Tag: Native American

Leading up to Easter at St. Joseph’s

Greetings to you all as we enter into Holy Week leading up to the joy, beauty and majesty of Easter!

Fr. Steve is away attending some meetings in Chicago and giving a retreat to our retired priests and Brothers in Pinellas Park, Florida.  That’s what he said anyway, but I think there might be an effort to get in a spring training baseball game or two as well!  As he will not be back until after Easter, he asked me to pass along what’s been happening here at St. Joseph’s over this past weekend.

The Lakota children saw two science-related presentations before spring break.
The Lakota children took in the Star Lab Thursday before spring break.

The students and staff are on Spring/Easter break at the moment.  They’ll return on Easter Monday.  Our high school students are on a different schedule (since they attend Chamberlain High School) so they are still in session.  Don’t feel sorry for them though – it seems like they are off for something or other every week! They’ll have Good Friday through Easter Monday off.

Just before the students left, we were able to host two special programs that shared insight into the scientific realm as the Lakota Star Lab came on Thursday and on Friday, we learned about tornadoes.

The Star Lab was an effort to get our students looking to and dreaming about the stars and the heavens.  The Weather Enrichment Program dealt with storm chasers.  There was an initial presentation of the impact tornadoes have and how they are formed.  Then a 20-minute 3-D film called Tornado Alley showed how the storms are chased and studied.

That was followed by a Q & A session and then a tour of the Doppler on Wheels vehicle used in the pursuit of the storms.  It weighs 26,000 pounds, stands 14 feet high, 8.5 feet wide and 27 feet long and is able to obtain speeds around 80 miles per hour.  I asked where they did most of their chasing and they stated Kansas and Oklahoma because they are so flat.

It is good they shared info on tornadoes since South Dakota does get some during the summer months. We have had one or two storm chasers in the area around St. Joseph’s over the years.

The break also gave three of our Lakota students the chance to take part in a trip to Washington, DC to visit our nation’s capital and see the sights.  They flew on Saturday and will visit various museums such as the Holocaust Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian. They will have a tour of the capital building on Monday before heading back on Tuesday.  This has been a wonderful opportunity for our Native American students to explore our seat of national government and get to know the places they hear about on the evening news!

The week ahead should be quiet and peaceful here on campus aside from the squawking of all the Canadian geese that are in the area.  It is amazing how many did not go south for the winter but found the Chamberlain area a nice place to stop and visit.

Hope you all have a rewarding and grace-filled Holy Week and a beautiful Easter!

The Lakota children got to see portable weather stations used to measure conditions during tornadoes.
Friday, after the Tornado Alley movie, St. Joseph’s students headed outside to take a look at portable weather stations and the Doppler on Wheels.

Honoring Long Service, Outstanding Employees

We held our Employee Service Awards and recognition banquet last week. I find it such an affirming evening of celebration. Mary Jane, our Alumni Director, reached 40 years of service! Another five staff members reached the 35-year plateau and eight more celebrated 25 years of being part of St. Joseph’s tiyospaye – extended family.

Staff longevity is crucial to offering strong programs for the children at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
Mary Jane, our Alumni Director, reached 40 years of service!

Staff loyalty and longevity are huge reasons our programs for the Lakota children are so strong.

Andy, now part of our rec center staff, started when we still had dormitories – pre-1980! He has seen dramatic transformations in the campus over the years.

While the campus has changed, Andy reflected, the students are much the same, with the same needs to be cared for and loved. We continually strive to find new ways to give the Native American children we serve the structure and direction that will guide them to happiness and success.

Some staff didn’t wait 5 or 10 years to be acknowledged! We also celebrated eight people who were nominated by peers or supervisors for doing those little extras that make everyone’s workday better.  I’m constantly impressed by the passion and commitment that so many people bring to St. Joseph’s Indian School each day.

Andy has seen dramatic changes in his years at St. Joseph’s India School.
Andy started working at St. Joseph’s Indian School when the Lakota children lived in dorms instead of homes.

Reflecting on the Road

In big cities, people face the challenge of being stuck in traffic jams. A 15-mile trip home may turn into a two-hour ordeal. We don’t have that kind of problem in South Dakota, but do have to go long distances between towns. Last week, I had a 4 ½ hour round trip to see my spiritual director.

When the weather is good, the driving itself – with open roads and big sky – is a stress free time for prayer and reflection. Looking back and reviewing the past month, I remembered the people, places and events through which I’ve encountered God. The act of giving thanks regularly like that helps me keep focused and remember what life is about.

Today was a transition from lofty spiritual goals to mundane tasks like laundry, homily preparation and answering mail.

On Saturdays, I usually sort the mail myself. I give thanks for the people who generously support us; I pause a moment to look at the names and lift up a prayer. Today, I also noticed several colleges reaching out to our Native American high school students.

When I was in high school, mailboxes were filled with thick and colorful catalogues to attract attention to a particular school. Times have changed, however, and now I see more postcards that direct our Lakota students to an interactive web site. We at St. Joseph’s are also making efforts to print fewer materials and have more information available online.

However they may receive the information, our students are excited that universities think them potential candidates.  Our high school support staff will guide them through the application process as they begin to dream where the future might take them.

Preparing eighth graders for graduation

We are looking forward to graduation for our eighth grade class in a couple of months. I am proud to say that I have had many of these Lakota students since they were in their younger elementary years at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

St. Joseph’s eighth grade graduates receive a small medicine wheel and feather as a gift.
The Lakota eighth graders craft small medicine wheels, which are a gift to their classmates at graduation.

This time of year, I have the honor of helping them to prepare their class banner, make their medicine wheels (which are used in the graduation ceremony) and prepare them for life after St. Joseph’s.

Each class of Lakota eighth graders creates a banner to commemorate their class.
After graduation, eighth grader banners hang in St. Joseph’s Rec Center.

One of the more enjoyable items I share with them is giving them their eighth grade portfolio.  This portfolio encompasses all of their works from the time they entered my Native American Studies room until they graduate.  It is so fun to hand back papers and watch them look through their past years of learning!  I can hear them sharing their drawings and writings with each other.  The giggles and smiles reinforce the reason I have them create the portfolios.

The students made their personal portfolio out of brown paper bag and yarn.  They are modeled after the par fleche containers Lakota/Dakota/Nakota (Sioux) people used long ago.   The containers from long ago were made of rawhide and sinew.  Today, we make them in a much more inexpensive, modern way.

In the past, the par fleche was decorated with tribal designs specific to one’s tribe and tiyospaye – extended family.  This made it easy to return a lost container to its rightful owner, much like luggage tags today.  The par fleche carries meaning and a lot of knowledge of each St. Joseph’s student.

Lakota Students Give To Others

The Lakota children practice generosity by giving food to the poor.
St. Joseph’s fourth and fifth graders delivered food and toiletries to St. James to share with those in need.

During Catholic Schools Week in January, St. Joseph’s fourth and fifth grade students collected food and toiletries for St. James Catholic Church.  The church has a pantry that is open to the Chamberlain community.  Tubs were placed around campus to collect a variety of useful items.  Many students also brought items they picked up.

At the end of the week, all fourth and fifth graders went to St. James to deliver the goods in person.  We collected four tubs of toiletries and food items!

We got to see the pantry and Fr. Guy explained to the students how it works.  Fr. Guy was very grateful for the donation.  St. Joseph’s students were excited about the project and hope to do it again sometime.

Statistics tell us we feel happier or better about ourselves when we are able to give to others.  I feel projects like these give our Native American students the opportunities to get such a feeling.  Many were excited to go with their houseparents or counselors to pick out items to put in the tubs.

Fr. Guy’s excitement about our gifts made it even better!

I hope each of you who are benefactors feel the same joy in giving to the Lakota (Sioux) children.  Like Fr. Guy, we are very thankful and I hope you get a sense of how excited we are by your generosity.  In this season that expresses the kindest and biggest gift of all, Christ’s sacrifice, may we all be motivated to give of ourselves for others.

A visit from Fr. Bob, fellow SCJ

Sunday
Fr. Bob, a member of our Priests of the Sacred Heart religious order, arrived at St. Joseph’s Indian School from Chicago yesterday. Seven inches of heavy wet snow fell on campus Saturday, and Fr. Bob couldn’t make it up the hill to our house! We had to park the car down below and carry suitcases up the hill. One of the houseparents came into morning mass and joked, “Did you pray for this?”
Actually, I have been praying for the moisture we badly need. So many people who work the land have been suffering from drought. Once I heard a native South Dakotan remark that, in other areas, weather forecasters talk of the threat of snow or rain, but here in South Dakota we talk about the promise of snow and rain. We are glad to receive whatever comes! Today the sun came out, the roads started melting, and it was much easier to get around.
After mass, we joined the Afra Home (1st – 3rd grade girls) for weekend brunch to give Fr. Bob a sense of how our Native American students live. Third grader Mariah was a good tour guide as she showed off the home and told Fr. Bob about student activities.
The William Home (4th-5th grade girls) is nearby. Since both homes had many students checked out to go home for the weekend, the two homes joined one another for the meal. Some of the William Home girls started out in Afra, and always enjoy coming back to check in with their former houseparents. The two homes try to do occasional activities together, especially so sisters and cousins can spend quality time together. The older girls enjoy spending time with the younger ones. The tables were filled with conversation and laughter.
Monday
Sunday evening and Monday, the SCJs gathered for our Lenten Recollection time. We were joined by the priests who work on nearby Indian Reservations – Lower Brule and Crow Creek – and here locally in Chamberlain. Fr. Bob’s reflections centered around the Earth, our relationship with creation, and our call to be God’s stewards. Life at St. Joseph’s features constant activity, but Bob’s presence reminded us that we all need to slow down and try to listen for God’s direction and guidance.
After we finished, I went downtown to check on the opening of our new Thrift Store. Chantelle, our manager, said that curious folks had stopped in all day. Some just wanted to see how the former grocery store had been transformed, but once inside, they decided to pick up a few clothes or knick-knacks.
Lena, one of our sophomores was tending the cash register and getting on-the-job experience dealing with the public and earning some spending money. The new store has room to set up nicer displays; the objects near the entry caught people’s eye and needed to be rearranged at first, and restocked by the end of the day.

Sharing enthusiasm, spirit

Most managers and supervisors tell you that 10% of their staff causes 90% of their grief. Today, our management team had the opposite problem – choosing some of the best staff members nominated by their peers for our annual employee recognition awards!

We have lots of committed, enthusiastic people at St. Joseph’s who do their job well day in and day out, and make such a difference. Good staff promote the mission, fulfill the vision and inspire others with their attitude. We selected eight people from different areas of campus who will be acknowledged this year for their extra efforts and positive, can-do approach to work. They’ll be honored at a banquet later in the month.

I stopped by the Rec center after school where the fourth and fifth grade cheerleaders were enjoying an end-of-the-season pizza party. Our Native American girls have so much spirit, pep and energy! They were having fun with a few cheers even though they were the only ones around to hear.
In the evening, many of us went to another pep rally – this one at the high school to send off the Chamberlain High School girls’ basketball team, who finished 21-1 and will advance to the state tournament this weekend.

We don’t have any current St. Joseph students on the team, but several staff have daughters on the team, and we always want to cheer the efforts of the young people of our community.

The Reality of Poverty

I wasn’t on campus for Sunday mass, but covered masses in town this past weekend at St. James parish in downtown Chamberlain. I enjoy preaching to people from all ages and walks of life. While I’ve been faithful to the duties of school administration, there are times that I miss the more spiritual focus that I had as a parish priest and directing seminarians in formation. Leading the community in prayer was a nice way to reconnect.

The Associated Press ran an article about poverty among Native American tribal members in South Dakota. With 65,000 Native Americans in the state, 48% live in poverty.

And it’s not just confined to Indian Reservations.

In Rapid City, our state’s second most populous city, 50.9 % of Lakota people live below the poverty line.

It’s a long uphill climb to combat those kinds of numbers, but we hope the education we provide the Lakota children at St. Joseph’s helps give them a solid foundation to fulfill their potential and rise above poverty.

…

I traveled 360 miles to Eagle Butte and back for the Sacred Heart Center’s Board of Directors meeting. We approved budgets and personnel plans for the coming year. One potential project with a lot of promise is a joint effort with Habitat for Humanity.

The shelter for victims of domestic violence is often filled to capacity, and families who need to make major changes in their lives aren’t usually able to do so immediately. Transitions take time, and there is great need for transitional housing where a family can be safe and rebuild their shattered lives. The Sacred Heart Center is in discussions with Habitat to help create some housing for that purpose.

Lynette, the cook, treated us to fresh, warm fry bread and corn & bean soup for a traditional lunch – delicious! In her work with youth who have been victimized by violence, she noted that it is usually easier for them to forgive the ones who hurt them than it is to forgive themselves… Violence is a difficult cycle to break, but that is at the heart of the Center’s mission.

Lanae, the new outreach coordinator for Sacred Heart Center remembered singing in the children’s guitar choir when I first served in Eagle Butte as a young seminarian. I enjoyed the reunion with her as an adult now, and the chance to catch up on where she’s been. One of her first fun projects was to have the youth in the shelter make Valentine cards for the elders. They brightened the elders’ day by making the rounds delivering the handcrafted greetings.

In town, I ran into Catherine, another youngster I remembered from parish CCD classes. She is now a Registered Nurse in charge of opening the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s new nursing home. She gave me a tour of the facility, which includes both a chapel and circular room for Lakota ceremony.

Currently, the elderly who need assisted living or nursing care must move off the reservation – at least 90 miles to Pierre or Mobridge, the nearest communities large enough to offer these services. The state of South Dakota had a moratorium on nursing homes, and the tribe had to apply for a special exemption. The building went up several years ago, but it took longer to get funding set up for ongoing operations. When it opens in April, it will provide needed jobs in the community and allow families to have much easier access to their respected elders who want to be close to home.

Today was an office day, catching up on phone calls and e-mails. As in any institution, some days there are stressful issues with staff or students. I bumped into one of our staff going home after a trying day. I asked if it was hard to leave the tough stuff at work. She told me of her ritual to help make the transition: she gets in her car, brushes her arms off in a symbolic gesture, cranks the radio up loud with her favorite song and sings at the top of her lungs on the way down the driveway.

I smiled, seeing the wisdom in physically giving yourself a break from what, at times, can be a stressful and demanding job. Staff who pay attention to their own needs, and get breaks and proper rest and diversion, are the ones who stay happiest and healthiest in the long run.

Learning Skills for a Lifetime

Our Lakota (Sioux) eighth graders are learning to cook in their Personal Living Skills (PLS) class. Pam, our PLS teacher came by the office and dropped off their most recent effort, a pepperoni Stromboli. The crust was perfectly flaky and it proved to be a tasty and delightful midday snack!

The Native American children at St. Joseph’s Indian School learn life skills like cooking.
The Lakota students are learning to cook in their Personal Living Skills class.

Later I stopped by the classroom and saw they are also working on a money management project. Finance workbooks have been developed through one of the local banks in Chamberlain, and are a great resource for our Native American students.

While it’s all pretend money at this point, they have to keep track of bills and payments like car and phone, log income and keep track of taxes. Money management is one of the lifelong skills we try to make sure they get a good handle on as early as possible.

A grandparent called me today to discuss some bullying issues with other students. We do have fights and bullying pop up on campus, and we take all incidences seriously. We want to stop the smaller shoving and name-calling before it develops into something much worse. Respect is such an important Lakota virtue and we hope our students learn to appreciate each other and work together. Whenever there is a problem, we want to use it as a learning experience, and get at the deeper issues that are bothering a child.

High on Life!

Fr. Steve helped the Lakota students at the prize table during St. Joseph’s Sobriety Carnival.
Fr. Steve helps a student pick out her prizes during the carnival.

On February 8, the Substance Abuse Prevention Committee (SAPC) sponsored a Valentine’s Carnival and Dance for the Lakota students at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

The carnival included lots of fun games like bowling, horseshoes, musical squares and many more for the students in grades 1-5. The kids earned prizes by playing games. Everyone had fun, including the staff and older students who volunteered their time to help run the games and prize tables.

The Native American children played all kinds of games at St. Joseph’s annual Sobriety Carnival!
Sam aims for the can while playing the bozo game during the carnival.

Later in the evening, our older Native American students (grades 6-12) got to show off their cool moves during a dance. Chris, a senior at St. Joseph’s, was the DJ. He did a great job and was able to get most of our students out on the dance floor – not an easy task!

A Sobriety Poster Contest was also held in which our high school students were the judges. Ambrose Home (1st–3rd grade boys) took first place, second place went to William Home (4th-5th grade girls) and Speyer Home (6th-8th grade boys) won third place.

Ambrose Home took first place in the Sobriety Poster Contest with their ‘We will walk through life drug-free’ poster.Besides helping beat the winter blues, the Valentine’s Carnival and Dance shows our kids how to have fun without using drugs and alcohol.

The poster contest for the Sobriety Carnival offered inspiring messages for living drug free.
Ambrose Home took first place in the Sobriety Poster Contest with their ‘We will walk through life drug-free’ poster.

We are teaching them to get high on life and to find pleasure in the simple things!