After not getting to do much in the way of health promotion on Saturday, I let the students know that we would be going for broke on Sunday–leaving early and returning late. The plan was to return to the pow wow grounds to set up in the parking lot, do screenings for a couple of hours, and then head to the Indian Relays. The students (and myself) really wanted to experience the Indian Relays for the first time, and my thought was that we could do health promotion there as well. I will explain what the Indian Relays are later in my post.
We got to the pow wow grounds early, and while there were not many people there yet, I knew the crowd would build with time. The students went into the pow wow and asked the announcer to let people know that we were available for screenings and some supplies in the parking lot. We had a steady trickle of individuals, families, and children throughout the morning. Our friend Seymour Young Dog came to have his “check up” (yes, I had his name wrong–it is Seymour, not Cecil). What a great man! He gave us his address and asked that we send him one of the group pictures (which I am sharing here). He also had us write down our names and stated that when he goes to sweat lodge next week that he will pray for us. The students always shine when the rubber meets the road and it is time to do health promotion. We had so many excellent interactions–whether it was playing a “game” with the kids to quiz them about sugar in drinks with the prize being a sports ball or other outside toy, or the 50-ish pow wow dancer who had a quite elevated blood sugar who had not taken her insulin yet and called to have her husband bring her her insulin after getting checked, or the young family given a booster seat and other supplies for the kids, the students brought their “A” game and demonstrated the caring, compassionate, and empathetic nurses that they will be and already are. I love this day the most!
Now let me attempt to explain the Indian Relays. We went to Three Moccasin Park which is in Pine Ridge and near the pow wow grounds. We watched several horse races prior to the main event. The races were not your typical horse racing that you would see at Churchill Downs. Instead the majority of races were bareback, including a bareback pony race for kids. We saw the over-40 race, which Tyler LaForge won. He is the guy whose horses we typically get to ride in Porcupine; it was great to see someone who I have met several times win! The Indian Relays involve teams–there is one rider for three horses and two horse handlers on each team. The rider starts on the ground and must jump on the back of his horse (again, bareback!) and ride at a full gallop around the track. When he approaches the starting area, he jumps off his horse onto the ground and then jumps onto the next horse and rides around the track again. This process is repeated one more time, and it is absolutely crazy to see. The riders coming in full-tilt with the handlers trying to help with the exchange of horses for 4 teams was controlled chaos. I have never seen anything like it–it was quite exciting, but I honestly thought that I might have a heart attack thinking that either a horse or rider was going to get seriously injured. Wow! Here are some photos that don’t really do the exciting process justice.
We continued to do health promotion here at the Relays as well. We did some screenings and ended up talking to a young mom with a baby who had what appeared to be a small abscess on her face from an insect bite and a grandma with a small child with an open wound from a bicycle accident. Skin issues continue to be something that comes up commonly here. We talked to both about how to care for the affected areas, infection prevention, and when to follow up with the primary care provider. We met a family while watching the races who were just an absolute pleasure. While health promotion is still the ongoing focus, chatting about the relays with this very welcoming group was quite enjoyable.
When we finally put this day to bed after a delicious meal at the Lakota Prairie Restaurant and S’mores around the fire, the students agreed that the day was a win.
Nursing Students at Pine Ridge 