A big hand for the little lady

We heard today from a woman who came across St. Joseph’s Christmas cards in an unusual way. Her friends get together regularly to play cards – a women’s poker night. They don’t gamble for money, but this month everyone brought extra Christmas cards to share. She had a hot hand and her winnings included several Christmas cards from St. Joseph’s.  She liked them so much that called in to find out more about our school, and decided to become a donor.

• Any unique stories about how you came in contact with St. Joseph’s Indian School?

Today we held our staff open house at Akta Lakota Museum. We had discounts up to 40% to encourage staff to do some Christmas shopping on campus. They are proud when they wear St. Joseph’s Indian School shirts. Folks also appreciate the intricate and traditional hand crafted items, or enjoy picking up the latest books on Plains Indian Culture.

Our Tokéya uŋkí nájiŋpi Historical Center is making great strides this week. Workers are installing the displays and hanging artifacts on the walls. Every day I make it a point to visit to see the latest progress. One of the rooms shows the transition from dormitory life, when we had 70 children sleeping in one big room, to our Family Living Units, with 10-12 children in a home setting.

Sandi, who has taught at St. Joseph’s for 35 years walked through the open house with Matt, one of our new teachers. When she saw the pictures and artifacts, it brought back so many memories, and she told Matt about some of the history and changes she’s seen. One of my hopes is that the displays tell a story, evoke memories and help us pass traditions on to future generations. We also know the history of Indian Boarding Schools has a negative side, and we hope for alumni whose experience of school include painful memories, this can be a place of healing.

 

Helping children achieve their full potential

This morning after mass I saw a group of people wandering around Wisdom Circle looking lost. A group of education students from Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell started two days of observation in our classrooms. I escorted them to the principal’s office, and answered a few questions about our Native American students and programs along the way.

Later, when I checked how they were doing, they were impressed by what they saw in the classrooms. It helps to see the theory you’ve been learning about in college put into practice in a real and practical way.

The Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance awards for the first quarter were announced at the end of the school day. Students sat on the floor of the school gym and those so honored proudly came forward as their name was called to receive a certificate. They also got to choose from some attractive Native  American-themed notebooks and bookmarks.

We try not to be guilty of grade inflation, but did have FIVE students who earned all A’s! Those who continue with good grades, and those who can bring up their semester grades to all B’s and A’s will get to attend a fun and special banquet in January. Even without special rewards, our teachers are encouraging each student to work hard at achieving their potential.

What a great learning lesson!

Last night I stopped by Pinger Home (6^th- 8^th grade girls) for a visit and stayed for supper. The home won a Monopoly game from the Halloween decorating contest and Calista asked if anyone wanted to play. I’m a capitalist baron from way back, and soon was collecting big money from my railroads. There were lots of rules that students didn’t understand, especially having to do with mortgaging property or the 10% tax on the space just past GO, so we turned it into a fun math lesson. The game ended in a four-way tie as we ran out of time and the girls had to go to their Wednesday night enrichment class. Ironically, the theme the 6^th-8^th grade community is covering this month is money management!!!

Winter months make for a quieter season in our Akta Lakota Museum, so we chose this time to start the demolition of the old bathrooms and about a third of the display space to make room for some new presentations. After checking out the work, I stopped to see how our receptionist was doing in her new space. She was on the phone with a donor so I decided to check out how the new archive and collection storage facility looked now that we’ve moved everything into that area.

As soon as I opened the door the alarms went off with a loud siren! It took Vicki and I a while to figure out how to disarm the system and, by then, we’d attracted plenty of attention. At least we know the security system works!

About two weeks ago we sent out our Christmas appeal, which is the biggest mailing of the year. People have begun generously responding and we had many trays of mail arrive at the post office today. Our departments take turns helping sort mail when we’re busy, and it was Tipi Press staff’s day to sort. When I saw the email appeal for help sorting, I left my desk and joined them.

I enjoyed the chance to chat and catch up with what everyone is doing. While such a job can tedious, when many people pitch in it goes quickly. And I never complain about lots of mail, but give thanks that people care and want to help us make a difference!

Fourth and fifth grade students from Crow Creek grade school, our neighbors to the north, came to our gym for girls’ basketball games. The referees give players that age lots of leeway as they try to learn the basics of the game. They usually let double dribbles slide until it obviously becomes triple dribble. Our St. Joseph’s fourth graders played with enthusiasm, but could only get a couple of balls to drop through the hoop and were never in contention. Our fifth graders were more competitive and led the whole game until the fourth quarter, when the Chieftans rallied to win by 4.

 

Developing a greater sense of pride in Native American heritage and culture

While much of the country celebrated Columbus Day yesterday, South Dakota celebrated Native American Day. We had a full school day, but all the classrooms had special lessons to help our Native American students develop a greater sense of pride in their heritage and culture. As students walked into the building they were smudged with the smoke from sage. They then participated in a Four Directions prayer service in the school gym to begin the day with a good spiritual grounding.

Our students took part in Lakota hand games, drumming and singing while their opponents tried to win wooden counting sticks while guessing which hand held the winning wooden dowel. In the old days, bones were used in this game. As our Lakota students learn the rules and strategies better, they can participate in contests against other schools.

We have an Artist in Residence working with our kids this week. His expertise is in brass instruments and the kids were thrilled and awed when he brought out a tuba and let a few of them try. They were blown away (figuratively)!

Four students and one teacher from our sister school in Handrup Germany arrived today. They will spend the next two weeks with us in a cultural exchange. The German students are the ones who hosted our students in their homes last summer, and I saw hugs and handshakes and joyful reunions all around. They will get to experience what it is like to live in St. Joseph’s homes and travel around the state to learn some history and culture of the Lakota people.

My day was enriched by two visits from donors passing through on their way to the Black Hills for vacation. One couple was from Virgina Beach, and I had time to take them into the school and let them see some of our young scholars in action. The second couple came from Youngstown, Ohio, and I met them in the chapel on my way to community prayer. We talked about the symbolism of the artwork in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel.

I met the crew moving all our artwork into the newly completed storage facility at our Akta Lakota Museum. The curator from one of the state museums said we have a wonderful facility that will preserve our arts and artifacts well. The large back room is starting to come to life as more paintings, sculptures, arrowheads, beaded medallions and countless other treasures add color and texture to the shelving and storage areas.

Our students responded well to our first fire drill of the fall, even when the fire crew blocked three of the regular exits and they had to scramble to figure out an alternative. That’s so necessary if there is a real fire. Dave Z., our new Cultural Associate, uses a wheel chair and had to get creative when his regular ground floor exit was closed. This just reinforced the emphasis we’ve put on making all the older buildings on campus more handicap accessible over the past few years.

Our safety and security committee meets once a month to review drills and other issues. Living in a very rural area, wild animals become an issue, and lately we’ve had too many critters on campus. The deer that graze on our grass, and the wild turkeys that waddle around add charm to the campus. But we’ve also had lots of skunk encounters. Besides the smell, rabies is a concern. One of the sheriff’s deputies is also a trapper, and he’s helping us out. This week we removed five skunks, a possum and three cats. A farm family readily accepted the cats to help control their own little critter population.

 

St. Joseph’s Indian School’s 36th annual powwow is in the books

Our 36^th annual powwow is in the books! I’m weary, but it’s the good kind of tired from a wonderful day.

As visitors streamed onto campus, they boarded our mini buses and were shuttled around campus for morning tours of Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel and four of the residential homes where the boys and girls live on St. Joseph’s campus. Houseparents prepared snacks for our guests, and students volunteered to give tours of the homes. The most enthusiastic were the 1^st – 3^rd grade girls of Afra Home, who  at times led people by the hand, tugging them along to see the playroom or laundry and tell them about all they’ve already learned from life in the Home.

Our students were polite, respectful, excited and touched people’s hearts. Our ever-present blue-shirted St. Joseph’s staff members drew countless praise as they made folks feel welcome, answered questions and made sure people had directions to the places they needed to go next.

Dave, our powwow arena director, kept things moving along and made sure people were in the right place and time for ceremonies and competitions. Virgil, our PA announcer entertained with humorous banter, encouraged dancers and educated visitors with his explanations of what they were seeing on the powwow grounds.

Besides our own St. Joseph students, many young people came from surrounding areas. When 150 dancers processed in during the Grand Entry, the colorful spectacle was a beauty to behold. We had ten drum groups rotating the songs, including our St. Joseph’s student group – “the Chalk Hills Singers”

The last couple of years, weather for the powwow has been on the cool side. Today, the sun was out much of the day and temperatures climbed into the high 80’s. The energetic dancers certainly worked up a good sweat! Spectators coveted the shady spots and more than a few took a mid-day break in our air-conditioned Akta Lakota Museum.

At supper we served stew and fixings at the picnic pavilion, feeding over 900 guests, students and family members. After the judges’ points were totaled, we announced the award winning dancers and passed out prizes. As the sun set over the majestic Missouri River and people headed home with pictures and memories, our facilities crew was already tearing down and putting the football field back to it’s normal configuration. Next year’s powwow will be the weekend of September 21, so make your plans now to join us!

Watch this beautiful video of this year’s powwow!

 

Reconnecting with the Native American youth

Since the high school students have returned, I’ve tried to spend some time in their homes, catching up on their summer activities and looking ahead to what they hope to accomplish this year. Since school is just beginning and there’s not yet a lot of homework or ballgames, it’s a good time to catch more of the students at home.

The other night at Hogebach Home (HS girls) we enjoyed a home cooked meal around a full table, with no one having to rush off. Erika, one of our seniors, was at the kitchen counter with job applications from four different fast food restaurants and two retailers in town. She is ambitious about trying to find a part-time job that will help with extra-curricular expenses now and begin to put some money away for college.

Another one of the students was feeling very overwhelmed thinking of all that she had to accomplish between now and graduation. Our houseparents and counselors are aware of such feelings and support our students through it all, encouraging them to work at projects slow and steady, in manageable chunks.

Our powwow committee had its first full meeting of the year. We’ve been doing this for 36 years, and have the routine down pretty good. When Tom, our head of facilities, was asked during the maintenance report/ update if he had any concerns, he simply said, “I hate to brag, but our guys got it all covered.” And they do. It takes a huge amount of work and lots of cooperation from every department on campus. It is a special duty and definitely worth the effort for staff, students and our visitors.

With all our Native American students now back, we enjoyed an opening school liturgy and picnic. Our picnic pavilion is still filled with furniture from our remodeling projects, so we decided to hold it in the dining hall. With the temperature at 92 degrees the air-conditioned area definitely worked out better. Some of the homes did choose to eat outside on the picnic tables. Seeing the students in small groups of about 8 to a table gave me the chance to walk around and visit. Between seeing students at school, church, in the homes and on the playground, it reinforces my memory and makes it easier to learn who each of the new kids are.

At school the 1^st graders are still learning the basics. Teachers have their own system to get them to line up and move to a different activity, be it art, recess, lunch or Native American Studies. But it takes a while for them to settle down and they take a lot more time to get between point A and B. Given time and practice, they’ll soon settle into the routine.

The construction at the Akta Lakota Museum took an interesting turn as the workers used a crane to install the granite slabs that will be part of the water wall in the Medicine Wheel Garden. We hope that by the end of the month all the outside work will be completed.

 

Inspire others

Our younger students who remain on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus take part in a mix of summer school and field trips. Yesterday I was running errands in the business office and saw a group of them taking a tour. When asked what was the best part, Louie replied, “the mail machines.”

The kids were fascinated to watch our staff load cards and bookmarks and dreamcatchers into envelopes bound for all parts of the country and beyond. Two were very tickled when they saw their very own picture on the outside of one of the envelopes. While it is a good education for our Lakota students to learn how things are done and made, it is also a boost to our development staff when they get to interact more directly with the students. They’re reminded of the reason they do the demanding work of raising funds for our mission.

This week has brought more organizational meetings. I reviewed goals with the Director of Child Services at his annual performance evaluation. It’s helpful to step back and see what gifts an employee brings, and talk about possible growth areas. I met with the architects, Akta Lakota Museum designers and facilities crew getting caught up on the many work projects going full speed on campus. If you visit St. Joseph’s Indian School you’ll find lots of disarray in the midst of construction, but in the end we are making some great improvements.

Today I’m off to the ordination of three priests for the Diocese in Sioux Falls. When I attend such celebrations I catch a bit of the enthusiasm and idealism I remember from when I was first ordained. When mixed with the experience and wisdom of 23 years of priestly ministry, hopefully I can inspire others to search for God’s will in their life, and act with charity and justice toward their neighbors.

I’ll be on the road for a few weeks, and yesterday I lined up some guest bloggers who will keep you posted on what’s going on around campus during that time. Next week is pure vacation, with no work; relaxing time with family and friends is the only item on the agenda.

I’ll check in periodically, but it is healthy to take some time off and turn the responsibility for ongoing work to others who care and are passionate about St. Joseph’s Indian School’s mission.

 

Life teaches me

Life teaches me new things each day.

Sometimes, I’m totally surprised to see things I thought I knew from a completely different perspective.

We have our own printing press on St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus, Tipi Press, and I was giving a visitor a tour and stopped by to see how things were going. Mark showed us the large 4-color press going at full throttle. He had a powerful magnifying glass to show us how different colors are made not by mixing ink, as I supposed, but by printing a blend of small dots (1200 per inch) in four colors that, as you look from a distance, trick the eye into seeing one color. Many things in life, you have to look at carefully to discover how they really are.

I had lots of meetings today, working on revamping our pastoral care programs, going over finances, working on a narrative for the history of Indian boarding schools for our Akta Lakota Museum, reflection time with a summer intern and visiting with donors who stopped by to see our campus and programs their donations make possible.

Scranton Preparatory School from Pennsylvania has been coming to St. Joseph’s each summer for a few years. They are involved in service projects and helping with our Rising Eagle Day Camp.

After a full day of activity with the children who came to camp from Lower Brule Indian reservation, I caught the group in the Ambrose Home around the supper table. None of the students had ever been to South Dakota before, and it was fun to hear their initial impressions of the wide open prairie, the Badlands and Black Hills. I answered lots of questions about the school, students and families we serve, and began to find out a little about each of them.

I noticed a nice spirit and sense of fun and camaraderie among the group. As they raised money to pay for their mission trip, they ran into several friends and family members from their community who have been long time donors to our school. They were generous in helping these young people in their travels, and delighted to facilitate an even more personal impact and concrete difference.

 

New recipes and new ideas

Houseparents work for a six day shift and then get three days off, which gives them personal time to recharge their batteries and keeps them fresh over the long haul. Every three days, a third of our houseparents start a break and a fresh group takes over. Each home has one set of six day houseparents, and two homes share a set of three-day houseparents. Changeover days like today, are one occasion when all of the houseparents are here at the same time, and have a chance to exchange information about the students in the homes. It’s also a day when we can do staff training once in a while.

As the school year winds down, today’s changeover featured a fun gathering – a healthy recipe exchange. About a dozen staff created platters of healthy snacks they’ve found the students in their homes enjoy. Everyone could sample them for themselves, and pick up recipes and new ideas. I enjoyed the time to wander and chat, as people start to make their end of the school year summer plans. When the votes were tabulated, Wanda from the Stevens Home (6^th – 8^th grade girls) was awarded Best Tasting, Daniel from the Matthias Home (6^th – 8^th grade girls) was proclaimed Most Creative and Theresa from Cyr Home (4^th-5^th grade boys) had the Most Student Involvement.

While stopping by the Akta Lakota Museum, I ran into Sally and Matt from Wisconsin. Their parish priest, Fr. Pat used to be our chaplain and recommended they visit. I had some time to show them around. Sally is the parish Director of Religious Education, so I made sure she got to hear from our Religious Education teacher. When we stopped in the Art room we got to see some beautiful creations. Bob Miller is our Artist in Residence for the week and he is working with our students to make art that glows fluorescently under black lights. Our students generally like art, but have gone at this work with a real passion. Some are using highlighters or paint, and the work definitely jumps out and make a favorable impression. After school, we stopped by the Afra Home (1^st-3^rd grade girls) where the students proudly showed our guests around the home before they hit the road with many memories.

 

Great progress

Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center remodeling project.

Part of the road around St. Joseph’s Indian School’s campus was closed today as the construction company working on the Akta Lakota Museum brought in three large pre-cast sections of wall. Two pictured the notable Sioux leaders Sitting Bull and Gabriel Renville to replace similar murals that are being covered up with the new addition. The third depicts an eagle in flight, which we use as the logo for the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. The sections weigh over ten tons, and a heavy crane lifted them into place as workers attached the 20 foot high sections to the building. The new look instantly gave a sense of great progress as the project continues to take shape.

We hold an annual service awards banquet to recognize employees for each five year anniversary of their service. Tonight, in addition to honoring staff members for their longevity, we also singled out nine staff members who were nominated by their peers for setting a good example and going far beyond the basics in their job.  Vaye Jean has worked in the school for 35 years, and was the longest serving employee so honored. The night was rather poignant in that she will be retiring at the end of the school year. We will  make sure we say a proper goodbye when we reach that point. But, for tonight, we shared a sit down dinner, memories and appreciation for the contribution all our staff make to the success of the Native American students entrusted to our care.

 

Healing camp for our Lakota students

Today we held our annual healing camp for students who are grieving the loss of a loved one, especially those who have lost someone dear to them over the past year. Fourteen staff members volunteered to spend the day with 15 students (two sisters shared one counselor) in a variety of activities that help them express feelings and memories.

Harlee loves singing!

We began the day with our drum group – The Chalk Hills Singers – singing a prayer song. We now have a dozen boys crowded around the drum! Next year Mark, the advisor, is considering starting a second drum group because of all the interest. There are also three girls who came forward. Traditionally, they don’t drum, but stand around the circle and add their lovely voices to the song.

To begin healing camp, I shared the scripture from John’s gospel about Martha and Mary’s reaction to the death of their brother Lazarus. One ran out to meet Jesus, while the other stayed at home. Each of us handles grief differently; some may need the company and support of others, but others may need down time to be alone. I wanted to give students the freedom to feel whatever they would feel during the day, and know that was okay.

One of my favorite activities was when everyone gathered in the Akta Lakota Museum classroom for a guided imagery about a conversation they would have with the loved one they were missing. As students and staff shared, they each had a glow-in-the-dark pendant, which they snapped to activate. The room gradually lit up, and the sharing produced both tears and happy memories. We ended with a circle of hugs and handshakes all around, then went outside to tie a memorial prayer tie in one of our trees on campus.

Other activities included writing a letter to the deceased and placing it on a fire with the smoke rising to the heavens, some fun time in the gym and rec center, Q and A about death and heaven, and one-on-one walks with the staff buddy.

Fr. Anthony led the group in a closing prayer service, with a lighting of votive candles and a prayer in memory of the beloved deceased. Many of our students have suffered significant losses in their young lives, and this is one way we’ve found to help lead them through such difficult days.