powwow – Page 3 – St. Joseph's Indian School

St. Joseph’s students: Impacting the community

Good day from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

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

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

Cante’ Waste’ Nape ciyuzapi Ksto/lo – I greet you with a warm heart and handshake.

Hi, my name is April and I would like to say Cante’ Waste’ Nape ciyuzapi Ksto/lo – I greet you with a warm heart and handshake.

I work at St. Joseph Indian School and I am the Family/Student Care Specialist. I have the opportunity to work with our little free spirits here at St. Joseph’s and I’m grateful for each day – I love working with each and every one of them! In June, I will have been here for nine years and it just keeps getting better.

There are so many positive programs at St. Joseph’s; I am very thankful for all the support that St. Joseph’s has for families and staff members, so we can provide the best support for the children. There are so many opportunities for our students, even after graduation when they go on to college. I enjoy reading the messages we get from the Alumni Coordinator, sharing where former students are going to college and how they are doing. I cannot get over how much help and support is given to all!

St. Joseph’s annual powwow is one of many cultural elements to the programs we provide for the Lakota children. — Programs for St. Joseph’s students encompass everything from powwow and education about the Lakota (Sioux) culture to cooking and living independently.

My heart feels good when there is always so much good news. As parents and guardians continue to participate in our family programs, they become stronger. They themselves become aware of how strong they can be and how supportive they are for their children at St. Joseph’s. We are grateful for the opportunity to work side by side with these families.

I say Wopida Tanka – many thanks – for your time in reading my blog post! So many good thoughts and feelings arise as I read blog posts from other staff members. Please know that you too share with us in a very special way, through your comments, encouragement and prayers.

So, with this being said, Mitaku oyasin (all my relatives) I will share with you again someday soon.

April

Family/Student Care Specialist

Instead of a lemonade stand…

When the students of Sheehy Home (high school boys) decided they wanted to go snowboarding and skiing for their home trip, I knew we needed to do a fundraiser to help cover the cost. So, we sat down and talked about some ways to make extra money.

The shirt design incorporates symbols from St. Joseph’s and Chamberlain schools, as well as cultural elements like the dreamcatcher and medicine wheel. — Craig brainstormed the t-shirt design in less than two hours.

Previously, another St. Joseph’s home had done a lemonade stand at our annual powwow, and one did a bake sale. We’ve done car washes in the past but, with the weather outside below freezing at the time, we decided to come up with a new idea: create and sell a t-shirt.

I wanted the guys to learn how a company works from idea to completion, so to get started we elected a president, treasurer, designer, sales manager and production manager.

The young man chosen to be the designer – Craig – sat down and got to work. In less than two hours, he had a sketch of what would become our design.

We took his sketch and had it copied into a computer file. My wife, April, helped Craig enhance the digital file of the sketch and came up with our finished design.

The top banner says Chamberlain High, where our high school students attend. The bottom banner says St. Joseph’s Indian School, where we live. The bear cub is the mascot for Chamberlain teams and the paw print is also a school recognized image. The design also incorporates the colors of the Lakota medicine wheel. The dreamcatcher surrounding the school images symbolizes all the possibilities an education brings.

The Sheehy home accepted the design and submitted our idea for a fundraiser to the management team here at St. Joseph’s. They heard our plan and agreed to allow us to sell the shirts on campus and at Chamberlain High School.

The cabin was only a mile from the slopes and had an outdoor hot tub. — Relaxing in the outdoor hot tub at the cabin.

We worked with a local company that makes t-shirts and negotiated prices for various amounts of t-shirts sold. Our goal was to sell 100 shirts to ensure the best price. With that cost in mind, we worked with St. Joseph’s management team and came up with a sale price of $12.00 per t-shirt.

Our sales manager created a sales folder that everyone used, including a picture of the shirt, our design story and an order form. Our guys covered the campus and school for an entire week taking orders. Our Production Manager took all the order forms and totaled all the various sizes and announced that we had sold 192 shirts. Our elected president led the way selling 58 shirts. When we turned in our order we were able to negotiate an even better cost price for the shirts!

Once the shirts were ready we picked them up and, again using the order forms from each student, filled the orders. After delivering the finished product and all expenses were paid, our treasurer announced that we had earned just over $850.00 for our trip.

We had raised enough to stay in a cabin less than a mile from the slopes!

Our guys enjoyed two days of skiing and snowboarding, followed by relaxing in the outdoor hot tub at the cabin. The best part for me was, when all was said and done, one of the boys said “You know, there is a lot of work that goes into making a shirt.”

Thank you for making St. Joseph’s possible, and the life lessons our guys learn here that are making tomorrow brighter.

Mike and April F

Sheehy Home Houseparents

Boys in the Sheehy Home earned some extra money to go skiing on their home trip this winter. — The guys enjoyed two days of skiing and snowboarding.

Bridging cultures at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Han, LaRayne imaciyapi. Hello, my name is LaRayne.

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

I am honored to teach Native American Studies classes at St. Joseph’s Indian School. We recently had a Sunday Mass that incorporated Lakota elements, and it felt great! It’s that indescribable feeling when you are centered in the soul and have “wolakota.”

It was the Feast of Christ the King, the end of the liturgical year in the Catholic Church. It didn’t feel like and end, but a new beginning. The service began with the beat of the drum by our student drum group, the Chalk Hill Singers. Members of our powwow royalty and fellow housemates, dressed in full regalia, danced up the aisle honoring the path of the Staff carried by our Eagle Staff Bearer, Joe. My feet couldn’t help but to tap the earth when the sticks made music with sound of our rawhide drum and the voices of our boys. The shawls flowed, the bells and cones rung and it felt like smiles were swelling in the hearts of all present.

The Chalk Hills Singers, St. Joseph’s drum group, were part of the Lakota Mass. — St. Joseph’s drum group, the Chalk Hills Singers, took part in the Lakota Mass.

A basket of prayers wrapped in red cloth, made by our students and staff, was carried and placed at the altar as an offering to honor those who have passed into the spirit world and those for whom we pray.

The opening prayer, the readings and the homily taught us about “Mitakuye Oyasin,” the belief that we are all related. In the reading, Mathew 25: Jesus said “Whatever you did for one of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” This parallels our Lakota ceremony of the Hunka, or making of a relative. Once this sacred ceremony is done, you will have a bond to share all that you have. By treating all people just as you would Jesus or the Great Spirit, one will “do well because it is right.”

The best value a member of our tribes can possess is that of generosity. Sunday during Mass, the choir shared their musical talents by singing “Amazing Grace” in both Lakota and English. With the sounds of the students speaking the tongue of their ancestors from many years past, the congregation recited the Lord’s Prayer in Lakota. I could feel the confidence in the voices of the students praying loud and proud. Lots of compliments were shared and accepted after Mass from our staff and members of our community who came to join in our prayer.

After the Eucharistic Prayer, Father Anthony asked the Great Spirit to bless us with a great week and Thanksgiving holiday as the students traveled home to see family and friends. But, before the end, we sang birthday wishes to those celebrating this week in the Lakota version of “Happy Birthday.”

The service ended just as it began: The dancers (and those who couldn’t keep their feet from dancing to the beat of the drum) exited the sanctuary knowing that Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel bridges cultures spiritually in the lives of the families we serve at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

All in a day’s work at St. Joseph’s Indian School

I’m not bragging, but I have a GREAT job. I work with talented, interesting people who are ‘hook, line, and sinker’ committed to our mission at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Geri, St. Joseph's Major Gifts Director — Geri, St. Joseph’s Major Gifts Director

and I get to routinely visit with our donors: over the phone, in their homes, at donor events, over e-mail and through the mail. It’s wonderful being in communication with our donors and, by far, the best part of my job.

As a supervisor, I have administrative responsibilities including preparing reports, responding to e-mail messages and reviewing results. So, on any given day, I have a variety of tasks on my ‘to do list’ with the ability to tackle them in the order I prefer (generally speaking).

Without consciously choosing to reach out to our donors first, I always do! I find that nothing is as uplifting and satisfying as checking in with our supporters, answering questions or sharing updates on how their giving is making a difference for Native American children!

St. Joseph’s has a fully staffed Donor Care Center to take calls. — Staff at St. Joseph’s Donor Care Center are waiting to visit with you!

Maybe you’ve recently been contacted by us? Perhaps it was for the first time? I hope you enjoyed the conversation and feel like your support is important to us. We aren’t just ‘going through the motions’ when we reach out to you….we enjoy it as much, or more, than you do!

As we move into the holidays, a favorite time of the year for many of us, donor interaction doubles and maybe even triples….it truly IS the best time of the year!

Each of us has a story about our connection to St. Joseph’s Indian School. For those of us who work here, our story

We are thrilled to meet donors and hear their stories about how they came to know St. Joseph’s Indian School. — St. Joseph’s staff members love visiting with donors at powwow, donor luncheons and on home visits.

might start with the day we were first hired. For our supporters, the stories are as varied as our supporters themselves. They may have learned about St. Joseph’s from their parents or grandparents. Or, they may have no recollection of how they were introduced to St. Joseph’s – they just know that it was years and years ago. Regardless, there’s a connection and commitment to our mission of serving Lakota (Sioux) students.

We’d love to hear from you and learn about your connection to St. Joseph’s Indian School! Don’t ever feel like you need to wait to hear from us. The only thing better than reaching out to donors is hearing from them! Feel free to give us a call at 1-800-341-2235 or send us an e-mail at saintjosephs@stjo.org. We’d love to hear from you!

Happy Holidays!

Geri

Director of Major Gift Services

After my first 11 years at St. Joseph’s Indian School…

Hello and greetings from Mike and the Pinger Home!

Mike works with the Lakota girls in 4th and 5th grades — Mike, a St. Joseph’s houseparent

After spending my first 11 years at St. Joseph’s Indian School in the William Home with fourth and fifth graders, I have moved! I am now in the Pinger home with fourth, fifth AND sixth graders. The school year is off to a very fast start – it is truly hard to believe that the first nine weeks end today!

As always, the start of the year brings on many new things. There are new staff, new kids and new memories to make. Powwow is truly one of my favorite days of the year. Watching the kids get prepared and the practice they put in to their dancing leading up to the big day. We were delighted to have both Miss St. Joseph’s and Jr. Miss St. Joseph’s – Shawnna and Diamond – in our home. We’re so proud of them!

The Pinger Home is so proud of Diamond and Shawnna being named Jr. Miss and Miss St. Joseph’s. — Diamond, Jr. Miss St. Joseph’s, and Shawnna, Miss St. Joseph’s, are both in the Pinger Home.

Things can be hectic this time of the year too. We have girls in cross country and volleyball as well as a large number in martial arts. Trying to find a schedule that makes sense can be difficult at times, but the girls can adapt to most anything and we seem to make it work. With volleyball and cross country winding down, it means that basketball season is right around the corner, so I will add coaching and refereeing to my list of things to do.

Next week, we will be time to start our morning walking group. Last year, the girls set the bar pretty high by getting in over 21,000 laps in the rec center gym. That is over 1,000 miles! This group is out to set a new record and raise the bar again. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Thanks for your support and we hope you enjoyed our first blog from the Pinger Home!

Mike, Houseparent

Swimming Lessons & Explorers in full swing at St. Joseph’s Indian School

Good morning from St. Joseph’s Indian School!

The Lakota students at St. Joseph’s take swimming lessons. — All St. Joseph’s students learn to swim so they can have fun and be safe in the water.

A fall crispness is in the air and the trees continue to decorate themselves – it is a great time of year to live in South Dakota!

In addition to football, volleyball and cross country, St. Joseph’s first graders are learning how to swim so they can fully appreciate our pool. During the harsh South Dakota winter, swimming is one of the main activities for the Lakota students – we want to keep them active when it’s not nice enough to play outside.

It is certainly a lot of fun, but it’s important for them to learn how to swim so they can be safe in the water wherever they are.

The Explorers, a community-focused group of junior high students from the Chamberlain area, gathered recently to elect their officers for this year. Two St. Joseph’s students were elected to office — Ben won the race for Secretary and Joe won the Treasurer position. These young men do a variety of fundraisers to help the community.

They have raised several thousand dollars over the years to aid local citizens who need a helping hand, help with the up-keep of local baseball fields and build the fishing pier at American Creek.

The Lakota students have lots of opportunities to participate in different activities at St. Joseph’s, both on campus and in the community. — St. Joseph’s junior high boys are part of Explorers. Joe and Ben, on the right side of the front row, are Treasurer and Secretary.

There’s also an educational component to the group. Later in the year, they will make a visit to the State Capital in Pierre to see how our government functions.

As the month of September ends, we would again like to thank all those who came to our powwow. It was an honor to have so many friends visit! The prayer requests made by those who visited Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel have been passed on to our students and we are praying for your intentions.

May God continue to bless you with good health, much happiness and reward you for your generosity toward the Native American students attending St. Joseph’s Indian School!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Starbase comes to St. Joseph’s Indian School

Once powwow is over, most look to take it easy for a day or two, but St. Joseph’s fifth graders are off and running this week with Starbase!

St. Joseph’s fifth graders participate in the Eggbert experiment. — Space shuttles zip down the line with fragile cargo in the Eggbert experiment.

The program combines science, technology, engineering and math to deal with various problems and challenges.

Monday the students conducted the ‘Eggbert Launch.’ After devising ways to protect an egg strapped into the model space shuttles they were given, the shuttles were launched down a wire into a head-on collision.

The Lakota students came up with some unique ways to protect the eggs as they slid to their fate, but only one survived completely. Taps were played over four of them, two were deemed to have survived but needed a trip to the egg hospital.

Tomorrow, the class will make a trip to Rapid City, South Dakota to visit Air & Space Museum at Ellsworth Air Force Base, get hands-on with space food and view constellations in the dome from the Journey Center.

One egg survived the Eggbert experiment when St. Joseph’s fifth graders participated in Starbase. — Nateela, LaShawn and Barrett devised a way to keep their egg from cracking in a head-on collision as part of the Eggbert experiment!

Another wonderful powwow at St. Joseph’s Indian School

What a great celebration!

St. Joseph’s Royalty Joe, Diamond and Shawnna are pictured with Fr. Anthony. — Joe was named Eagle Staff Bearer; Diamond, Jr. Miss St. Joseph’s and Shawnna, Miss St. Joseph’s.

Powwow activities started last Thursday when two busloads of visitors went on a tour of the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian Reservations just north of Chamberlain. A ‘meet & greet’ Thursday evening allowed our visitors to ask questions of our Child Services Staff.

Friday, guests gathered for various cultural activities at the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. Later that day, the students gave tours of their classrooms. Afterwards, everyone gathered at the rec center for the announcement of our powwow royalty — Miss St. Joseph’s, Jr., Miss St. Joseph’s and our Eagle Staff Bearer, who would lead the Grand Entry on Saturday.

Mr. Dallas Chief Eagle then presented a hoop dance. Friday concluded with the annual Tiyospaye Banquet, where we drew for a Lakota Star Quilt (won by a benefactor from California). There were also silent auctions and the live auction of hand-painted piece by Del Iron Cloud, a St. Joseph’s graduate and our Distinguished Alumni Award winner.

Saturday did indeed live up to all the predictions and was an answer to our prayers. The sun was out with no clouds in the sky, but it was a bit breezy. As the day progressed, it warmed up and turned out to be a beautiful day, great for the dancers.

The morning began with the dedication of the new playground equipment. We were honored to have the benefactor who was the driving force behind the project present to help cut the ribbon with Miss St. Joseph’s.

Grand Entry at powwow is led by St. Joseph’s Eagle Staff Bearer and veteran alumni carrying flags. — St. Joseph’s Eagle Staff Bearer led Grand Entry, followed by St. Joseph’s veteran alumni carrying the flags.

Afterwards, our grass dancers helped bless the powwow grounds and prayers were offered asking the Great Spirit to help the dancers do their best and to make the whole day a rewarding experience for everyone. The Colors were carried by an Honor Guard made up of military veterans who were St. Joseph’s alumni. All veterans were invited to march in following the colors. Veterans were invited to introduce themselves, tell what branch of service they served in and where they have been stationed. We were especially honored to have a World War II veteran with us.

Another highlight of the day was the presence of Mr. Casimir LeBeau, one of two surviving members of the student body that started at St. Joseph’s when the school opened in 1927. He shared some thoughts with the crowd and then became the centerpiece as the 64 alumni who were present gathered around him for a group picture.

As the competitive dancing came to an end, we had Mass at Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel. Several of our dancers attended in full regalia and danced accompanied by St. Joseph’s drum group. After Mass was over, everyone gathered for dinner and prizes for the dancers and drum groups.

It was a wonderful weekend! Be sure to watch our powwow video and consider making plans to attend our 39^th powwow on September 19, 2015!

We thank you for your many prayers. May God’s blessings continue to be with you and yours.

See more powwow pictures in our Flickr album!

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

A new experience for all of us

In all the excitement of powwow on St. Joseph’s campus this weekend, our 2014 seniors are experiencing a whole new kind of excitement: the next chapter!

Mike and his wife April have been houseparents at St. Joseph’s Indian School for six years. — The Sheehy Home, including houseparent Mike, Errol, Cody and Wyatt.

They have taken their next step in their lives, whether to college, technical school or something else.

Mike, one of St. Joseph’s houseparents, had the privilege of taking one of the boys to college:

My wife and I have been houseparent’s at St. Joseph’s for six years now. Our first two years were in the 6^th-8^th grade community. The last four were in the high school program.

One student, Errol, has been in our homes for all six years. Watching him become the young man he is has been a privilege. He graduated with honors as member of the National Honor Society.

In July I received a call asking if I would be willing to drive him to the University of South Dakota so he could register for his classes and finalize all the paper work. I quickly agreed and counted it as another privilege.

On our way back to his house that day I asked him what his plans were for getting to school in August. He smiled and said, “Well, I was hoping you would take me.”

I was glad to help and we made plans for the move-in day. When August arrived, another one of my graduates, Cody, was playing basketball with my home in the gym. Cody would be leaving for South Dakota State two days later. I told him I was going to pick up Errol and take him to college the next day and asked if he wanted to ride with me. He said sure he would like to go.

The next day, most of the ride they debated which school was better and why the other one should transfer. Once we arrived at Errol’s new home for the next four years, we were happy to see Errol’s roommate, Wyatt, was also moving in. Wyatt is also a graduate from St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Errol, Wyatt and Cody lived in the same home during their high school years at St. Joseph’s Indian School. — Errol, Wyatt and Cody on move-in day!

Of course they were laughing about how they were going to fit everything into such a small dorm room and they realized their rooms at St. Joseph’s were much bigger, not to mention they had air condition and the dorm room doesn’t. Once settled, in Errol ask if we could drop him off at the Native American Center for his orientation class. We pulled up in front and I was expecting to say our goodbyes, but Errol and Cody both got out and went inside…

I had to circle the block and find a parking spot.

When I went inside the meeting had already started, so I motioned for Cody to come with me and waved bye to Errol. Errol waved back and said thank you.

As Cody and I started out the door towards the car he said “What about Errol?”

“He is staying here,” I answered.

“We are leaving him?” Cody asked.

I said yes.

Cody asked again, very thoughtfully, “We are leaving him here all alone?”

“Yes Cody,” I replied. “We are leaving him here all alone. He’s in college now, buddy.”

After a moment’s thoughtful silence, Cody said “I can’t believe we are leaving him here all alone.”

I reached up and put my hand on Cody’s 6’4’’ 290lb. back, and reminded him that in two days his mother would drive him to South Dakota State University and watch as he moved in to his dorm room.

“Then,” I said with a quiet voice, “she will then leave you there. And you’ll be in college too.”

We rode in silence for a few miles, not entirely sure where the most sniffles were coming from. After a few minutes, Cody broke the silence.

“We will always have St. Joseph’s.”

Mike F

Sheehy Home houseparent