Tag: Lakota

German lessons

With a last name like Huffstetter, I definitely have some German ancestry, but my forebears came to this continent in 1736, before there even was a United States. I have picked up a few words of German over the years, but it is still very limited. We recently had a donor from Germany visit the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center – Anna, who spoke no English. Once I got past my basic greetings of welcome and hello, I relied on her daughter, Gabriele to translate as we toured the campus.

When Anna said that she had a great interest in Native American culture, even as a young girl, I remembered learning of the German author Karl May whose books about the American west captivated many generations of folks overseas.  I recalled a phrase and asked:

Haben Sie Karl May gelesen? (Have you read Karl May?)

Gabriele started to translate what I asked, then stopped as she realized that I had actually asked the question in German. We all had a good laugh.

We visited one of the third grade classrooms to observe the students in a reading lesson. Anna hoped to get a picture or two and plenty of hands went up when I asked for volunteers. St. Joseph’s students are taught to be polite and greet visitors by introducing themselves (first names only). I told them that if they wanted to say “My name is (I am called)” They should say:

Ich Heisse . . .  Fr. Steve

St. Joseph’s students enjoyed a German meal to learn basic phrases in the language.
Foods and dishes were labeled in German to help students learn basic words.

Shaniece was the first to gently put out her hand and quietly say “Ich Heisse Shaniece.”

Jaren followed with a similar greeting, and several other kids offered their hand and greeting as well. It brought a smile to our visitors, and a nice lesson in cross cultural understanding and hospitality.

We will have four of our Lakota high school students visit our sister school in Handrup, Germany in June. To help prepare, Clare, Anita and Maija planned a German-themed meal in the Crane home. Dishes and foods were labeled in German, and each participant was given a sheet of simple but helpful phrases like bitte (please) and danke (thanks) to practice.

In the background, the TV ran a slide show of past German trips to encourage student interest.  Maija gave quizzes about elements of German culture. Wyatt shared that he found an app for his phone that will help him with some basic translations. Anita’s combined creation of German Chocolate Cherry Black Forest Cake may not have been authentic, but it was certainly delicious! All in all, we had a fun and festive evening.

St. Joseph’s high school students will visit our sister in Handrup, Germany this summer.
Ashley and Erica enjoy their German meal.

St. Joseph’s Annual Sobriety Walk

The Lakota students danced along with the drummers.
The Lakota students really got moving when the drummers performed “YMCA.”

St. Joseph’s Substance Abuse Prevention Committee (SAPC) sponsored our annual Spring Sobriety Celebration on the afternoon of April 26. Sheltered Reality, a choreographed drumming group, kicked off the celebration by entertaining our Native American students, their families and St. Joseph’s staff.

Native American families joined their students for St. Joseph’s Sobriety Walk.
St. Joseph’s students, their families and staff get ready to begin the Sobriety Walk.

Sheltered Reality (SR) has dedicated itself to being a youth-oriented project since 1996. Youth members in SR use music and education to reach out to audiences, motivating them to advocate for those in need, especially children and families. SR shared their Steps of Success to teach personal empowerment and character building. The Steps are:

  1. Take a Chance!
  2. Be Willing to Do Whatever it Takes!
  3. Never Give Up!
  4. Believe in Yourself!
  5. Be a Friend and Empower Others to Succeed!

SR demonstrated these steps by pulling students (and even a few staff members!) from the audience and teaching them various drumming routines. In just a short time, students and staff were taking what they learned and working with members of SR to perform some impressive music!

Older Lakota students served as leaders for each of the four walking groups.
Selena, Daryl and Ashley lead the group back to St. Joseph’s Campus.

Following the SR performance, everyone took a stand against drugs by walking in our 18th Annual Sobriety Walk. We were blessed with a perfect spring day!

The Lakota students, their families and staff left St. Joseph’s Indian School and headed downtown Chamberlain, where they split into four groups, representing each of the Four Directions.

Sheltered Reality, a choreographed drumming group, performed during St. Joseph’s 18th Annual Spring Sobriety Celebration.
Sheltered Reality chose students and staff from the audience to drum a few numbers with them.

A weekend update

Dear Friends of St. Joseph’s,

I have the privilege of sharing what’s been going on at St. Joseph’s Indian School over the last few days since Fr. Steve is away on a donor luncheon to Dover, Delaware and the northwest side of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, near King of Prussia and Valley Forge.

Last Wednesday, a severe weather drill was held for the whole State of South Dakota.

We work hard to keep the Lakota boys and girls safe. It’s important to be aware of what sounds would be used should an actual tornado be in the area. We also practice fire and lockdown drills with our Native American students to keep everyone prepared for any situation.

Friday was our 18th Annual Sobriety Walk and the weather was perfect.  The program started with a presentation by Sheltered Reality, a group founded in 1996 to help young people. After their fine presentation, the students and staff made their walk through downtown Chamberlain urging everyone to say NO to drug and alcohol abuse.

Saturday was also busy as Chamberlain High School’s Native American Club sponsored their 6th Annual Powwow in the Chamberlain Armory.  They had a good turnout with royalty and drum groups.   The event began with 55 dancers and kept growing! Several St. Joseph’s students and staff took part.  CONGRATULATIONS to St. Joseph’s high school students who are officers in the club and did a great job in organizing and running the event.

Sunday was also a beautiful day and gave everyone the chance to get outdoors after a long winter that did not seem to want to end.  We had over 10 inches of snow in the last two and a half weeks, so warm, sunny days were a welcome change.

Fishermen were out in force on the Missouri River. There were so many boats in the water that it looked like airplanes in a holding pattern as they came off the water to load their boats.

Chamberlain was hosting a baseball game downtown and some of our older students were active in a softball game here on campus.  The younger students had gotten their bikes out and were pedaling all over the campus.  I think everyone is ready for warmer weather.

Over at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, the new displays are in place.  Thanks to the effort of Split Rock Studios, the overhaul of the displays in the museum and the addition of our historical and alumni center are now complete. We hope you’ll have the chance to visit and see   all the changes!

Hope your weekend went well too.  We keep you in our prayers and are very grateful for the generosity you show the Lakota children attending St. Joseph’s Indian School.  May the Great Spirit bless you and yours this week and always.  Pilamaya!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

St. Joseph’s Indian School

A week in review

Last week, I was talking to one of St. Joseph’s newer employees who is also quite young. What impressed me most was his expressed desire to make a difference. Sometimes, my generation complains about the younger generation. Too often, we underestimate youth who very much want to be part of a group that has high ideals and wants to address the problems of the world in a meaningful way. That fresh attitude and enthusiasm helps light the fire under me and spurs me on.

That evening, hot dogs for supper at Giles Home (high school boys) wasn’t a gourmet feast, but the satisfying conversation and connection with the guys there was good food for the soul. The whole house is made up of freshmen. As they sprint toward the school year’s finish line, they’re finding their way together.  They all have their days where they are moody and flighty teenagers, but I notice a maturing and growth – satisfying to see.

…

Mike, one of our Family Service Counselors shared he was having a difficult time getting information to the family of a Lakota student who has been accepted into our high school program. The family struggles with the basics, and last month didn’t have the money to pay the deposit on the Post Office box rent. The same happens with dropped phone coverage or even loss of home utilities when times get hard.

Wednesday

I joined 24 students who had achieved perfect attendance for a trip downtown to see the movie “The Croods.”

This cave family didn’t live up to my favorite, the Flintstones, but the kids enjoyed the movie and the outing.

–        As an adult, do you still enjoy animated movies from time to time?

The Summerlee Home (fourth and fifth grade girls) was my supper stop. My table got talking about cooking – dishes they can prepare (mostly involving noodles or eggs) and favorites from home, like fry bread and smothered burritos.

These girls just moved back into the newly remodeled home a few weeks ago, and showed me how they’d decorated to give the rooms a homey feel. They like dinosaurs, and a model T-Rex was perched on an end table. The T-Rex was wearing an improvised Easter bonnet, complete with homemade rabbit ears to be in the spirit of the season!

Kids can be fun and creative that way, and so can our houseparents. Cante wanted me to check out the guest bathroom, since that was her weekly responsibility and she worked hard to clean it. With the home so new, they take extra pride in keeping it looking good.

Thursday

The priests, sisters, and permanent deacon who live on nearby Indian Reservations and serve on the Lower Brule and Crow Creek Pastoral team make up an important part of our outreach ministry.

I attended their team meeting and we discussed some long range strategic planning to address the pressing social needs they meet every day. I enjoyed being a part of the opening round of sharing again.

Recent snows and ice kept attendance down in some of the missions. Fr. Hendrik actually slid off the road and had to be towed out by parishioners behind him who happened to have chains in their pickup truck.

Fr. Vincent took Fr. Jose for his first experience of a Native American funeral yesterday. They left at 8 a.m. and didn’t get home until 4 p.m., which is not unusual. Native Americans observe much more cultural ritual surrounding death and burial.

Next up: Poetry

The end of the school year is quickly approaching at St. Joseph’s!

As always, there are many extra activities occurring before we dismiss for the summer, which keep the Lakota children (and their teachers!) very busy.  In reading, we have finished up our first unit on poetry.

This was a big change from our previous units on nonfiction informational texts. Everyone seem to enjoy the change.   In the next couple of weeks, students will be putting their knowledge to the test and engage in the art of writing a few short poems.  I always enjoy seeing their imaginations come alive!

Last week, we had some visitors from the Mission Education Conference come into our classroom.  We decided it would be fun to see what they knew about the elements of poetry, so we made up a bingo game using poetry terms.

Our Native American students and visitors helped each other out; everyone had a good time and it proved to be a good learning tool for the students and visitors as well!

~ Linea – 6th – 8th grade reading teacher

Mission Education visitors spent time with the Lakota children in their classrooms at St. Joseph’s.
The Lakota students and Mission Education visitors helped each other play bingo with poetry terms.

Meeting with St. Joseph’s Board of Directors

After the Mission Education conference on St. Joseph’s campus, the Board of Directors meeting went off as scheduled. Half the folks had to phone in since winter storm Walda closed Interstate 90 in South Dakota from Sioux Falls all the way to Rapid City, a distance of 350 miles!

St. Joseph’s Board of Directors met last week with the SCJ Provincial completing his 3-year term.
Fr. Tom, our SCJ provincial, finished his 3-year terms on our board; we showed our appreciation by gifting them with a Lakota star quilt.

The dynamics of a meeting change considerably when you can’t view power point presentations. After reports from Child Services, Development and Human Resources, we heard from those groups who work so hard to make a difference on the reservations.

The main work of the day was to consider and vote on next year’s budgets. Fr. Tom, our SCJ provincial, and Fr. Jack finished their 3-year terms on our board, and we showed appreciation to them by gifting them with a star quilt.

The generous support we receive from our donors makes the wide range of our programs for the Lakota children and their families possible.

After the meeting, I ran into James and Marion, two such donors, touring the museum. They were on their way home to Montana and were stranded in Chamberlain by the storm. At first, they were just looking for something better than watching TV in their hotel room.  It was their first time St. Joseph’s Indian School, so I took them on a tour of the school. They were delighted to meet students and staff, and see the students’ campus homes. They said the stop was far more than they expected, and a highlight of their trip.

Back in class after the storm, St. Joseph’s students were busy with Dakota Step testing, and the school halls were again very quiet.

St. Joseph’s Indian School presents a Lakota star quilt in appreciation for Fr. Jack’s time on the board.
Fr. Jack receives his Lakota star quilt.

The SCJ novices from Chicago stayed with us a few days after the Mission Education conference. They were originally hoping to hear South Dakota reflections from the priests and brothers who’ve served many years on the Indian Reservations here, but the snows limited them to our crew at St. Joseph’s. We shared around the supper table and they reflected on what they had learned and observed from the conference. Hopefully, in a few years when their schooling is complete, we can interest them in this great work.

T-ball, tether ball, softball… duck!

The Lakota children play on T-ball teams in the spring.
I got it, I got it!

Hello all you blog readers!

This is Nancy the Nurse reporting in from St. Joseph’s Health Center. Ahhh yes, spring is here! Bring on the sunburns and mosquito bites.  Ok, I may be jumping ahead a bit… The mosquitoes are still wearing their winter coats, but the sun is blessing us with longer hours and warmer weather (after the big spring storm, anyway). The Lakota children at St. Joseph’s Indian School are now riding their bikes, participating in track and dodging facial blows from the tether ball, baseball, basketball, T-ball, whiffle ball, football, and golf ball.  Life is good!

The flu season had a short run and not too furious.  Around 30 of our Native American children ended up with the flu this winter.  High School sports took a toll on knees and fingers. It seemed there were more of these injuries than usual.  Most of the Lakota students have healed nicely, but there are a few still in physical therapy.

Bones aren’t the only thing breaking around here.  We’ve had too many broken pair of eye glasses to count!  They just don’t make ’em like they used to.  Oh wait, I guess those goofy- looking, thick plastic frames are coming back in style…  We’ll have to encourage more children to choose that kind. J  The eye doctor’s receptionist keeps a kind, but frozen smile on her face every time we bring in a pair for repair.

Safety is a top priority at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
The Lakota students always wear helmets and other safety equipment when playing.

So what else is going on at the Health Center?  We are seeing students with strep throat, colds and an occasional stomach virus.  We had a student who needed an appendectomy this fall and another one this spring. I hope we are done with that!

We are also finishing up the children’s dental work at Dr. Daily’s office in Chamberlain.  That makes the children VERY happy.  So, that’s a little summary of the last several months.

So what can we expect the next couple months before school is out? Although safety is a big priority around here, there will likely be another broken something or other, a scraped knee or elbow and a set of stitches across someone’s skin.  Did I say life is good? IT IS!

Enjoy your spring everyone!  And remember to duck if you see a ball coming your way.

Nancy the Nurse

A visit from Fr. Jose

Fr. José, an SCJ from our Portuguese province, recently arrived at St. Joseph’s Indian School to begin a four-month stay with us. He is finishing a Masters degree in the area of Economy and International Action at Catholic University in Paris. He is studying human rights as it relates to minority communities and we will be very interested to hear his observations about life in South Dakota.

A significant part of his time here will be devoted to research and study. But, he also wants to improve his conversational English. Children are wonderful language teachers because they have a limited and simpler vocabulary. Where adults are often too polite, kids will laugh when you use the wrong word and correct you. We ate supper in the Dennis Home (1st-3rd grade girls) and the Lakota girls helped Fr. Jose make sure he knew the names of all the foods, plates, utensils and condiments on the table.

We had some fun moments on the playground with the kids. We didn’t quite know how to translate “Red Rover” into Portuguese! The girls had fun trying to break through clasped arms. Fr. Jose also had his first attempt at tetherball. To me, it is a monotonous game, but our younger kids love to play it for long stretches at a time.

When the kids asked Fr. José  to say something in his language, they sat spellbound as they heard the Lord’s prayer for them in Portuguese, and the Hail Mary in French. Then they in turn began teaching him some of their bedtime prayers.

Friday, our Native American drum group had a practice scheduled in the church, and I took Fr. Jose for his first experience of a Lakota drum song. I could see him tapping his foot in time to the drum beat. Drum music truly is contagious, and you can almost feel your heart beating along.

Finally back on campus!

After some travel during spring break, I’m back on St. Joseph’s campus! Here are a few recent highlights:

Easter Sunday

I completed my week long stay with our retired SCJ elders by celebrating with them the great feast of the Resurrection.  I was with them to present some days of recollection about the religious life we share. While they said they appreciated my input, I probably benefitted more from being with them.

I was inspired by their dedication and faithfulness to the daily routine of prayer. None of us quits learning, and these men keep up an active intellectual life. The living room tables were filled with magazines and journals to keep abreast of the issues of the day. In addition to recounting interesting stories from the past, they talked politics and current events, religion and business, with a little sports mixed in for good measure.

One day while I was out walking, I came across 91-year-old Brother Gabriel, far from home with rosary beads in his hand and a steady, determined step. He walks 3-5 miles each day. Instead of complaining about what he can no longer do, he does what he can, which is a good help to good health.  Should I live to such a ripe old age, I hope I’m like that too.

Tuesday

I spent a morning at St. Joseph’s new donor care center to see how staff there is doing. I try to be a resource in our office to answer questions about school and programs, but even those in the business office are very aware and engaged about what’s going on for the Lakota boys and girls.

I didn’t “accomplish” many practical things, but walked around the office and heard about donors  whose stories touched the hearts of those who answer our phones. Sometimes I describe my role as Director of St. Joseph’s as being the head cheerleader! I am grateful for all that our staff does in all areas of campus that contributes to our goals and mission.

Our Parent Advisory committee had their spring meeting.

Looking at our high school data, we were impressed to see that, in the past three years, the number of Honor Roll students has more than doubled, while the number under a 2.0 GPA has been cut in half. We make an effort for each student to succeed, but ultimately, they have to be the ones making the determined effort.

With 40 Native American students this year, our St. Joseph’s students make up a significant portion of the total Chamberlain enrollment of 300 students. As we prepare our eighth graders to transition to high school, next year we may have closer to 50. The Chamberlain High School principal told us that, with the vast rural nature of our part of the world, 50 students is larger than the entire population of 25 High Schools in the state of South Dakota!

Our parents are very concerned about our bullying policies and efforts at prevention, so we reviewed those at the meeting. Later in the month, we are training a group of 20 staff in a new prevention program. We plan to expand the training to all our Child Services workers at orientation before the new school year.

We showed the parents our new historical center. One alumnus looked at the display case with items our development office has sent out over the years and saw one of the glow-in-the-dark rosaries that used to earn him a penny allowance for stuffing into envelopes to be sent all over the country. Other displays triggered many memories.

Thursday

The hallways at school were unusually quiet as state-required academic testing was underway.  Bathroom breaks were staggered for one class at a time, and silence even reigned there. Our teachers are experimenting with an incentive package. The students get to pick a reward or activity they enjoy, and if they pay attention, participate and complete their tests in a timely way, they can earn extra of their favorite time. We’ll see how it goes.

We have a lot of phones on campus, but also lots of activity, so when people call they may get a recording instead of someone live. I spent this afternoon recording new messages for our list of options. It’s strange when I call the school and hear my own voice! But we are trying to do a better job of getting to calls as quickly as possible.

Friday

We practiced today for this weekend’s first communion and baptisms. When I practice for a church event, one of my goals is that the practice shouldn’t take longer than the actual ceremony, but I don’t think that worked today. With 18 students ranging from grades 2 through 8, it takes some time to organize and get everyone in the right places with the right idea of what they need to say or do.

It’s always busy at the REC Center

St. Joseph’s REC Center is always a busy place during the school year and especially during the winter months. Andy, Mark, Bev, Shelly and I have our hands full during that time.  It is, however, a different look during spring break.

REC Center is home to the St. Joseph’s Braves sports teams.
St. Joseph’s boys’ basketball teams play in January and February.

Spring break for the Lakota boys and girls gives us time to catch up on many things that we don’t have time for in January and February.  A lot of “little things” take place such as deep cleaning and organizing equipment.  This spring break was no exception.  With the addition of a handicap bathroom stall, we had extensive cleaning in both the REC Center office area and bathroom area.  The additional bathroom is a great addition to the building and will be greatly utilized by St. Joseph’s staff, students, families visitors.

We did have one spring break home on campus, so there was still some normal activity.  Each day, they scheduled time in the gym, pool, weight room or game room.  They also borrowed DVD’s and games to enjoy during break.

Another nice part of break is planning upcoming activities for the Lakota students.  The REC Center provides lots of programs and activities for the children from now through the end of the school year. The time it all gets put together is during spring break!

Now that the Native American students have returned to St. Joseph’s, we will start track for the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, T-Ball for the first through third graders, and softball for all the homes in grades 4-8! All these activities will wrap up in the middle of May.

In addition to activities for everyone, we have several staff and students we will be working with individually for wellness/health workouts.

All in all, spring break is nice and welcomed by everyone.  It is bitter sweet, however – we get a little break from the daily grind, but we also know it means the end of the school year is near.

Thanks for your support and have a happy Spring!

The Lakota children stay healthy and fit at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
The REC Center offers activities like wrestling and tumbling for the younger Lakota students.
All St. Joseph’s homes participate in field day, houseparents included!
Each spring, the REC Center plans field day for all the Lakota children.

Bryan