Native Week!

The beautiful Teepee inspired church at St. Labre

This past week was Native Week at St. Labre Indian School, which was awesome! My position at the dorm has become both more challenging and rewarding, and having so many blessings this past week has reinvigorated my love for the school and the kids here. It is difficult at times to work with students who have little to no support at home and face many personal struggles. I am currently reading a book by the Dalai Lama about compassion to remind myself to always practice compassion. It has been a great addition to the wisdom of the Crow and Cheyenne elders that I am learning from. Some of our dorm students have been struggling with deaths in their families and some of them have been seeing spirits in the dorm. Sprits are a very real and serious part of Native spirituality so on Monday we had Crow and Cheyenne elders come to the dormitory to speak to the students and bless them. The elders shared their wisdom and blessing with the kids and the staff and then performed a cedar-ing ceremony through the whole dorm. Now we have cedar hanging over the doorways to each of the wings to remind the dorm kids that they are blessed and protected. The elders told us not to fear these spirits that may be relatives who have not yet said goodbye, they are good and we must try to always keep our own spirit good.

The Moccasins I Made!

During the week the students had the opportunity to go to a class and learn a Native craft or skill and I got to be the adult supervision for moccasin making. The elder who taught us about the history of the moccasins and how to make them was wonderful! Everyday she brought us treats and on Thursday she had a crockpot of buffalo berry pudding cooking in her supply closet! It was really therapeutic to sit with her and students quietly cutting and sewing while listening to Cheyenne music in the background. We didn’t have enough material for everyone to make adult moccasins so I made a toddler size pair that I am very proud to have finished. On Friday there was an all day Native celebration, which started with a parade. They had a teepee race where the Crow students competed against the Cheyenne students to see who would finish first which was so much fun to watch and cheer for. The Crow students won but it was really close! I loved seeing so many of our dorm kids participating in the activities throughout the day. Some of our students played Native hand games or showed off the crafts they completed during the week. There was a hand drum and singing competition that several of our boys participated in. I was so proud of a couple of the guys for sharing their incredible talent with everyone. My favorite part of the day was listening to a bunch of the dorm boys in the drum circle. Their voices and drumming are so incredibly beautiful. It made me feel truly blessed to be here, to be a part of this community, and this experience.

Teepee Race!

The Crow Teepee that won the teepee race

Even though there are not a lot of people in Ashland the people that are here are wonderful. People from the school community are always giving us vegetables or other food, and Chris and I often get sent home with leftovers from the dorm. There are a couple former Jesuit Volunteer’s that have come back to work at St. Labre who often spend time with us and give us great advice. We’ve been keeping ourselves entertained with plenty of pool and movies in the basement, card games and Catan on the kitchen table, and dance parties in the living room. We make our own fun, and there is always a St. Labre game to go to or someone inviting us over for dinner. This beautiful “Big Sky” country still keeps me in awe with its multitude of stars, beautiful sunsets, and beautiful landscape. Some days are better than others and everyday comes with its struggles and blessings but I feel at home here and continue to find happiness in my work and in my community. 

Ashland Adventures!

My wonderful year of JVC Northwest has begun! I am settled into my new home in Ashland, Montana where main street consists of 10 buildings (a post office, bank, two hardware stores, two restaurants, a movie rental place/ice cream shop, a small grocery store, and two bars). I am living in a beautiful house on a hill that looks down on the valley where St. Labre school where I volunteer is located. Our house is called Tall White Man Lodge, which at first we thought was a joke but it is actually named after a person who lived here. Many of the names here are Crow or Cheyenne like Walks Along, Real Bird, Chief Goes Out, and Pretty on Top. The landscape here has not yet ceased to amaze me with its beauty: the rolling hills that flatten out and then shoot up in majestic buttes, the tongue river that winds its way through Ashland, the big sky that stretches on forever and darkens at night so you can see the milky way.

The first full weekend me and the six other members of my community were invited by one of the school staff, Ivan Small, to go to Crow Fair (the annual festival of the Crow tribe). Ivan invited us to the fairgrounds a few days early to build a teepee. Building a teepee was much more complicated that I ever would have thought. It took us two hours to complete it and the whole time Ivan taught us about the specifics of teepee building and other Crow traditions. On the weekend during Crow Fair we slept in one ofIvan’s teepee’s and got to experience some Crow traditions with his family. We also got to go to pow-wows every night. The drums, chanting, and dancing were incredibly beautiful. When we were sitting near the drum circle you could feel the drum beating inside you, pulsing through your whole to body. We also got to dance the intertribal dance, which was fun and a moment when I stopped and realized what a unique year this is going to be. I never thought that I would spend a weekend going to a rodeo, pow-wows, and sleeping in a teepee, but I am so glad I did!

Although there is barely any cell reception, only internet at the school, and living in a town of 300 people has already presented some challenges I have begun to feel at home in Ashland. My community has been wonderful so far. We are constantly hanging out with each other and there is not a day that we have not had at least one good laugh. I have only had a few days with the kids at the St. Labre dormitory and school just started, but I’m already loving working with all the kids. Right now I truly feel as though this is where I am meant to be and I am happy. I hope that the rest of the year will continue to be as life-giving as these first couple weeks have been.