time that our sixth graders take their cultural field trip to the Badlands National Park in western South Dakota. We schedule this trip a couple of weeks in advance and then have to accept what Mother Nature has in store of us.

This year she decided to rain on our day…

Actually, we were like postal workers and could say that “neither rain nor sleet nor snow” will keep us from having fun on our class trip!

Everyone knows the end of the year is coming fast and the students are looking forward to their summer break!

Linea – Reading Teacher, grades 6-8

St. Joseph’s sixth graders made their own dreamcatchers after reading the poem “The Dream Keeper.” — After reading “The Dream Keeper,” St. Joseph’s sixth graders made dreamcatchers in class.

St. Joseph’s sixth graders had their class trip to the Badlands National Park in May. — Sixth grade boys stand in the rain and snow in the Badlands during the sixth grade class trip.

Awards Banquets for St. Joseph’s Seniors

Greetings once again from South Dakota – the land spring has forgotten! Although we have not had any of the snow that Rapid City and the Black Hills have received

Fr. Anthony and the Lakota children. — Fr. Anthony spends time with St. Joseph’s students.

recently, it has been cold and wet over the last few weekends. We are grateful for the moisture, but would be happy to share some of it with the drought areas in California.

As the school year winds down, activities pick up for the Lakota (Sioux) students. Over the last two weekends, 11 of our 19 homes have been away on their home trips. Some have gone shopping in the Sioux Falls area and others have headed out to the Black Hills. This coming week will see the seventh graders head out on their cultural trip to explore various sites in South Dakota and the neighboring states that have Native American cultural and historical impact. They’ll be back on campus prior to graduation on May 23.

St. Joseph’s high school students have also had a variety of activities take place, including end of the year awards. Last Monday was the academic awards banquet:

Students who took part in the one act play were awarded a Superior Play & Acting Award on the State level;
Robert and Kyran were recognized for taking part in Boys’ State;
Senior Errol was honored as a Regent Scholar and recipient of the Al Mueller Memorial Scholarship and the Ruth Potter Memorial/Dakota Indian Foundation Award.

Wednesday, St. Joseph’s seniors were honored at a prayer service and reception where Cody was awarded the Jerry Vaad Memorial. This award is in honor of a long-time employee in the athletic department at St. Joseph’s Indian School. It is awarded to the graduate who best exemplifies sharing of time and talent with other members of his or her tiyospaye – extended family – on campus.

Friday came and it was time for athletic awards:

One of our new students this year, Danny, won the most improved award for golf;
Shawn was mentioned for making all-conference honorable mention in football;
Gabe was designated most inspirational for boys’ basketball;
Adrian won the JV Most Valuable Player award;
Jacob was considered the most inspirational on the high school track team;
Senior Reuben was honored for being a basketball team captain and making all-conference.

Chamberlain High School only has three days of classes left, so tomorrow night is the Baccalaureate service the United Church of Christ. It will be a special moment for all the seniors as they look back at their accomplishments and ahead to their graduation on May 18. Please keep them and their future plans in your prayers. Read more about them here.

Have a great week and know you are being remembered in our Novena of Masses offered the 11^th through the 19^th of each month. May God continue to bless and reward you for your generosity towards the Lakota boys and girls at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Flurry of activities as the school year winds down

This has been a busy last few days. On Wednesday and Thursday of last week our eighth grade students had a day to shadow St. Joseph’s students attending Chamberlain High School. This is a great opportunity for the students to meet teachers and discover ways to get around the high school campus. As our eighth grade graduates get ready to move into our high school program, our seniors are getting ready to move on to college, vocational school and other educational avenues. On Wednesday afternoon a prayer service and reception will be held for our nine high school seniors. Their graduation ceremony is May 18^th.

This past Sunday, I attended the awarding of the annual Distinguished Alumni Award to Mr. Sam Dupris of Bloomington, Minnesota. Sam attended St. Joseph’s from 1937-1942 along with several of his siblings. Sam told our students that the values and educational base he received while attending St. Joseph’s has helped him throughout his life. After a stint in the Army, he used the GI Bill to attend flight school and for more than 25 years spent time with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) working his way up the ranks to be captain and chief pilot. Sam is the first and only Native American to serve as a FAA pilot. He was inducted into the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001 and South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2010.

This past Saturday, the annual Chamberlain High School Powwow was held at the new Chamberlain Community Center. Irene, a junior in our high school program, was selected to be Miss CHS Powwow. She joined, Mia and Cassidy, fellow St. Joseph’s high school girls to participate in the dancing. Our drum group also participated with music and songs for the celebration.

Many new faces are on campus as new staff is being interviewed and hired for next year. While we are happy to welcome them, it also means some of our ‘veterans’ will be moving on. Eleven will be retiring from St. Joseph’s with 114.5 combined years of service and dedication to our students.

You may remember I mentioned the Explorers were doing a car wash last weekend to raise money for new playground equipment at American Creek Campground. They washed 84 cars, made over $500 in tips and a little over $3,500 in pledges. Since June of 2002, they have raised a little over $79,500 to be used for audio visual equipment, projects to beautify the Chamberlain/Oacoma area, supporting meals on wheels and aid to local residents facing health issues.

I hope you have a positive week while finding ways to draw closer to those you care about and taking that first step in reaching out to make a new friend. May God’s blessings continue to be with you!

Sincerely,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Honoring the Past, Preparing for the Future at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Greetings once again from St. Joseph’s Indian School! We are keeping bust with a wide variety of activities as we approach the final weeks of the school year.

Fr. Anthony gives a Lakota child her First Holy Communion. — Fr. Anthony gives the candidates their First Holy Communion.

Last Wednesday we held an inipi (also known as a sweat or going into the sweat lodge) for our high school boys. John, a St. Joseph’s graduate and former principal of our school, led this traditional Lakota ceremony. He led the inipi ceremony to honor all the senior boys and those who have helped them reach this step in their life, including other male students and staff.

Friday was a very busy day!

Career day began after lunch. The Lakota boys and girls began each session by asking presenters a series of questions to determine their profession – what skills were involved, was it something you could do inside or out, any special gear needed, what sort of educational preparation was needed, etc. We learned about the growing, manufacturing and marketing work being done at the Lower Brule Popcorn Company, which is on a local Indian Reservation. Students also heard from artists who create beadwork and Native American flutes, a drug and alcohol counselor, a dental hygienist and a musician with the band Brule’.

Later that afternoon, we held our annual sobriety celebration kicked off with guest speaker Ms. D’Este Chytka, founder of ‘It’s all about Respect.’ She urged students to respect themselves, one another and Mother Earth – Unci Maka.

After her talk, our annual Sobriety Walk to downtown Chamberlain began at the rec center! It was a great day with beautiful weather and wonderful messages for the Lakota (Sioux) children.

With the support of their families, St. Joseph’s students prepared for and received the Sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation on Sunday, April 27. — Sixteen Lakota students participated in Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation last Sunday.

On Sunday, 16 students received Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation. We were honored to have many family and friends share in Sunday Mass when the candidates received the Sacraments. I am also happy to report that a student who didn’t return to St. Joseph’s after spring break was able to complete his preparation for the Sacraments. With a letter of support from the members of our pastoral team, Clare and Joe, he was able to receive his Sacraments on Easter at his home parish in Nebraska.

It was a very special day for our students and families, and a positive witness for everyone who attended.

Please join us in praying for those who lost their lives in the recent tornadoes in Arkansas and Oklahoma, as well as their families. We continue to keep you and your intentions in our prayers asking God to bless and reward you for your generosity. Have a wonderful week!

Fr. J. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Happy Easter from the Lakota (Sioux) children!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!!! The tomb is empty, He is truly risen!!!

We hope you all had a very Blessed Easter and that the good works you did during the Lenten Season will now continue so you can share that good news of an empty tomb with others.

After the Lakota (Sioux) students returned from Easter break on Monday at noon, several homes were planning to attend the Big Bend Shrine Circus in Chamberlain that evening.

Tuesday, it was back to business in the classrooms for the Lakota children and St. Joseph’s Parent Advisory Council was on campus. Made up of the Native American parents and guardians of St. Joseph’s students, the group meets twice a year. We keep them up to date about what is happening on campus and hear their feedback and suggestions on current and future programs for the students. We are grateful for their support and insight.

You may recall we recently sponsored the 2^nd Annual Mr. Relay for Life pageant, which St. Joseph’s alumnus, Stefen, won. I’ve come to find out that one of our employees

St. Joseph’s staff coordinated the Mr. Relay for Life pageant to raise money for cancer research. — Benjamin, an employee in St. Joseph’s Development Office, took second place in the Mr. Relay for Life pageant!

from the Development Office – Benjamin – came in second. Congratulations to everyone who participated and helped make the event possible – over $7,000.00 was raised

to benefit Tri-County Relay for Life!

As we approach the end of the school year, the next major event on the agenda at St. Joseph’s Indian School is the reception of Sacraments—Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation for those who have been taking part in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Children(RCIC) during the school year. Their big day is coming up this Sunday. We hope for beautiful weather so students’ families will be able to come and share this special day with them.

We hope you all have a great week! May God’s grace and peace enable you to be open to our Risen Savior. May He walk with you and guide you to discern how your blessings can help others and make our world a better place.

Sincerely,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Hands-on learning for the Lakota (Sioux) students

Jeshua shared in his blog some of the hands-on learning opportunities the Lakota students have on St. Joseph’s campus like drum circle and inipi (sweat lodge). These past

Claire is a St. Joseph's houseparent — Claire

few weeks, the students have also had some awesome opportunities for hands-on learning off campus.

Our junior high students had an opportunity to participate in Camp Med at Chamberlain’s community center downtown. Sponsored by the local Sanford Health Center, Camp Med led students through a series of stations, which focused on different aspects of the health care field. Part vocational education and part health education, students got to work with health care professionals and try their hands at some challenging skills.

Students at the Nursing station got to practice giving “insulin” injections (really just saline solution) to an orange. Although we have a student on campus who does administer her own insulin, most of the students have never used a needle and syringe before. They cautiously drew out a dose of saline and poked at the orange under the watchful eye of a local nurse. I am not sure I would want to get my flu shot from any of them just yet, but I was surprised at their level of respect and skill while handling the equipment.

Camp Med offered a host of medical-related booths to give the Lakota students a hands-on idea about careers in healthcare. — St. Joseph’s students practice injections on oranges at the Nursing station during Camp Med.

The Surgery station had a few old school Operation games for them to play—we heard a familiar brrzzzz sound pretty often as the metal tweezers touched the edges trying to reach the funny bone or the appendix. They also had the option of trying to do a laparoscopic surgery simulation, working clips and clamps from the outside of a box while viewing their actions on a monitor. Pretty tricky, even for our video game savvy students.

They really liked using the stethoscope on a model patient, and were excited at the opportunity to win one at the Career booth. Then they enthusiastically tried out their stethoscopes and “syringe” hi-lighter pens on each other. They enjoyed taping each other’s wrists and ankles at the Athletic Training booth, and admired X-rays at the Radiology booth. They tasted food thickener at the Dietary booth, but preferred the suckers they got from the Laboratory Science booth.

Maybe the scariest booth was the Infection Control station, where they used a UV light to see the dirt and germs left on their hands after washing. Ugh!
A close second was the booth where they used goggles to simulate macular degeneration, an eye disease associated with smoking. They were surprised at how poor their basketball skills were with their vision so badly clouded. Yet another reason to be smoke free!

Thanks to our generous donors and Sanford Medical Center for providing such a wonderful learning opportunity for our students!

One student remarked that she didn’t know there were so many choices in the health care field. Exposing them to these options may help students in their career planning later, especially with extreme healthcare needs in Native American communities. In the meantime, they can try out their stethoscopes and tongue depressors. Maybe they will even be inspired to do a really really good job washing their hands before dinner.

This is what I love about at St. Joseph’s Indian School – Lowan wicasa (drum group)

Greetings!
My name is Jeshua and I am the Lakota language teacher at St. Joseph’s Indian School. This was my first year on staff. In addition to teaching language, I also help with our drum group.

Our lowan wicasa (drum group) is called the Chalk Hills Singers. We get our name from all the stories of St. Joseph’s early days when the children would hike in the hills north of campus and find the chalky rocks alongside the Missouri River. We practice twice per week with all types of styles and genres like powwow, traditional, sundance and round dance songs.

I’m really proud of how far the boys have come. I believe every singer can now take a lead (starting a song so everyone joins in). These students aren’t just learning how to drum; we incorporate meaning, what the drum represents to our Lakota (Sioux) people and how important it is to be a drum keeper or singer.

So far we have 13 male singers in grades 6-12, and three wicaglata win (the women who accompany the men at the drum). Females sing in support of the drummers, standing around them. They are usually close to the singers and must know the songs as well.

St. Joseph’s drum group, the Chalk Hills Singers, sing with their instructor Jeshua. — Jeshua and the boys sing at the drum during St. Joseph’s 2013 powwow celebration.

In Lakota tradition, women do not sit at the drum. We explain the etiquette of how singers conduct themselves around the drum and that it is a great honor to make people dance, cry and laugh with their voice and the drum.

We sing at every St. Joseph’s powwow, which is an awesome sight with our Native American students in regalia, singing loud and proud. This fall, we also had the chance to participate in a veterans’ powwow on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation, which is my home reservation.

The boys witnessed a tokala (warrior) ceremony and had the chance to dance as well and pay respect to all veterans, which was a very memorable experience. All the other drums came up to shake our boys’ hands and give them props for being such a young and strong group of singers.

Recently, the sixth grade boys had the chance to participate in Inipi – purification lodge – and put their singing voices to use in what is also called the prayer lodge. For most of them, it was their first time participating in this ceremony.

It was awesome. They knew the songs to sing and showed great respect and attitude all the way to the end. We are going to have boys and girls inipi ceremony every month for different grades.

I believe their identity as Native Americans is very important. We try showing them this way of life at St. Joseph’s because some of them never get the opportunity.
That is what I love about St. Joseph Indian School: We can incorporate all types and diverse aspects to culture, religion and history for the students and staff.
Pilamaya – thank you – for your generosity!

Helping the Lakota children heal with laughter and tears

On Monday at St. Joseph’s Indian School, we held our annual Healing Camp, Opiciye Okizi – A Good Place to Heal – for

students who have lost a relative or someone close to them. Camp started in 2003 when a student lost her mom to cancer—she wanted her siblings and other students to have a place grieve, heal and grow.

Each year, students pair up with a volunteer staff “buddy” to spend a day healing with prayer, Lakota ceremony and art. This has been a powerful tool for building a supportive community where students can safely express their feelings. Some students ask to participate again, year after year.

This year was very special because our community included students’ family members. The camp was extended from one day to two – on-campus accommodations were used for families coming from far away. Building strong family connections is an important goal at St. Joseph’s, and having family join with students and staff was a wonderful blessing.

One of St. Joseph’s strengths is that we can draw on Lakota (Sioux) traditions as well as our Catholic faith to make sense out of life’s journey. In camp, we talked about the assurances of eternal life that our Christian faith teaches us. We used the Lakota ceremony Wiping of the Tears to signal of the end of mourning, and the support of others in moving forward. We said the Our Father. The Chalk Hill Singers Drum Group prayed to the four directions. We asked the Great Spirit for strength and guidance. Family members boosted little ones up onto their shoulders so that they could place prayer ties in a cedar tree.

Volunteers were present for students whose families couldn’t attend. I was paired up with a young man whom I recognized from being a substitute teacher in the school. We did not know each other well, and it was a bit awkward at first. He was very gracious, as only a 10 year old can be, in allowing me to help him.

Maybe my favorite part was releasing prayers into the river. It was like a message in a bottle for the ecological-minded. Instead of messages to loved ones going into a plastic bottle, they were written on water-soluble paper.

My buddy let me help him with this one. He liked coloring the paper in his mom’s favorite color, but didn’t know what to put on it. Finally, he dictated a message, which he let me write.

He misses her.

He is doing ok.

He has stuff going on inside that is kinda big.

We climbed down to the river’s edge, which was cool for the kids since they are NOT allowed to do that Without An Adult Present. The Missouri was ice free and calm—a bit of a miracle for this time of year.

It was clear enough to see the stones under the shallows. He gently floated his message out onto the water. It dissolved, word by word and we watched until there was just one piece – “Mom” in big letters, floating in the center. Then that drifted away too.

My buddy’s favorite exercise was The Laughter. As soon as April said we were going to do a laughter game, he turned to me excitedly and said, “I know this one! It is the best!!”

All of us participants got in a line, about 22 of us in all, and counted off. We had to laugh as many times as our place in line dictated. We were in the middle, so we had to laugh about 14 times. It helped that my buddy poked me in the ribs a few times. And someone tooted. That was really funny.

So many times we forget the healing power of laughter, but it is so essential to grieving. Sometimes you just need to take a break and laugh!!

There are so many different ways to grieve, and no one way fits every one. One of the prevailing themes of Healing Camp was acceptance. Wherever you are in your healing process is okay. Do you feel like crying? That’s fine. Go ahead. Are you having a good day today and want to smile? That’s fine too. Do you have questions? Ask. Do you need a hug? We’re right here for you.

With so many students experiencing so much loss, it is such a gift to be able to offer this healing time to them and their families. Thank you for keeping our students in your prayers, and thank you for your generous support, which makes activities like these possible.

Peace– Claire

Opiciye Okizi – A Good Place to Heal – for the Lakota children

We greet you from the banks of the Missouri River as the last few days of winter slip away in

Fr. Anthony is St. Joseph’s Chaplain — Fr. Anthony with the Lakota children

South Dakota. It’s not going out quietly… we had some snow on Saturday evening and are facing a winter storm today!

Last week was fairly quiet at St. Joseph’s Indian School while our Lakota (Sioux) students in grades 1-8 were on spring break. They returned Sunday and this week kicks off the fourth quarter of the academic year! Wednesday we will have a prayer service honoring our patron, St. Joseph, and asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit on the students and teachers for the final quarter of the school year.

Monday, eight students took part in an Opiciye Okizi – A Good Place to Heal. This special program is a “healing camp” for students who have recently lost someone close to them. Each child was joined by a family member for the day.

During the camp, St. Joseph’s staff members facilitate activities designed to start conversations and help the children reflect on life and death and talk about how we can honor and pray for those whom the Great Spirit has called home. It gives the students a chance to ask questions, especially if they have had a hard time dealing with the loss. The day ended with a traditional ceremony called the ‘wiping of tears.’

We hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day. Pilamaya – thank you – for making these programs possible for the

St. Joseph’s healing camp helps children work through the loss of people close to them. — Healing camp helps the Lakota children who have experienced the death a loved one cope with the loss in healthy ways.

children and families who need them. May God’s blessings continue to be with you to reward you for your generosity!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain