Native American – Page 26 – St. Joseph's Indian School

So many memories

Though 8^th grade graduation is still a half a year away, we gathered the 25 students who will walk up the aisle in May and took our formal, graduation picture clad in blue and gold robes. This will be a special group for me because I began working at St. Joseph’s when these students were first graders, and have so many memories of them growing up over the years. They hadn’t given to much thought to graduation, but were very excited thinking that it time will pass quickly approaching that celebration.

During supper at the Hogebach Home (high school girls), a couple of the young women shared about their after school jobs. Latoya just began work at the Nursing Home as a dietary aid. She serves meals to the elderly and enjoys the chance to visit and interact with the elders. And she is getting some good training along the way, in case she does decide to go into a health care profession.

Erika is helping in the development office. She phones donors to thank them for special donations, or sometimes makes calls just to wish them a Happy Birthday. Her supervisor says she is doing a great job, and people are particularly pleased to hear from and talk to one of our students here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Get your Christmas cards from St. Joseph’s Indian School today

On my way to the office to work on the weekend homily, I spied the Fisher Home (6^th-8^thgrade) boys hiking towards the Chalk Hills, and I decided to tag along. Their houseparent Nate, decided to take advantage of a gorgeous fall day, 57 degrees and sunny, for some outdoor activity. Their game was called “camouflage” a variation of hide and seek. While Nate turned his back, the students hid themselves in gullies, behind trees and in draws, then tried to work their way back to base. If he could see them, they were out of the game until the next round. While he spotted, I was given the job of “finder.” I couldn’t say anything to Nate about those I saw, but had to walk in the area he directed me to go to. I got my exercise hopping over fallen trees and climbing over hill and dale, but all in good fun. We don’t know when the cold wintry weather will begin, so homes take advantage of these days when we are gifted with them.

Speaking of winter, in the evening our local hospital held their annual fundraiser. Their Christmas extravaganza featured Christmas gift packages and beautifully decorated trees and other items for people to bid on for the holidays. A pianist played lovely Christmas music while we ate. It really won’t be that long before Christmas is here, and we are making our lists and preparing for the holy season ourselves. Christmas cards are available through our website, and we have started a list of needed gift items as well.

Who’s your favorite Saint?

All Saints Day.

Fr. Anthony had morning mass for our school crowd. Since our high school students go to Chamberlain High School, coordinating schedules is difficult at times. To have morning mass for them we’d have to start somewhere around 6:30 am. If you know HS students, that’s not their most alert or best time of the day. Instead, I celebrated mass for them after school when they participated quite well. I try to get them involved in reading and helping serve. They’re more open to do that in a smaller crowd of peers than for the whole school. At times, I also appreciate the opportunity to preach geared more exclusively to their age group’s reality and issues.

There are over 10,000 people who have been canonized as saints. One church in Chicago has an empty alcove amid a pantheon of saints. The point is that some day, if we live our faith to the full, we could be one of those remembered as a great example to others.

Do you have a favorite Saint?

A glimpse of issues

Of our 37 new students attending St. Joseph’s Indian School:

* only 2 live with both parents
* 14 didn’t live with either parent
* 15 had problems with school attendance
* 18 were witnesses to domestic violence
* 22 had family difficulty with drugs or alcohol

The SCJs have an 11:30 prayer time, usually for adoration and mid day prayer before lunch. Our houseparents usually have free time during school hours, but I happened to run into Tony on my way to the chapel to set up.

“You do this every day at this time?”

“We sure try to.”

“How cool!”

I appreciated the support and affirmation, but also realized staff shouldn’t be surprised to know that prayer is the foundation of all the other things we do. For all the administrative skills that I’ve needed to learn, St. Joseph’s Indian School is primarily a ministry. If we’re not in touch with the Lord’s will, in vain do we labor. Each day, I lift up the needs of staff, student, donors, tribal communities, nation and world, hoping all of us can walk the path God sets before us.

Though these kids have struggled, they are now happy to be at St. Joseph's Indian School.

Mary Jane, who oversees Admission, sent us the summary profile of the new students we accepted this year. More students are coming to us from families living off the Indian reservation, in places like Rapid City, South Dakota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota or some of the border communities near Indian reservations. Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but give us a glimpse of issues the students might be dealing with.

Of our 37 new students attending St. Joseph’s Indian School:

only 2 live with both parents
14 didn’t live with either parent
15 had problems with school attendance
18 were witnesses to domestic violence
22 had family difficulty with drugs or alcohol

Tonight was our girls basketball opener against Lyman County, which is the next school district west of Chamberlain. Lots of familiar faces were in the stands, even on the visiting side, since I used to be pastor in Kennebec and Reliance. I always enjoy those occasions as a chance to visit with folks and catch up. Some staff were in the position of cheering for a niece on one side of the court, and their classroom student on the other. St. Joseph’s won two, and Lyman one, as all of our girls got the chance to run the floor and show what they’ve been practicing so hard for.

My 500th post!

I’ve been blogging for almost two years now, and Adria, who helps me with the technical work on my blog, tells me that I just completed my 500^th post!

I started as a way to keep a lot of people posted about my battles and recovery with cancer, but also to let people know about the day-to-day events that make up the St. Joseph’s Indian School experience. I go back to the doctors in a few weeks for my next check up, and am feeling well. And each day that goes by at school, is another day of blessing, with lots of little events that touch my heart and bring a smile to my face.

"And each day that goes by at school is another day of blessing, with lots of little events that touch my heart and bring a smile to my face." — "And each day that goes by at school, is another day of blessing, with lots of little events that touch my heart and bring a smile to my face."

Today was All Souls Day. Fr. Anthony suggested the homes give the students a chance to write down names of their loved ones whose death is close to their hearts. At Sunday mass, the kids placed small scraps of paper, or a whole page of neatly written names into a basket. Today before mass, I read through them, and prayed for all people who grieve and are trying to find the way forward without those they love to walk with them on life’s journey. I’m also reminded that we’re all ultimately on a journey towards our heavenly home, and remembering and praying for those who have died gives us a better perspective on how we should live our lives today.

Chris Grant is a law enforcement officer whose specialty is preventing gang violence in Indian Country. He did a series of student presentations today, and I sat in with the 4^th and 5^th grade boys from Cyr and Perky Homes.

When he asked the boys how many of them knew someone in a gang, all but two hands went up.

Sadly, it is a very real problem even in rural South Dakota Indian reservations. When he asked what gangs do, one of the students said, “Gangs fight for colors”. Just wearing the wrong color can be dangerous in many places.

Officer Grant showed some graphic photos about the kind of harm violence can lead to. He had our boys complete attention the whole time through. We hope and pray our students make the choice not to become involved in gangs!

Preparing for the Lakota Nations Bowl

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

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

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

Think, plan and dream

My day off was exciting and fun!

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

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

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

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

Please pass the “Farmer John” cheese

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are all God’s children

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

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

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

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

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

Very excited and happy

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

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

Otherwise they’re very excited.

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

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

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

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