Native American – Page 9 – St. Joseph's Indian School

Eighth Grade Graduation at St. Joseph’s Indian School

On Friday, May 22 2015, 19 proud Lakota students graduated from eighth grade at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Major Gifts Officer Brian gave an inspiring address to

Brian, St. Joseph's Major Gifts Officer — Brian, St. Joseph’s Major Gifts Officer

students, families and staff.

Parents – thank you for being here. Your presence and support is crucial and I know you must be very proud of your child as they are proud of you. We appreciate all the family members in attendance and the ones who were not able to make it. I commend and applaud you.

Distinguished guests, graduates, parents, family members and friends, St. Joseph’s staff. Welcome to a special moment, for some special kids at a special place: St. Joseph Indian School. Words fall short when describing this wonderful organization. From the outstanding leadership of Mike Tyrell and administration to our Child Services Team, Development Office, Facilities, Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center and Rec Center staff, and our 60 nurturing houseparents, it is definitely a collaborative effort. St. Joseph’s staff are the most professional, hardworking people I have ever had the privilege to work with. Each day they bring passion, commitment, dedication and – most importantly – unconditional love for your children. Staff, I commend and applaud you.

Sitting Bull was a man well ahead of his times when he most eloquently stated, “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” So here we gather – together. Unified for the same purpose: these 19 young men and young ladies.

At this time I would like to take a moment and briefly talk about three ships and one destiny. I can assure you I am not talking about the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. The ships are named Citizenship, Mentorship and Leadership.

Let’s take the first, Citizenship. Students, you may not know this, but you were born into dual citizenship. Citizens of the United States and citizens of your respective sovereign tribes. This puts you in a very select and unique class. Very few Americans have dual citizenship. This is a privilege. However, with twice the privileges come twice the responsibilities. In both your Native and non-native communities you must stay informed, respect other’s rights, vote and volunteer. Be an active citizen.

Now for our second ship. Mentorship.

Whether you realize it or not, you are a mentor. Your siblings, peers and other young children are always watching you. Make the right choices, do the right thing. Set the standard high for others to follow. Always do your best in whatever you do; set goals and seek challenges; become a role model for those coming behind you; and always have God in your heart.

James Baldwin made a very true statement for all of us to learn from. He said “children have never been good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

We all have the duty of mentorship.

Now, for our lead ship. Of course that would be leadership.

Leadership has many faces, many definitions and various styles. From my perspective, a leader needs to be a visionary who is passionate for his people and their dreams. The leader is the navigator, converting dreams into goals and goals into success.

Most importantly, be a servant leader. Serve the Creator with complete obedience to His will – not yours. Be a leader who is committed to promoting tribal interests over personal gain. Always represent traits becoming of Native Americans – strong, resilient and determined. Proud, yet humble. Never forget the sacrifices of your ancestors. The privileges you enjoy today began with the sacrifices of previous generations.

As we commemorate this next generation of Native Americans, let us not boast of yesterday’s success, less we stumble in securing tomorrow’s dreams and blessings.

Today, we celebrate the accomplishments of 19 of St. Joseph’s best and brightest. A new generation, full of hope and poised to take on the challenges facing Indian Country. Future leaders who will personify integrity, ethics and self-determination. Class of 2015, you must be resilient and strong. You must have courage and lead. Most importantly, you must stand united and never forget, Generosity is the Heart of Native America.

The leader of my tribe, the Honorable Governor Bill Anoatubby conveys a powerful message – “A rising tide raises all ships.” This, I believe, is true. Unfortunately for many in Indian Country, they have weathered the storms but high tide has yet to roll in. However, as each raindrop contributes to the depths of the oceans, each one of us has the ability to help raise that tide and roll it in.

One drop at a time.

One day at a time.

One child at a time.

There is an old Indian proverb that states, “The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.”

We as Native Americans have shed more than our share of tears. The time has come – I said the time has come for our tide to roll in and we receive our rainbow. The future is bright. Our children are ready. St. Joseph’s is a blessing. And God is with us!

Let us remember that a rainbow symbolizes a covenant. A promise. God’s promise. Today, we receive 19 of God’s promises. 19 young rainbows. A pot of gold may not be waiting. However, something more valuable, more important awaits. Hope, opportunity, love and the ability to connect with God’s destiny for your life. Creator has a special plan for each of you. He has supplied you with all the tools. It is up to you to navigate your journey. Listen, pray and depend on The Great Spirit. The road will not be completely red or white or yellow or purple or any other color. You will find the road is in itself a rainbow. This path will take you to the highest mountains and other times sink you below sea level, but you will prevail. Trust, have faith, love family, never give up and believe! Believe in yourself as everyone in this chapel believes in you!

As you walk out those doors, remember your duties as a citizen. Remember your duties as a mentor. Remember your calling as a Native American leader! Be proud of who you are and always proud of where you come from. You are our future!

Today, you are St. Joseph’s Braves. Tomorrow you become warriors! Some of the greatest leaders in our history were Dakota and Lakota. Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Black Elk, American Horse. The list goes on and on. You cannot fail! You will not fail! It is in your genes! It is in your spirit! It is in your heart! It is in your blood! Stand up and be proud! YOU ARE NAKOTA! YOU ARE DAKOTA! YOU ARE LAKOTA! You will succeed!!!

Perhaps one of you will follow in the footsteps of Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull or Red Cloud and be the next great leader of your people. Crazy Horse has always been – and

19 Lakota students graduated from eighth grade at St. Joseph’s Indian School on May 22, 2015. — Congratulations to St. Joseph’s eighth grade Class of 2015!

always be – my hero.

Now it is your turn to be someone’s hero!

Students, look behind you. Go ahead look behind you.

You have already become our heroes!!

Congratulations class of 2015! Well Done!

Trips, Graduation & the last week of school for the Lakota students

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph's Chaplain — Fr. Anthony, St. Joseph’s Chaplain

Let me blow on my fingers first so I can type the blog today… brrr! It has been damp, cold and windy in Chamberlain. Despite the unseasonable weather, everyone seems up-beat since this is the last week of the school year.

While St. Joseph’s students in grades 1-8 have a week to go, our high school students have begun summer break. Last week, Chamberlain High School (where our students attend), held their athletic awards banquet. Eleven St. Joseph’s students won varsity letters!

Irene was Rookie of the Year for the girls’ golf team
Danny was the Most Dedicated in boys’ golf
Jacob was the Most Inspirational in track
Adrian was honored as being Captain, MVP and winner of the Hustler award in boys’ basketball.

The last day of school was Friday. Sunday brought the graduation of the Chamberlain High School Class of 2015 with six St. Joseph’s students among the proud graduates. The armory was jammed with family and friends to wish the class well as they stepped into their futures. Congratulations!

Meanwhile, the Explorers group traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to take in some baseball. They attended a Friday night game, spent the night and attended an afternoon game the next day before heading home. It seems the Twins need them as good luck charms – the team won both games the boys attended but lost when the Explorers went home, dropping the Sunday game 11-3.

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When students are back, they’ll put together presentations on their cultural trip. — Students camp throughout the seventh grade cultural trip, visiting places like Wind Cave, Bear Butte and Fort Laramie.

Today, St. Joseph’s students are having Field Day activities. Grades 4-6 did their events in the morning and grades 1-3 are doing theirs in the afternoon. When they are not participating in field activities, they will be at the local theater for a movie. All this is sandwiched around a picnic lunch at American Creek Park for everyone. Pray that the rain holds off!

This evening St. Joseph’s seventh graders will return from their annual cultural trip, which took them out to the Badlands, the Wounded Knee Massacre site and Wind Cave. They hiked Bear Butte and then visited the Crazy Horse monument being carved into a mountain in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

From there, it was on to Fort Laramie in Wyoming where a treaty was signed in 1868 between the United States and various bands of Lakota people along with Yanktonai Dakota and Arapaho Nation which guaranteed Lakota ownership of the Black Hills. The discovery of gold led to incursions by miners and defense of their lands by the Native Americans which led to war and the seizing of the Black Hills by the government in 1877.

Next on the list were Greasy Grass, the Native American name for the Little Big Horn battle between the Native Americans and Custer’s 7^th Calvary and Mato Tipila, more commonly known as Devil’s Tower and finally the Vore Buffalo Jump. Tomorrow, when students are back, they’ll put together presentations on what the journey meant to them which they’ll present them to the students and staff on Thursday morning.

This week will end with our eighth grade graduation. We ask you to keep our graduates in your prayers, that they may use the knowledge and skills they have developed here at St. Joseph’s to have a positive impact in the lives of those they’ll cross paths with in the future.

Have a great week! I hope everyone have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable Memorial Day next Monday as we honor and remember those who gave their tomorrows that we might have freedom today.

God bless,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Six St. Joseph’s seniors graduated with the Chamberlain High School Class of 2015. — Congratulations class of 2015!

St. Joseph’s students: Impacting the community

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Our Lakota students have been busy lately, working hard to make their communities better places!

This past weekend, Chamberlain High School hosted its annual powwow. The Native American Club – including many of St. Joseph’s high school students – worked behind the scenes to get things ready. Lots of St. Joseph’s staff and younger students also contributed their time and effort to set up, take part in the dancing and drum groups, help out with the food, judging and just be present to participate in this aspect of their culture and heritage. One of our seventh grade students, Iyung, was crowned Junior Miss Chamberlain High School. The powwow was held at the Chamberlain Community Center.

Also on Saturday, the Explorers group held a car wash to raise funds to help cover the cost of improvements to the community swimming pool. The boys washed and vacuumed 105 cars in only six hours!

St. Joseph’s boys are members of Explorers and participate in a variety of helpful projects in the community. — The Explorers washed and vacuumed 105 cars to raise money for the community pool.

The high school boys in the Sheehy Home helped out with a community-wide clean up recently. They worked around town wherever they were needed. They did such a good job, Chamberlain’s City Engineer made a point of letting the school know how impressed he and others were with the boys’ hard work.

We are honored to have our students represent our school recognized in such diverse ways and be recognized for their hard work. It reflects how our students share in the value of helping others since they are helped by the commitment of St. Joseph’s many donors.

Another example of how your generosity bears fruit is seen in the good news from Mary Jane, our Director of Alumni. She sent out word that five St. Joseph’s alumni would be graduating from college between now and August:

LaSheena will graduate from United Tribes in Bismarck, ND with a two year degree in Business Management;
Janice will graduate from National American University in Rapid City, SD with her AA Paralegal degree and plans on attending law school;
Charity and Daisy will both graduate from Sinte Gleska University at Lower Brule, SD with AA Early Childhood degrees and plan on working toward teaching certification;
Steve will graduate from Sinte Gleska University in Mission, SD with his BA in counseling with an emphasis on Drug and Alcohol Counseling.

Six other Native American students are being helped through St. Joseph’s scholarship program:

Faith from Lower Brule, South Dakota, will be graduating from Duke University with her Masters of Arts/Public Safety;
Christopher from Springfield, South Dakota, is graduating from the University of Minnesota-Morris with a BA in Business Management;
Sandy from Lower Brule, South Dakota, is graduating with her AA in Business Management from Sinte Gleska University in Lower Brule;
Kebra from Omaha, Nebraska, is also graduating from the University of Minnesota-Morris with her BA in Psychology;
Tamara from Alliance, Nebraska, is graduating from Oglala Lakota College with a nursing degree.

Thanks to your support, prayers and encouragement these 11 graduates will use their newly acquired skills to help others! Read more about St. Joseph’s alumni at www.stjo.org/success.

I hope you have great week!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Lakota students celebrate 20th Annual Sobriety Walk

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

It has been an interesting and eventful week at St. Joseph’s. Weather is getting warmer, but we do need rain. We did our 20^th Annual Sobriety Walk this past Friday. The students gathered in front of the rec center and then headed out for their walk into the community. There was a small group of students that had enough energy to run the distance.

Everyone has supper together in the dining hall and then the older grades attended the presentation on avoiding alcohol and drugs. Everyone had a great time!

St. Joseph’s holds three sobriety celebrations each year. — St. Joseph’s Sobriety Walk was held last Friday.

On Monday, the eighth graders shadowed our high school students at Chamberlain High School to get a feel of what school is going to be like for them next year. They follow our current students around to learn the layout of the high school and meet some of the teachers and staff.

Last Monday evening, members of Dave’s Government class attended the local Chamberlain City Commissioners meeting. It was a good opportunity to see local government in action and ask questions about what motivates the commissioners to serve.

Some of the students’ questions included:

What are some of the key issues the city is facing now and in the future?
What are the requirements for running for a seat on the city council?
Has there ever been a woman commissioner?
Can a Native American or other minority run?

They learned that there has been a female commissioner in the past and anyone can run for a seat as long as they live within the city limits, are at least 18 years old and do not have a felony on their record.

St. Joseph’s students and staff just completed a month-long food drive. The food was gathered up today and taken to the local women’s shelter. St. Joseph’s students had the opportunity to make a donation with their home, or to make a purchase on their own for the food drive.

The Lakota (Sioux) children are so grateful to be able to help others and give back to the community! It is an important way for the students to show their appreciation for your generosity to each of them, and to recognize the need to help others.

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In high school sports, junior Adrian was selected to the Big Dakota All

Adrian, a St. Joseph’s junior, has earned top basketball honors. — Adrian earned a spot on the Big Dakota All Conference basketball team as well as the SESD All Conference team.

Conference basketball team as well as the SESD All Conference team. We look forward to a great year next year and a possible trip to cheer him and the Cubs on at the State Boys Basketball Tournament!

Sophomore Danny recently won the Lakota National Invitation (LNI) golf tournament!

Sophomore Danny recently went to Pierre, South Dakota last week to participate in the Lakota National Invitation (LNI) golf tournament with 20-30 other golfers. We are happy to announce that he won! Chris, one of our staff and the Chamberlain High School golf coach, shared that Danny had a tough putt on his last shot, but sank it with no trouble.

Congratulations Adrian and Danny!

Have a great week. Be assured of our prayers for your generosity which enables the Lakota boys and girls to take part in all these activities. Also, please join us in keeping the people of Nepal in prayer as they recover from the recent earthquake.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Home Trips & Playing Outside at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Greetings from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Weekends are getting quiet around here as it seems more students are away lately than on campus. When the school year is winding down, our homes take the opportunity to visit various South Dakota attractions. They search out a hotel in Sioux Falls or Rapid City with an indoor pool or head for a shopping mall. This is part of each home’s annual budget to take a “family trip.”

This past Sunday we held another Lakota Mass on campus. Our drum group was present to provide music. We were honored to have several dancers take part and various parts of the Mass were recited in Lakota.

The big excitement this week is the circus! The Shrine Circus was in Chamberlain on Monday and Tuesday with four performances. The younger students (first through third grades) attended the performance on Monday afternoon and really enjoyed themselves. They loved seeing elephants and tigers, they were amazed by the skill of the acrobats and giggled at the clowns. Everyone had a wonderful time!

The Lakota children are excited to spend more time outside now that spring has arrived at St. Joseph’s. — Spring means home trips and playing outside at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Medical students from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion visited St. Joseph’s campus and talked with our nurses. Several of them also made a presentation to our seventh and eighth graders encouraging them to give the medical field some consideration for their future plans.

The college students shared their backgrounds and gave St. Joseph’s students tips on preparing now for the future. As they answered questions from the students, they played a medical version of Jeopardy where students could pick a question from six categories covered in their presentation.

Tomorrow, everyone will participate in our Spring Sobriety Walk. There will be a presentation to for all our students, elementary through high school, on why it is important to stay strong and avoid drugs and alcohol. Staff and students will do a walk around town and then enjoy a meal together. Watch our Facebook page for photos!

Our high school students have an early dismissal on Friday and St. Joseph’s will be hosting a job fair for them sharing what job possibilities will exist this summer, both on campus and off. Several students will be on campus for drivers’ education and other programs. Some simply want to make some extra money for the next school year. Pilamaya – thank you – for making it possible for our Lakota (Sioux) students to take advantage of these opportunities!

The Chamberlain High School Native American Club is preparing for their annual powwow on May 2. Eight of St. Joseph’s high school students are involved, as well as other students. Please keep them in your prayers as they plan and execute the event, asking for help with concessions, cleaning and food, along with general supervision and guidance.

I hope you had a great week and that all continues to go well for you and yours!

God bless,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

An amazing, busy week at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Last week was amazing. The weather was great — no snow and lots of sunshine. It was a busy week for the Lakota (Sioux) students!

We have recently been talking about grades for our elementary students and their induction into the National Honors Society. Now I can report on the high school program! The home with the lowest number of missing assignments for last quarter was the Giles Home (junior boys, plus one sophomore). The home GPA trophy went to Hogebach Home (sophomore, junior and senior girls) with an average of 3.32. Our five high school homes combined to earn 93 A’s and 18 students earned a GPA of 3.0 or better. Way to go!!

This past Saturday saw the local community take part in the annual Polar Plunge with 28 participants. Seven of our staff signed up to be St. Joseph’s TURTLE POWER team. The event raised a little over $15,000.00 which will benefit the Special Olympics in South Dakota. St. Joseph’s Turtle Power team contributed $2,100 along with the $200.00 from the Penny War held at St. Joseph’s to give our students a way to participate. Three other staff members and myself ‘volunteered’ to have our pictures put on jars that students and staff could drop pennies in. Next week, the ‘loser’ will be announced and receive a Whip Cream pie in the face in front of the whole student body. Those who donated were also able to enter a contest to see who gets to ‘throw’ the pie.

St. Joseph’s staff members teamed up to raise money for South Dakota Special Olympics. — St. Joseph’s TURTLE POWER team raised $2,100 for the Special Olympics of South Dakota.

Recently the Knights of Columbus held their annual free throw contest and the Chamberlain-Oacoma Area Chamber of Commerce piggy-backed on that to hold their Hot Shot competition for 9-14 year olds. St. Joseph’s students racked up several wins, along with the children of staff members. Congratulations everyone!

Campus was bust last Saturday as we hosted our annual 8^th grade boys’ basketball

St. Joseph’s hosted a basketball tournament for 8th grade boys’ teams last weekend. — Miller, Pierre Indian Learning Center (PILC) and Chamberlain were invited to take part in St. Joseph’s 8th grade boys’ basketball tournament last weekend.

tournament. Miller, Pierre Indian Learning Center (PILC) and Chamberlain were invited to take part. St. Joseph’s beat Chamberlain 54-29 in the first game and Miller beat PILC 48-28 in the second. Chamberlain and PILC then played for 3^rd and PILC won 34-31. In the championship game, St. Joseph’s fell behind early and could never quite catch up, losing to Miller 57-51. We congratulate all those who took part and thank them for some exciting games!

I hope each of you has a relaxing and enjoyable week ahead. Know that we keep you in our prayers in gratitude for your support and encouragement of the programs we offer our Native American students and their families here at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

P.S. The local paper had a recent article that named Adrian, one of St. Joseph’s high school students, as the Chamberlain High School Athlete of the Week. This is the same young man who earned the attention of an opposing coach, who then called up the local high school to commend Adrian for his sportsmanship. Congratulations and good job to Adrian!

Lakota Hand Games – a Victory at LNI

LaRayne imaciyapi ksto – hi, my name is LaRayne. I get to live out my passion of sharing Lakota culture in the classroom at St. Joseph’s

LaRayne is St. Joseph's Native American Studies teacher. — LaRayne, St. Joseph’s Native American Studies teacher

Indian School by teaching Native American Studies.

Recently, I was able to take 11 students from grades 2-8 to a gathering of our nations at the Lakota Nation Invitational Conference in Rapid City, South Dakota with my co-teacher, Allen, for a statewide Lakota hand games competition.

You might remember reading about LNI and St. Joseph’s Knowledge Bowl Team.

You are probably wondering what “hand games” are. I am told there are more than 50 different ways to play, but we played “Lakota” style for this tournament.

Two teams of up to 10 players sit directly across from each other. Each team has four wood pieces (called bones) to hide behind their back. One of the “bones” is marked with a line and is called the male. Each team also has eight sticks, which are used to keep score.

Lakota hand games teams have up to 10 players each. — Two teams of up to 10 players sit directly across from each other with four wood pieces (called bones) to hide behind their back.

Each team has a turn to have one of their players guess which hand the male bone is in. If they guess correctly, they take the bone from the other team. If they guess incorrectly, the guessing team gives up a stick.

The team hiding the bones uses movement, drumming and singing to distract the guesser on the opposing team and break his or her concentration. The first team to acquire ALL of the sticks is the winner. There are lots of detailed rules in addition to this, but I will keep it simple here.

There were 20 teams in the competition, and we played six games (the last three via the loser’s bracket) through the day to come out CHAMPIONS!

But wait, that isn’t the end!

We also were asked to be a part of the grand entry during the evening session of the basketball tournament that is held at the same time! We pinched ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming! After lunch, we stood on the gym floor in front of many of our oyate (nation) and listened to many honorings, speeches and names of student attendees.

Among the honored guests was Shoni Schimmel, the most popular WNBA player (according jersey purchases). The kids thought it was really neat to see her in person.

But wait!

While searching for some cotton candy, Aurelia and I stumbled upon the opportunity to have our picture taken with Shoni Schimmel! We gathered our team and set out to have our photo taken with the WNBA star!

And just because that wasn’t enough, the kids were presented with new coats designed for the winning team and 15 seconds of fame by being announced on television during the halftime awards ceremonies.

Needless to say, our students are more interested in hand games than ever!

Pilamaya – thank you,

LaRayne

St. Joseph’s hand games team took first place at LNI – congratulations everyone! — With their first place hand games victory, St. Joseph’s team got specially designed jackets, a plaque and were announced at half time.

Getting up one more time than you fall down

Hello! My name is Patrick and I’m the Academic Advisor at the High School Learning Center at St. Joseph’s Indian School. Recently I had the privilege of coaching four super students – Angela, Lily, R.J. and Trevor – while they competed in the Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) Knowledge Bowl with 14 other high school teams from around the state of South Dakota.

Our team was awesome and can be really proud of themselves and their commitment to preparing for the competition. Simply participating was a tremendous learning experience for all.

First, let me explain the format: Two teams face side by side with the moderator on the right and judges table on the left. The moderator asks a toss-up question from general educational topics such as science, language arts, mathematics, social studies, Native American history and current events. The toss-up questions appear on the large screen in front of the room while the moderator reads them. The competitors have just 5 seconds to buzz in with the answer. If the answer is correct, that team earns two points with a chance to earn one more point by answering a bonus question. If the team misses the toss-up question then the other team has an opportunity to answer. There are two halves, consisting of ten minutes each.

St. Joseph’s team took 5th place out of 14 teams at the LNI Knowledge Bowl. — Trevor, RJ, Lily and Angela with Patrick, coach and Anita, chaperone.

The winning team goes to the next round until an eventual champ is crowned. Easy right….Nope….Ever watch Jeopardy? It is pretty easy watching from the safety of your home. No one can see you worry, sweat and doubt yourself trying to remember what you know, hoping not to let down your team all in those excruciating 5 seconds! Nerve wracking…and that is from the coach’s perspective!

With the adrenaline pumping in anticipation of the first match with Cheyenne River, the game began. Within the first 2 minutes we were down 5-0. Ouch! Once the shock and intensity of kickoff was over we got down to business. We were tied 8-8 at half time briefly surged head to 13-10. We had a chance with a few current event and Native American questions, but couldn’t buzz in quick enough and lost 13-17.

Now off to the loser bracket, which means you get to compete as long you win. Our next opponent was Crow Creek — this was a team our students really wanted to win against, since three of our team members are from that area. Now with the first game jitters out of the way, we rolled to a commanding 17-5 victory over Crow Creek.

Phew – we are still in the hunt! The next match would be in two hours against a formidable team.

And what a match that one was! Everyone contributed to the victory. We missed a number of questions to begin with, but answer by answer we roared back from an 8-3 deficit. With everyone answering crucial questions, we won 16-11.

The students were now believing in themselves and beginning to wonder who we would have to beat in order to win the Knowledge Bowl.

Our mantra became “One match at a time.”

The competition was getting more intense. The winner of our last match of the day would advance to the championship rounds. We fell behind early, but by halftime took a two point lead. Each team member contributed in the comeback for a 17-16 victory!

Resiliency! It was great to see their confidence growing.

Day two really tested our mettle. We lost… but we won.

We lost on a technicality. They won on a technicality… we lost. Bummer. Angela, one of our two seniors, gave the answer “inverse,” but the answer they were looking for was “inverse property.” She felt the answer was adequate since “property” was stated in the question. No worries, still 39 seconds remaining. The opposing team tied! Then they answered the bonus question…bell rang…match over… we lost 13-14. Yuck!

Angela was dumbstruck. “Can’t you do anything? You are the coach.” Sadly, I said to her, the captain is the only one who can challenge a question.

“I didn’t know that!”

“Bummer, yeah… but let’s go talk to the judges,” I said. We went over and she pleaded her case with courage and respect. They all agreed with her argument, including the moderator.

“But you didn’t challenge. We’re sorry.”

One of the judges patted her on her back and said “You were right…I am proud of you!”

We were in shock and denial. Then we began commiserating, going over where the areas that made a difference in the final outcome. To watch the students process the experience was remarkable—they had the disappointment, they recovered, they planned for next time.

They learned a valuable life lesson about getting up one more time than you fall down.

We ended on a high note with R.J. placing first on the government exam over all students competing! Our team finished 6^th out of 14 for individual exams.

They earned 5^th place out of 14 teams, and that’s a lot to be proud of. This will be a sweet memory and gave us a taste of victory. There is something magical about overcoming all odds and doing well. Winning is a potent elixir. We were so close!

We say good bye to our two seniors, Angela and R.J., and are excited to have two strong core members of the team returning for next season’s 39^th LNI.

Congratulations everyone and good luck next year!

Patrick, Academic Advisor

A Christmas Celebration for the Lakota Children

Dear Friends of St. Joseph’s,

What a week last week was! The Lakota students were scheduled to come back from Christmas break a week ago, but many were not able to return right away due to the weather – cold temperatures, wind, snow and ice. The entire week stayed cold and windy with wind chill factors below zero. Most of the students and staff remained inside, but a few brave souls took advantage of the snow and got in some good sledding.
We had many students come down with the flu after they returned from break. They spent most of the week in our nurses’ care in the health center on campus. Nurse Nancy and Nurse Ronda showed tender concern and helped get the students back on their feet. The prospect of missing out on opening Christmas gifts on Sunday helped everyone to cooperate and listen to the nurses’ instructions for a speedy recovery!
On the sports front, the boys’ basketball season is underway and they will play their first game tomorrow. The older girls signed up for the Inter-city girls’ league, which is played on Sunday

Our Christmas celebration began with mass and the Christmas story. — The students reenacted the Christmas story during mass.

afternoons with girls from the Chamberlain community.
St. Joseph’s bowling league got started Saturday. We have eight teams made up of students in grades 7-12. Everyone was a little rusty to start and we saw quite a few gutter balls. In the second game, however, students began to hit their spots.
Finally, Sunday – the day of our Christmas party – arrived! We always wait until the students return from break to celebrate Christmas in their St. Joseph’s homes. As part of Mass, some of our fourth grade students acted out the Christmas story. As soon as Mass was over, the students headed back to their homes to open Christmas gifts. As you can see from the pictures, there was a lot of excitement. Check out more photos in our Flickr album!
A great big pilamaya – thank you – to all those who played Santa behind the scenes. Your

Students opened gifts in their St. Joseph’s homes after mass. — Pilamaya – thank you – for the headphones!

generosity enabled our houseparents to go out and shop for some of the items our students had asked Santa to bring. It was a great feeling to see the joy and happiness expressed by the Lakota children. We’re so grateful for your generosity!
May God’s blessings continue to be with you as your generosity enables His blessings to be present to the Native American children at St. Joseph’s Indian School.
Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ
Chaplain

Tidbits we may have missed earlier this month

Good afternoon from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was good to you all. Things are still very quiet here on campus as the Lakota (Sioux) students and much of the staff are away for Christmas break. We have only a handful of students staying in the break home.

We got some additional snow overnight and some VERY cold weather has settled in. Local news stations are predicting wind chills of -30. Brrrr!!

Since there is not a lot of ‘current’ news to share, it gives me a chance to pass along some tidbits that we may have missed in Busy December.

St. Joseph’s Knowledge Bowl Team took 3rd place at LNI. — RJ (right) took first place in the individual government test! The team took 3rd place in the LNI Knowledge Bowl.

Right before the Christmas break began, several of our students traveled out to Rapid City, South Dakota to take part in some of the events at the annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI). What began as a basketball tournament in the 1970s is now a celebration of Native American arts, culture, language and family. The days-long event includes traditional hand games, a language bowl, knowledge bowl, archery competition and more.

Joseph’s sent a Knowledge Bowl team and they captured 3^rd place. After the team contest, there are individual tests in a variety of subjects. One of St. Joseph’s team members, senior RJ, took first place in Government. One of those congratulating RJ was Senator John Thune, who was also the speaker at RJ’s eighth grade graduation. Given his interest in government and politics, this was very exciting for RJ!
One of our freshmen, Kaitlyn, took part in the archery contest and came in 2^nd out of 30 shooters.
Joseph’s hand games team took 1^st place! Their weekly practices really paid off.

Congratulations to all those who represented St. Joseph’s at LNI. You are a credit to our school and we’re so proud of you all!

Frank, our Residential Coordinator for the seventh and eighth grades, came up with an idea at the start of December to have some Christmas fun. Employing the popular “Elf on the Shelf” story, he added a twist – our elves broke the rules!

St. Joseph’s students enjoyed Elf on the Shelf with a twist in December. — Each day, students found the elves somewhere in school breaking a rule! These elves had iPods in class.

Each day, students found the elves somewhere in school breaking a rule! Their job then was to submit their name and the rule being broken for a chance to win a prize. In addition to being a lot of fun, the elves helped students remember to follow the rules in the exciting weeks leading up to Christmas break.

Another noteworthy success for a St. Joseph’s student was achieved by Kyran, a high school senior, who is a member of the Chamberlain FFA Marketing Team. His team recently placed second at the State Fall Leadership CDE’s! Also on the team with Kyran is Connor, who is the grandson of our school secretary, Dianne. Congratulations to everyone!

I hope all of you will have an enjoyable New Year’s celebration and that God’s blessings, love and guidance will be with you throughout 2015.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain