St. Joseph’s – Page 31 – St. Joseph's Indian School

My old friend Fear

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I get to spend some quality time with my old friend Fear. Fear has a lot to teach me, but I generally avoid her and don’t return her phone calls. Once a year though, we get to hang out and have fun for a change.

At St. Joseph’s Indian School, I hang out with Lakota (Sioux) girls in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, and they love Fear. They love to watch scary movies and tell scary stories. They love to jump out from dark corners and yell, “Boo!” They love to hide plastic tarantulas in the coffee maker and severed hands in the cereal. They also like to cause Fear by screaming for no reason, failing to come back home on time, and playing contact sports with ruthless abandon.

This is what St. Joseph’s has taught me about Fear:

Talk about what scares you. Ok, sometimes it’s true that sitting around talking about the winagi (spirit) in the basement causes everyone in the home to freak out. But it is also true that if you talk about the winagi in the basement (or the elephant in the living room) chances are you aren’t the only one who is dealing with it. Phew! What a relief! And, chances are someone else knows what to do about it. Sometimes a simple prayer or blessing can set things right again. Or sometimes you can get a friend to go to the basement with you, so you don’t have to be scared by yourself.

Stick together. My houseparent partner Cathy and I took the girls in the Stevens Home to a Haunted House. Two hours of waiting and 12 minutes of sheer terror… We moved through there like a tiny freight train, everyone packed tightly together.

Cathy led the way, taking the terror head on and clearing a path through the zombie minefield… Until she ran us all into a wall and then we got turned around and the machete guy had to break character and very nicely say, “This way, ladies.”

I grabbed someone in the dark and steered her to safety. “I got your back.” No child left behind in this haunted house! “Wait. You’re not my kid.”

Face your fears. OK, so if you’re in a scary situation like a haunted house, it is a good idea to laugh in the face of fear. Or in Freedom’s case, laugh at the ugly machete guy and say, “Nyaa nyaa, you’re in a cage. You can’t get me!” What could go wrong? Feeling braver already!

Or not. Until you realize that there is a back door to the cage. And he IS coming to get you. In that case, apologize. “I’m sorry Mr. Crazy Scary Monster Guy! I’m sure that you’re actually quite nice!” Then grab your friends and run screaming.

Have faith. What makes Fear tolerable – either in the imaginary world of a haunted house or in the very real world of St. Joseph’s – is faith. Even when we can’t see where we are going, and everything feels mixed up and crazy, we know that we are not alone. We are surrounded by love and support. We have faith that we can get through this, and that our calls for help will be heard. We can see the Spirit at work in each other and in our Tiyospaye—our extended family.

The Lakota children wish you a Happy Halloween — Happy Halloween from the Lakota students and staff at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

There are other fears that we will continue to work on throughout the year, like Chantochurchophobia – the fear of singing in church. We will prepare for scary situations by having fire drills, lock down drills and tornado drills. We will talk through daily fears like, “What is going on back home?” and “What if I make a mistake in the basketball game?” But for one night, we will have faith and we will befriend our Fear.

Happy Halloween to all our supporters and thanks for having our backs!

A little snow on the way?

Dear Benefactors,

It looks like our Indian Summer may be over in South Dakota – that dreaded word ‘snow’ is in the forecast. It won’t be a lot, but it does remind us we are moving later into the year and our warm, sunny days will not be around for a while. We saw some evidence of snow and slush yesterday up in Fort Pierre on my way to a board meeting in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. We visited the abused women’s shelter and residential care center for Native American youth in that community, both sponsored by St. Joseph’s Indian School. They are doing wonderful work as they reach out to the local community on a variety of fronts.

Several of the homes for St. Joseph’s older students got together and headed to Mitchell, South Dakota to go through a haunted house and pay a visit to McDonald’s as well. They had a great time! With our Halloween party and costume contest coming this Thursday, it may have given them some ideas for costumes.

Last Wednesday, I was invited by the local Kiwanis to be their guest speaker. I shared an update on recent happenings on campus, encouraging them to visit our new Alumni and Historical Center. I also filled them in on Fr. Steve’s new role as Provincial for the Priests of the Sacred Heart.

Our students worked with an artist in residence last week to create Christmas ornaments for the National Christmas tree in Washington, DC! Currently 48 ornaments are nearly ready to go. St. Joseph’s Indian School is the only school in South Dakota to take part in decorating the tree, so this was a very special opportunity indeed. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting project!

On the sports front, the Chamberlain High School football team has qualified for the State playoffs! The first game will be tonight. They are hosting Todd County, whom they recently beat. We hope they are able to repeat the victory. Several St. Joseph students are contributing their talent and skills. Go Cubs!

Sunday, our inter-city basketball league got started. This program gives St. Joseph’s Lakota students and local 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders the chance to play basketball on Sundays. They play together on four teams and compete against each other every Sunday afternoon. We see it as an important way for the students to meet each other now so that when they enter high school they’ll know each other a bit better.

The experience of playing together also helps them to be aware of each other’s talent, which is great in high school. The upcoming boys’ varsity basketball team for Chamberlain High School should be a good team this year. Last year, the “C” team was undefeated; it had several St. Joseph’s players on the team, so we’re looking forward to an exciting year!

I hope each of you has a great week. May God’s blessings be with you now and always.

God bless,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Inipi – the Rite of Purification

Hello friends of St. Joseph’s,

My name is Amanda and I am a family service counselor at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I work with girls in grades 6-12, along with two other female counselors.

We have 17 high school girls who attend Daughters of Tradition two times per month. This group explores traditional Native American culture along with alcohol and substance abuse prevention. The girls in the group asked if we could hold an Inipi. An Inipi (also known as a sweat lodge) is a traditional ceremony that takes place to pray and purify or cleanse oneself. Two Lakota elders were asked to come from a local Indian reservation to lead the ceremony and pour water for the purification part.

Five students and one staff member participated in the ceremony while the other students and staff helped by making a traditional meal that included homemade beef stew, fry bread and chokecherry wojapi.

The fire was started around 3:30pm to heat the 15 rocks (they are also called grandfathers because they are the oldest entities on earth). When the female elders arrived, students offered a traditional gift of tobacco and money to thank them for giving of their time and wisdom to our students in this way.

Prior to entering the lodge, participants smudge with sage to cleanse and to bring positive energy to the Inipi. All enter the lodge clockwise and say Mitakuye Oyasin (all my relatives) to invite our ancestors in the lodge with us. The rocks are then brought into the lodge one by one and placed in the four directions by the fire keepers. The elders place flat cedar on the rocks as they pray for a good Inipi.

St. Joseph’s high school girls held an Inipi ceremony, which is the Lakota rite of purification. — The girls prepared a traditional meal of stew, fry bread and chokecherry wojapi to follow the Inipi.

Once all this has taken place, the flap to the lodge is closed. While we sit in the darkness with steam from the grandfathers, we all pray and ask for guidance. During this Inipi, we completed four rounds with a break in between so we could have fresh cool air and some water. Once the rounds were completed we all exited the lodge and thanked one another for a great sweat.

During an Inipi, it becomes very hot in the lodge. By the time you leave, you are soaking wet; however, you feel so refreshed and alive and cleansed! After the sweat was complete, we ventured up to one of the high school girls’ homes and enjoyed a nourishing homemade meal and fellowship.

St. Joseph’s is blessed to have a sweat lodge and fire pit, so several Inipis take place throughout the year. An Inipi is a truly amazing experience that allows you to pray with others and purify yourself. The girls always enjoy the experience and the delish meal. They often ask when the next one will be.

Have a blessed day!

Amanda

Enjoying Fall Activities

Good afternoon tiyospaye – extended family,

The pheasant hunting season opened in South Dakota over this past weekend and it sounded like the hunters were out doing their best. I heard several shots across the river as we finished Mass Sunday morning.

We are in a period of transition at St. Joseph’s Indian School now, as the fall sports wrap up and the students get ready for the indoor basketball season. Yesterday, the girls in fourth through eighth grades signed up for their basketball teams.

The boys will start having their inter-city league on Sundays. This program blends students from Chamberlain with St. Joseph’s Lakota students on teams that are made up of sixth, seventh and eighth grade boys. It is a way for the students to make new friends before they meet up as classmates in high school. The first game will be Sunday, October 27. The girls will have their inter-city season after the holidays.

Several of our seventh and eighth grade boys have joined the local Explorers Club in Chamberlain, which gives them the opportunity to be part of a service group. They do various community projects throughout the year to raise money – raking leaves, shoveling snow and a car wash, to name a few. Then, the boys decide as a group who or what cause would be a worthy recipient of the funds. Last year they donated their money to several local people who were dealing with cancer.

They also remember to have some fun! The group has taken trips to a Minnesota Vikings football game and a Colorado Rockies baseball game.

Students who are new to St. Joseph’s are taking part in a program called ‘co-pilot,’ which matches them with another student to help them belong, enjoy and develop relationships at St. Joseph’s. It parallels our big brothers/big sisters program.

From my office, I can see the students playing outside after school. Kids will be kids, and it warms my heart to see them play games like Red Rover, Red Rover and tetherball. With Halloween just around the corner, many students are also busy getting their costumes ready.

Hope you all have a great week.

Sincerely,

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Native American Day Activities

Monday, October 14, St. Joseph’s Indian School – along with the rest of South Dakota – celebrated Native American Day. We, along with several other schools around our area, embraced the opportunity to have a “teachable moment” while having fun reliving a part of our rich Lakota/Dakota/Nakota culture.

The Regalia Relay was one of many games St. Joseph’s students played in celebration of Native American Day. — In the Regalia Relay, the Lakota boys put on girls’ regalia and vise versa to dance their way back to their teammates.

The morning greeted us with a line of colored banners carried by students who read a brief description about the corresponding color and direction of the medicine wheel. Bridges were built between the Catholic and tribal spiritualities by centering ourselves with prayer and singing the hymn “There is a Well.” Our drum group offered up two prayer songs to honor the day and what it might mean to our people.

During the afternoon, classes circulated around eight game stations to compete against themselves, others and groups. Our stations included:

Lakota bowling
Hackie sack
Regalia relay (switch dressing – the boys put on girls’ regalia and girls put on boys’ regalia)
Leg wrestling
Arrow toss
Hand games
Musical chairs (with drum songs)
Cat’s cradle yarn art
Storytelling

Each game was explained with its historical significance and natural place in our world. A plethora of adults helped to make the day possible by guiding, encouraging, and even taking part with the group as the students scurried through the rain and mist between the recreation center, the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center and the skating room.

I hope our St. Joseph’s students went home knowing why this day was set aside for our tribal people to be honored for our place on this North American Continent, rather than focusing on someone who thought they had found India. We love the land and the culture that respects our footprints upon it.

LaRayne, Native American Studies teacher

The Lakota students learned to leg wrestle during Native American Day activities. — Leg wrestling was one of many games played in traditional Lakota (Sioux) culture.

Celebrating Native American Day, returning from a visit to Atlanta

Dear Friends of St. Joseph’s Indian School,

The weather is a big topic of conversation on the South Dakota prairie lately. Deep snow in the Black Hills caused havoc with ranchers’ cattle herds. The melting snow joined with this weekend’s rain and wind caused flooding in some areas.

St. Joseph’s students celebrated Native American Day on October 14. — The Lakota children played a variety of traditional games to celebrate Native American Day.

We had hoped to have good weather to celebrate Native American Day on October 14. Elsewhere, it is called Columbus Day, but in 1990, the late Gov. George Mickelson, signed legislation that changed the name and put the focus on promoting reconciliation between the Native Americans and other citizens of South Dakota. We kicked the day off with a prayer service geared to reminding our students of their Lakota (Sioux) heritage and asking the Great Spirit’s guidance in the second quarter of the school year.

Over the weekend, Chamberlain hosted the 13^th Annual River City Band Festival, welcoming high school bands from miles around. It was cool and windy, but the band members did a great job. After a parade through downtown, the field competition was held on the high school football field. We were also honored to have South Dakota State University’s THE PRIDE marching band make an appearance. St. Joseph’s students took part in the parade by carrying banners thanking local businesses for their sponsorship of the event.

St. Joseph’s students and staff are just returning from donor luncheons in the Atlanta, Georgia area over this past weekend. Our Homecoming King, Cody, and classmate, Errol, were excited to share a few words of thanks with the donors.

– St. Joseph’s hosts donor events around the country where benefactors can meet the Lakota students. — Errol and Cody visited St. Joseph’s benefactors in Atlanta, Georgia.

Our next two luncheons are in Houston, Texas, on November 23-24 and Los Angeles, California, on January 18-19. If you would like to attend, visit our website or call 1-800-584-9200.

I hope you all have a great week. Be assured of our daily prayers for you and those dear to you, especially in our monthly novena of Masses offered from the 11-19 of each month.

Fr. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

Off and Running with the William Home

Hello from Mike and the William Home! We are one of St. Joseph’s 4^th and 5^th grade girls’ homes. We have 12 Lakota (Sioux) girls living here and this is my eleventh year as a houseparent at St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Kyla lives in the William Home at St. Joseph’s Indian School. — Kyla brought home first place in the Traditional category at St. Joseph’s powwow!

It is hard to believe, but we are in the last week of the first quarter of school already. It has been a very hectic schedule so far and we are having a lot of fun. Some of the highlights for us have been St. Joseph’s annual powwow, where we had the opportunity to be one of the homes that donors toured as part of the scheduled activities.

The girls spent Friday evening making cupcakes and bars to serve to our guests, and showed them around our newly remodeled home on Saturday. Seven of our girls danced at powwow – Kyla brought home first place in Traditional and Shawnna was runner-up to be Junior Miss St. Joseph’s! One of our houseparents, Jessica, had a baby in September. She is away being a mom until mid-November. While she is gone, Zee is filling in for her. Zee is a new staff member who is originally from South Africa.

We are also off and running – or I guess walking – with the William Home fitness program. Last year, the girls walked 20,000 laps in the gym, which is equal to 1,000 miles. We will keep you updated on our progress as the year goes on.

Basketball season for the girls is just a few weeks away. They are getting anxious to start and have been getting in some shooting when we have gym time on the weekends. Our first game is scheduled for November 7 at Crow Creek.

We hope all is well for you! A big thank you to all the donors who took the time to visit the William home and St. Joseph’s campus during powwow.

God Bless,

William Home girls and staff

Spared the snow and power outages

Dear Friends of St. Joseph’s,

As you may have heard from watching various weather reports over the last few days, western South Dakota was blasted with over 30” of snow! It is being called one of the worst storms in South Dakota history. We received some heavy rain in the Chamberlain area on Friday and Saturday, but thankfully were spared the snow and power outages. The rain wiped out the Chamberlain High School Homecoming Parade, but the game was still played, despite a torrential downpour.

You may recall that both the Homecoming King and Queen elected last week were close to many hearts at St. Joseph’s Indian School. King Cody is one of our high school students, and Queen Marilyn is the daughter of two staff members. In addition, several other St. Joseph’s high school students were selected to be part of the honor court.

The Lakota children joined Kevin Locke in a flute recital. — St. Joseph’s students performed with Kevin Locke at the South Dakota Indian Education Conference last week.

Last week, our community was also the site of South Dakota’s Indian Education Conference. Our Principal, Kathleen, and several teachers attended. A group of St. Joseph’s students, along with Kevin Locke, gave a flute recital and did a great job.

Today, members of St. Joseph’s Parent Advisory Council met on campus. Parents and guardians of current students and some former students themselves, these folks generously give their time to help us improve our programs. They provide feedback from a parent’s point of view and help us better understand their children’s needs and hopes.

At today’s meeting, they were brought up-to-date about our new anti-bullying program, the latest criteria for admissions and insight into a wellness program for the Lakota children. They also had the chance to visit Chamberlain High School to get an idea of what a day is like for our high school students.

We are grateful for these parents and guardians giving of their time to listen and give responses as to how we can keep making things better and safer for the Lakota boys and girls entrusted to our care. The council meets twice per year and membership rotates, so there is a good mixture of parents and guardians involved from different Indian reservations in South Dakota and Nebraska.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Fr. J. Anthony Kluckman, SCJ

Chaplain

P.S. During our recent powwow, we had slips of paper for guests to jot down prayer requests for our students and staff to remember in their evening prayers. As I was going through them to pick out some intentions for October, I came across a slip that asked a question:

“Since the government gives the Indian nations money, what percentage does St. Joseph’s get for subsidies, if any?”

Thank you for the question! Federal money is given to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which then distributes the money to the various Native American groups; however, as St. Joseph’s is not affiliated with any tribe or reservation, we do not receive any money from the government.

St. Joseph’s does get some financial aid for the school lunch program and Title program, which provides specialists to help with the education of our students. However, the bulk of St. Joseph’s financial resources come through YOU and your generosity! Your kindness and support make all our programs possible. Pilamaya—thank you!!

A Picnic in the Park

St. Joseph’s Children Count mentor program is up and running strong again this school year! Currently, we have 43 Lakota (Sioux) students

St. Joseph’s mentor program has 43 matches. — The Lakota children enjoyed a beautiful day and a picnic in the park with their mentor matches.

matched with staff members. We’re working on a few more matches to add to the count!

Our first mentor gathering was held September 24. It was a beautiful fall day in South Dakota – perfect for a picnic at the park alongside the scenic Missouri River. The students and their mentors enjoyed a scavenger hunt, lawn games and even a watermelon seed spitting contest! Our dining hall staff provided a wonderful meal for everyone to enjoy and everyone had a wonderful time!

This school year, we are looking forward to highlighting a few of our mentor matches and sending this information to all staff on campus, and you! We will also be exploring some new mentor activities and will share our adventures in a future blog post!

Until then—

Dee and Celia

Mentor Committee Co-Chairs

A beautiful day for a football game

Last Saturday was a beautiful fall South Dakota day – perfect for a football game! We loaded up 12 of St. Joseph’s seventh and eighth-grade football players and headed down the road to Brookings South Dakota, home of South Dakota State University’s Jackrabbits.

The Lakota boys at a South Dakota State football game. — St. Joseph’s seventh and eighth-grade football players took in a college game at SDSU.

We left in the morning and arrived early for game time. We found great seats! The house was packed, as the Jacks took on the #1 rated North Dakota State Bison. The Bison are from Fargo, North Dakota. The crowd was intense, as there was about as many Bison fans in attendance as there were Jacks fans!

We have been taking the football boys on this trip for last several years. It isn’t just about watching football… that’s just the excuse we use to extend our classroom and provide real-life learning to the Lakota boys and girls.

With this trip, the boys get to experience a college atmosphere and see a college campus. Along with soaking up college, the boys get to practice skills we teach and role model for them every day – everything from basic social skills like starting a conversation to using good manners and being accountable for themselves and their actions. Extending our classroom into the world allows our students develop Mastery on these skills and gives them a sense of Independence, which are two of the primary components of the Circle of Courage.

After a hard battle, the Jacks were defeated 20-0. We left Brookings and stopped in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for supper. The boys were all starving and we found buffet that we knew would fill them up. This was another opportunity for the boys to practice their social skills. The boys ate their fill and finished off with ice cream before we hit the road back to St. Joseph’s.

We arrived back to campus just in time for bed. The boys got off the bus and thanked us for taking them to a football game, never suspecting we actually took them to a “classroom” so they could learn something.

The boys may have thanked us for taking them but they should thank the donors who make such trips possible. So, on behalf of the St. Joseph’s Indian School Jr. High Football team, thank you for your support!

Frank W., Residential Coordinator

The football field and stadium at South Dakota State University. — The stands were packed as South Dakota State Jackrabbits took on their northern rivals – the North Dakota State Bison!