Native American – Page 20 – St. Joseph's Indian School

Step Up Day

We’re hitting a much needed rainy spell in South Dakota. We’ve been in a drought, and the rains softly falling on the fields are a sign of hope. While we are extremely grateful, it has put a damper on some of our scheduled activities here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Last night, our student vs. faculty softball game was rained out. With an already crowded end of the year schedule, there are no free times left for a makeup date. We also had Field Day activities planned, though many of them were able to be moved indoors.

All St. Joseph’s students gathered in the Rec Center after school on Monday for the announcement of the spring sports awards. Trophies and medals were passed out for bowling, archery, track, softball and t-ball.

Thanks to the coaches and umpires who give so generously of their time! The way some of those kids clutched their trophies I could tell it meant a lot.

In school, we had “Step Up” day. Our Native American students spent time in the classroom they will be in next year and spent some time getting to their teacher and vice versa. Teachers reviewed some of the new materials or subjects the kids will tackle, and talking about rules and expectations.

Currently, we have one second grade class, which will be split into two as they reach third grade. The fourth graders who are moving to fifth physically move from the middle floor of the building to the top floor.

I asked them if that was going to be a big adjustment. Since they go to the top floor for library, they didn’t think it would be a big deal.

“The biggest difference,” their teacher Brock explained, “is that there are no longer bathrooms attached to the classrooms – you have to ask for a hall pass!”

I walked past the computer lab and peeked in on what the students were doing. Seventh grader Jay was playing a racing car game. When I was about to tease him and ask how that was educational, I looked closer and saw that it was actually a lesson from Nitro typing! The faster and more accurately he typed the words on the screen, the more power and speed his car had around the racetrack. There’s lots of ingenuity in the latest generation of learning games!

Feathering ceremony honors Native American seniors

Chamberlain High School hosted a feathering ceremony for Native American graduates at St. Joseph’s Indian school. — Thirteen Native American graduates were honored in a feathering ceremony at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Friday
Chamberlain High School used St. Joseph’s Rec Center for a feathering ceremony honoring 13 Native American students enrolled in area tribes who will graduate this weekend. Five were our own St. Joseph’s students. Wayne Two Hawks, a Crow Creek elder, gave some instructions to the graduates about what an honor it is to receive an eagle feather, and now it was up to them to wear it proudly by choosing a good path through life.
After a ceremonial blessing song, everyone in attendance filed past our young graduates and shook their hands or gave hugs to wish them well. St. Joseph’s drum group, the Chalk Hills Singers, sang an honor song as well. The students presented Allan, the principle, with a lovely Lakota star quilt to thank him for the support he’s been during their years at the high school.
Our five high school homes have emptied out, and all the students are gone for summer vacation. For most, it will be a short one, as many of our students will return after Memorial Day for driver’s ed, summer camps, or independent living where they stay on campus and take care of their own cooking and meals and work a job to put away some savings for the future.
Saturday
The Cyr Home (4th-5th grade boys) invited me to tag along with them on their last outing of the year. We loaded up one of our white St. Joseph’s mini buses in the morning and headed east to Mitchell, South Dakota. Instead of a video to pass the time, houseparent Odis pulled out his I-Pad, which had some games loaded on it. Six of us passed it around and played the computerized version of Risk, a game I would often play with my brothers and cousin into the wee hours of the morning, trying to conquer the world. It was fun to relive those times and not have to worry about wooden pieces falling off the board in a moving vehicle.
We ate at a Chinese buffet. Paula, one of the houseparents, encouraged the boys to try some new things. She recommended just taking small amounts, and if they liked it, go back for more. Two students were brave and followed Odis’ lead by slurping down an oyster, but the faces they made while

The Lakota boys enjoyed a trip to Mitchell, South Dakota. — Boys in the Cyr Home enjoyed trying new things at the Chinese buffet.

swallowing them showed they were not interested in seconds at all. They boys had fun trying to get their fingers to work the chopsticks. I’ve never seen anyone eat orange jello or ice cream with chopsticks before!
We watched the new Star Trek movie (I’ve long been a fan of all the Enterprise and crew), then enjoyed a nice afternoon at the park. Mitchell has a Frisbee golf course, which I’d never tried, but we had lots of fun. The first couple of holes took forever, but then we decided to play best ball rules – everyone getting a chance from wherever the best throw landed. That moved things along better. No one worried about keeping score and everyone had some best throws.

St. Joseph’s boys finished their trip to Mitchell with a round of Frisbee golf. — After lunch, the boys played Frisbee golf.

A few days before graduation…

Wednesday

When I come out of morning mass in the winter and walk past Wisdom Circle, the playground is empty. With the warmer weather, however, it has been filled with the laughter of the Lakota children squeezing in some play time before the school day starts.

Spring has finally arrived on the South Dakota Prairie! The flowers and bushes on campus are filled with fragrant and colorful blossoms. We seemingly went from winter to summer, skipping spring altogether, though we know our temperature swings will still be wild for some time to come.

Our Native American students from fifth through eighth grades have a chance to learn to play musical instruments. Yesterday, we gathered in Our Lady of the Sioux chapel to hear the fruits of their practice as they held a recital. Their skills are still pretty basic, but I admired their courage to get in front of their peers and risk hitting the wrong chord or note. We heard six piano solos, four guitars, two flutes, and clarinet and a drum. Some of the songs were very short. I was disappointed one of my old folk favorites, Oh Suzanna, finished before the rousing chorus. But you’ve got to love the kids for trying!

The Lakota children at St. Joseph’s have the opportunity to take music lessons. — Caden and Richie worked hard on their guitar pieces for the music recital.

After that, we held a farewell gathering in the Rec Center for St. Joseph’s Child Services staff who are retiring or moving on to new things. Huge cardboard greeting cards were laid out for everyone to sign, while looking over pictures and remembering. After everyone grabbed some refreshments, each of those staff were called forward, given a gift, and the opportunity to say a few words.

Steve started as a houseparent, but since I’ve been at St. Joseph’s Indian School, has been the lead tutor at our High School Learning Center. With a concerted effort from students and staff, the collective grade point average of St. Joseph’s high school students has gone up almost a full point over the last four years!

Gary and Marty guided high school girls for the past two years, and Anita has mentored our young men for the past four.

Frank and Wanda have been houseparents for 26 years!!! They are retiring to spend more time with their own children and grandchildren. Over the years they’ve parented so many St. Joseph’s kids who consider them family. They were each wrapped in a Lakota star quilt as a sign of honor and appreciation. Many tears and tons of hugs followed. We pray for all those moving on to new adventures.

St. Joseph’s high school students finish classes at the end of this week. Elijah, one of our seniors, had high enough grades to be exempted from his finals and is completely done. This evening, our houseparents organized a back yard end-of-the-year cook out. Hot dogs and hamburgers taste mighty good when shared in the beautiful outdoors with good friends, conversation, and a few games thrown in to boot.

With the help of the local ministerial association, Chamberlain High

School organized their Baccalaureate Ceremony this evening. We hosted the service in our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. Area pastors offered some words of prayer, but all of the readings and music were organized by the students. The evening was uplifting as we prayed for God’s help for all the youth of our community who are transitioning on to the next stages of their education and careers.

Cleaning, packing, preparing for the move

Hello again from the William Home’s fourth and fifth grade Lakota girls!

It has been an exciting time recently as we have been packing, cleaning, and preparing for our move back in to the newly renovated William Home. We are in and the girls are so excited!

It is bittersweet for the fifth graders, since they will only get to be in for a short time before summer break begins. Next year, they will move to the older community of sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students on St. Joseph’s campus.

We recently took our annual home trip to Rapid City, South Dakota and visited and indoor water park. These girls can go up and down those stairs on the slides for hours! Oh, the joy of youth…

As we wind down the year at St. Joseph’s Indian School, we would like to thank all of our benefactors who make the work we do with Native American children possible. God bless and have a great summer.

St. Joseph’s Indian School recently completed renovations on the William Home. — The girls in the newly renovated William Home do their homework at the kitchen counter.

Native American Career Day

I always grow concerned when I hear the wail of an ambulance siren. One day last week, it cried loudly outside St. Joseph’s Indian School. But no cause for alarm – the ambulance was on campus to present to our students for Native American Career Day.

Paramedics showed our Lakota students the equipment they use to save lives, and talked about what the job as a first responder entails.

Chamberlain paramedics visited St. Joseph’s Indian School for Native American Career Day. — St. Joseph’s first graders wait to see the inside of the ambulance.

Another group from Catholic Social Services runs the Lakota Circles of Hope program. They work to prevent elementary students from abusing drugs and alcohol. From the medical field, St. Joseph’s students heard from a physical therapist and a woman overseeing medical records for Indian Health Services. The state Director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes talked to the students about showing the values of sportsmanship and care while pursuing the games we all love.

The presentation which fascinated me the most, was hearing from an alumnae who went into law enforcement. I knew Fancy when she was a tiny baby and I worked in Red Scaffold, South Dakota on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Now, she stands 6’2” and with her police vest and equipment on, she is an imposing figure!

But, she has learned good people skills. While she can be strong and tough when needed, she shared with the students that she gets more done not by the use of force, but by kindness and checking in with people. She asks about what is going on, and builds relationships in the communities she works in. She listens to the hurts and suffering.

I asked Fancy how she deals with the ugly side of life, where she sees things no one wants to see. She said, “I pray. I pray for the people who are hurting. I pray I can take care of my kids. I pray for strength and compassion. And St. Joseph’s helped teach me the importance of that.”

The Lakota children learned about numerous careers during Native American Career Day. — The Lakota children check out the stretcher inside the ambulance.

Giving back to the community

Earlier this year, St. Joseph’s Daughters of Tradition group was given the task of coming up with ideas for a service learning project as a way to give back to the community. The Native American youth in the group decided they wanted to raise money for the Humane Society in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Recently, they headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to complete the project!

Our Lakota (Sioux) girls decided to donate to the Humane Society. To raise money, the girls planned a walking taco and bake sale. The girls did all of the baking for the bake sale and group leaders assisted in getting the taco meat ready for the walking tacos. The girls had two different sales and raised over $200.00 to donate to the Humane Society. They were very proud of themselves!

While at the Humane Society, the girls were able to tour the facility, walk dogs and spend some time with the cats. The girls really enjoyed themselves and if they had been able to, I think a few of them would have come home with new pets! They did a great job and represented St. Joseph’s Indian School very well. The Human Society was very pleased with their generous donation.

St. Joseph’s Daughters of Tradition group meets two times per month. This is a great place for the girls to talk about any issues they are having. The group begins with a “Talking Circle,” which gives every girl a chance to talk about how they are doing and voice any issues or concerns they have. The girls are very engaged in the group and enjoy the time they get to spend together and the opportunity to share concerns with their peers.

As one of the leaders of the group, I am so very pleased with the girls and their effort in the service learning project!

Julie

Family Service Counselor

Visiting St. Joseph’s Donor Care Center

The Chamber of Commerce recently set up a ribbon cutting ceremony at St. Joseph’s Donor Care Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Our boys’ drum group – the Chalk Hills Singers – and girls who serve as support singers rode the bus to help open the building with style and festivity. Their songs and participation made the day special. Our Chalk Hills Singers began with an honor song dedicated to the “common man” for hard work, service and humility.

South Dakota Public Radio taped the song as part of an upcoming story. St. Joseph’s high school students and others from the community have petitioned the Chamberlain school board to include a Lakota (Sioux) honor song to pay tribute to all the graduates at Chamberlain High School graduation. The board votes next week.

At the ribbon cutting, I welcomed visitors and thanked all those who worked hard to renovate and open the office. St. Joseph’s Indian School is proud to have worked so well over the years with the Chamberlain community, and now we’re excited to be part of the Sioux Falls community also. Some great, highly qualified staff have already joined our team from the area. Lisa, who was a houseparent for almost 10 years and just moved over to the Donor Care Center, was a bit of a star our Native American students gravitated toward her to catch up on how she’s doing.

After a scrumptious potluck lunch, our students used sage to smudge and bless the building and staff. Fr. Anthony liberally sprinkled holy water throughout the facility. We ended with a circle of handshakes, allowing our students to say thanks for the work these staff do to make their education possible.

Afterwards, I got to play tourist and see familiar sights through the eyes of a first-time visitor. Fr. Jose hails from Portugal. Besides his late night flight into South Dakota a month ago, this was his first chance to see the Sioux Falls area. He was impressed with Sioux Falls’ replica of Michelangelo’s David statue, though he has seen the original with his own eyes. We spent time at Falls Park, from which the city gets its name.

We also made a couple stops on the way home.

The small town of Alexandria, South Dakota, has a Fatima Family Shrine. Since Fatima is so important in his native Portugal, we paid a visit. And of course we had to stop in Mitchell and take in the “World’s only Corn Palace.”

Fr. Anthony and Fr. Jose, enjoyed a visit to a waterfall in South Dakota. — Fr. Anthony and Fr. Jose at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Track Season is underway!

In addition to track, St. Joseph’s Native American students participate in football, volleyball and basketball. — The St. Joseph’s Braves 2013 Track Team

Our sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students were able to represent St. Joseph’s Indian School in their first track meet of the year on Monday, April 29. We do not have official results; however, we brought home seven ribbons between eight kids!

Track offers the Lakota boys and girls lessons in both teamwork and individual accomplishments. — Bryan looks on as Craig makes his throw.

It is always a learning experience for the rookies. We called to have shoes, lunches and water sent to the field for those who did not realize how important these necessities are to pack or ask their houseparents to pack for them.

We have several Lakota boys throwing the shot put and discus. Our Recreation Center Director is an old hand at this, so Bryan is a great role model and motivator for these boys. Our Native American Studies teacher, LaRayne, stresses the important of endurance when it comes to running your hardest, giving your best and finishing the race with a smile.

At the end of the day, we had some tired, but smiling, happy kids who were glad that our South Dakota spring weather cooperated so that we could showcase our talent to those outside of St. Joseph’s Indian School.

St. Joseph’s offers track and other sports to keep the Lakota children active. — Anthony lets the shot put fly.

Thanking Donors in Delaware and Philadelphia

Last weekend, a group of us traveled to Dover, Delaware and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (just outside Philadelphia) for donor appreciation luncheons. Eighth grader Deavontay and seventh grader Keaytan were the guests of honor as they shared with folks about their routines and adventures at St. Joseph’s Indian School. The boys were great travelers, and enjoyed meeting about 70 guests each day who journeyed to the luncheons. The donors were most kind and hospitable, filled with insightful questions and lots of enthusiasm and encouragement for the Native American youngsters.

One man was a cancer survivor. Upon learning I’m going on three years since surgery to remove cancer, he took off a green wristband he had made for himself and gave it to me.

The words engraved on it are “never give up.”

That’s a good message not just for me, but also for St. Joseph’s Lakota students as they pursue their dreams.

St. Joseph’s students and staff at Independence Hall. — One of our first stops in Philadelphia was Independence Hall.

Seeing the Liberty Bell helped history come alive for the Lakota boys. — Seeing artifacts of the past – like the Liberty Bell – helps history come alive!

Upon meeting me, many people say, “I know you from your pictures.” I heard that often on our trip, but in addition I had to laugh when one woman said to me afterwards, “you’re nothing like I pictured you; you’re lots of fun!”

I’m glad she found the afternoon lively. I really do love the mission at St. Joseph’s and am glad that joy comes out.

We flew into Philadelphia with the students gawking out the window at the widespread city below. When I asked them about places they wanted to see and experience, our first goal was to taste a genuine Philly Cheesesteak for lunch. The weather was perfect for walking to stretch after a long flight and explore a colorful South Philly neighborhood. We tried Pat’s King of Steaks and sat at a picnic table outside to enjoy a mouth-watering sandwich that hit the spot.

The Native American boys and their teacher enjoy a genuine Philly Cheesesteak. — It was a beautiful day to enjoy a Philly Cheesesteak!

Downtown, we saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross’s home and Benjamin Franklin’s grave. My favorite was the portrait gallery in the Second Bank of the United States, with iconic paintings of famous Americans we recognized from history books. Actually seeing places and artifacts instead of just reading about them makes history come alive!

Sunday afternoon, we were able to spend some time at Valley Forge and learn of the hardships the Revolutionary patriots endured through some harsh winter months.

I’ve traveled a lot both before and since coming to St. Joseph’s, but I’d never been to Delaware before. The First State was my 48^th, leaving only Hawaii and Alabama that I’ve yet to visit. St. Joseph’s is planning to visit Alabama a year from now. We have no Hawaii travel plans set, but if we ever go there, I’ve already had many people say they’ll volunteer to chaperone!

The Lakota (Sioux) boys learned about the Revolutionary War at Valley Forge. — Sunday, we visited Valley Forge.

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:

Take a Chance!
Be Willing to Do Whatever it Takes!
Never Give Up!
Believe in Yourself!
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 18^th 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.