Monthly Archives: March 2019

Here is the motto for the rest of the week: “Worrying about what could happen is like worrying about rain (or mud) on a sunny day”. Lots of worrying about carrying prom dresses through the mud, the plan for the rest of the week, the prom dresses being in the health class, etc. However, it is sunny today, and I am not worried about anything.

We drove back to Rosie’s this morning to do her health checkup. We did not get to do it over the summer since I planned poorly and ran out of lancets. The trading post was quiet, and after completing Rosie’s screenings and a discussion about her results and current health, the students went to visit the horses. Seeing the sun out today has raised my spirits, and I feel hopeful for whatever the rest of the week holds! Here are some photos of the store and the animals at Singing Horse:

We did not have to be at the school until later in the day so the later start, even with fitting a screening in, was much appreciated. We started at the extended classroom today. Our plan was to take some prom dresses for the girls in the class to look through and then give the lesson for the day on oral health and healthy lifestyle then head over to the health class for the rest of the STI education in 6^th and 7^th periods. The extended class girls were very excited to look through our dresses. We only brought about 10-15 with us and quickly found out that we should have brought more. I left 3 of the 4 students at the class and took one with me to drive back to the motel to pick up more. This threw our teaching timeframe off, but no worries (see the motto for the rest of the week)—we can always adapt. The three students at the extended class started the oral care and healthy lifestyle education while we were gone to get more dresses, and while two of the students were finishing up, I drove two of the students to the health class so that they could start STI education.

I returned to the extended class as things were wrapping up with several of the girls having found their dress for prom. One of the girls was super thankful, stating that she had been trying to save money to get a dress and by getting one of ours, she would be able to use the saved money for other things that she needs. While I missed the try on, this girl found a beautiful coral colored sparkly dress and when viewing herself in the mirror exclaimed, “I look like a F!$%*^@ princess!”. She also decided to ask one of the guys in the class to prom while we were there, so we got to witness a promposal—it was great! He got a shirt and tie, and she told him that she would braid his long hair for prom. Love it!

We didn’t want to leave but needed to head over to the health class so reluctantly we packed up. Tiffany and Laura had things completely under control and the others joined in to finish the last two health classes. We clarified the plan for the dresses and for Wednesday with Mrs. U. B.. Drunk driving prevention and drug and alcohol abuse were Wednesday’s topics; we were asked again to provide education in her 1^st and 3^rd periods. Also, she asked that all of the prom dresses be in her room for Thursday. The entire school was notified that any girl could make an appointment to come and choose a dress with her available to do alterations at the same time. Works for us—what we do here has to meet the needs of those at the school so if this is what is wanted/needed, we are all for it.

With the sun out today and temperatures around 65, we took the opportunity to go to Badlands National Park (in Interior, not the Red Shirt Table overlook). After a wrong turn on my part, an extra 30 minutes of driving, and a dire need for the bathroom, we made it to the park. We drove all around and stopped to look at several of the overlooks. There were lots of mule deer to see and some other unanticipated wildlife to view. Specifically, as we were driving by a tree (and not slowly), Laura exclaims, “I think I saw a porcupine in that tree!”. I hit the brakes backed up, and sure enough, there was a lone porcupine trying to take a nap in the tree. We all got out to look at him/her; he/she finally had had enough of our excitement and turned over on the branch and went back to sleep. Our final fun in the Badlands was a group photo shoot in the middle of the road with me as the photographer. (There were only like 5 cars in the park at this time of the year so completely safe).

Monday was the start of our health promotion at Little Wound. The school nurse has been the students’ contact, and she put them in touch with the health teacher. We were invited to provide education on Monday to her 1^st, 3^rd, and 6^th periods, with a trip to the extended school classroom somewhere in between. The rest of the week, except for a scheduled period at the extended school classroom, was completely up in the air. After getting our bearings at the school, we found the health class in a trailer just behind the school nurse’s office trailer.

The health teacher, Mrs. U. B., was an absolute and unexpected pleasure. After some quick introductions and a discussion on the topic for the day—STI’s/pregnancy prevention/safe sex—we had permission to do the teaching as planned. The teaching for the day involved an activity around a banana and a condom so we wanted to remain sensitive to any cultural considerations, especially after Mrs. U. B. described herself as being traditional.

Fear/anxiety related to the unknown is a completely reasonable feeling, and most of the students were in this place prior to teaching. There were many questions from them about teaching—how many students? What about the rest of the week (since we only had a plan for Monday)? Etc. While I try to get the point across prior to the trip that a tight plan (and sometimes any plan) for the week prior to arriving is nearly impossible to make, this is a hard pill to swallow for those that are used to planning out their days/hours/minutes months in advance. This is one of the things that I have learned to love about our time at Pine Ridge though. It is freeing to live in the moment—living in the moment brings new opportunities, and with new opportunities come new challenges that allow us to grow as nurse, people, and visitors to this great place.

After completing the education for first period, we were invited to stay for 2^nd period and again for 5^th period with a request to return on Tuesday to provide the same education for her 6^th and 7^th period classes. This was a huge compliment to the students and their teaching! By the second teaching session the students had begun to shed their nervousness and get in their groove. Many of the health class students were extremely shy with this quite sensitive topic, but even with this, the students remained focused and had a more interactive audience in most periods than anticipated. The shyness was demonstrated in a lack of eye contact that the students were not used to—this isn’t out of the ordinary here though. By the 3^rd period, the students had found their favorite health class and had a great group of energetic, curious 14-year olds.

After a lunch at the taco stand across the street from the school (Indian tacos—yum!), we returned to teach at the extended school. We have visited this class every year since 2016, and frankly, this is my favorite. Since last year, the class has moved into a modular home about a block or so further than the original class building. The new building is awesome—computer lab, full kitchen, and lounge area. It was great to see some familiar faces—AJ, Ted, and Melvin were all there, as well as some of the same students. Two of the girls said, “Oh, the nurses are back!”. They had both been certified as CNA’s since last year and were considering nursing as a future option. This is great, and I was happy that they remembered us. Teaching was great—very interactive and lots of good questions! We always feel welcome at the extended school, and the kids are awesome. They are fun to teach and interact with.

The students at this point, after teaching their session 5 times were pretty tired (as was I!). Some commented that they did not realize that teaching could be so tiring. There were also comments about the differences in interaction for some of the classes and how challenging this was. They definitely realized that even if you are teaching the same material, one size fits all cannot be the approach—you must adjust your teaching style to fit the needs of your audience. They did impressive work today—their sensitivity to culture, as well as the nature of the topic, was outstanding.

Our plan for the week is slowly unfolding. We will be back at the extended school classroom tomorrow for a new topic, and Mrs. U. B. has requested that we return to her classroom for 6^th and 7^th periods to complete the STI education for her remaining two classes that we could not fit in today. Also, her classroom will be the prom dress “hub” on Thursday—more to come on that!

We attempted to visit the Historical Center at OLC, but unfortunately, they are putting in new flooring, and it was closed-Bummer! After a brief stop at the motel, we went to see Rosie at Singing Horse. It had again become misty and really foggy. I knew that Rosie had closed last week because of the condition of her driveway so I knew that it would likely not be in great shape still. Understatement—the driveway was extremely muddy and even after having someone grade it, it had some fairly big ruts. I am always up for a challenge so the F150 was put to the test. I know the best approach is to get some speed up and don’t stop if you start to slide or spin your wheels. We made it through without any problem, and was again thankful that we did not travel in a mini-van! While the students shopped in the store, I got to visit with Rosie. Always one of the best parts of the trip!

After a night of uninterrupted, deep sleep, time to hit the road again for groceries and other supplies. Going to Chadron, Nebraska was not an option due to the flooding—the road between Pine Ridge and Chadron was closed due to water over the road the last that I heard. No reason to chance it so Rapid City is the obvious alternative. The day started as overcast and gray with a light rain off and on. Rain is the last thing needed with all of the mud and water. I have never seen the reservation with so much water. All of the creeks are full to the brim, and water is standing in many fields. There is also still snow on the ground in places—a much different landscape than usual.

A trip to Rapid City is always about sightseeing as well as grocery shopping so we started with the sights first. By the time we got to Rapid, the weather had deteriorated further with the clouds quite low and intermittent thick fog. I was told by a student that I was not allowed to use the words damp or moist to describe the weather even though they were most fitting!

The Crazy Horse Monument was our first stop. Since the monument was not able to be seen in the fog, we got a discounted entry fee. The museum is the best part of the visit anyway so we enjoyed walking around and stretching our legs for a bit viewing the Native American art and artifacts. I have become more and more interested in Lakota (and Native American) spirituality with each trip that I take to Pine Ridge. I am fascinated by and respect their views of the creator and beliefs about the equality of all things—whether living or not–and that all have a spirit. I found a prayer and a poem at Crazy Horse that spoke to me:

“Oh Great Spirit, Giver of All Life, You have been always, and before you nothing has been. Look and smile upon us your children, so that we may live this day to serve you. Watch over my relatives, the red, black, white, and brown. Sweeten my heart and fill me with light this day. Give me strength to understand and the eyes to see. Help me Great Spirit, for without you, I am nothing”. –Paul War Cloud

Spirit Helper by Many Crows Woman

“Enjoy your Spirit Helper, and let her be your friend.

She has no eyes so she cannot judge you.

Her feet leave no tracks so you are the only one to know she is there.

She has no hands to meddle in things not about her.

Tell her your hopes, your dreams, your fears, those things that make you happy, things that make you sad.

All these thoughts she will guard very carefully, so when you need them most for strength, this little Spirit Helper will give them back to you.

Take her wherever you go and know that you have a friend”

I find more lessons here than anywhere else about how I want to live my life—as a person who strives to provide service, attempts to understand and see, and stays focused on generosity. No need to see the monument to get the full benefit of this visit!

After Crazy Horse, we did the Wildlife Loop at Custer. At first it seemed that our only wildlife would be the mule deer, but our patience was finally rewarded. We saw buffalo both near the road and in the park’s corrals, prairie dogs, and pronghorn antelope. The most popular—the burros—aren’t around the park during the winter. Our last stop was Mt Rushmore, but again, unfortunately, the fog obscured the view. Oh well! South Dakota is always an adventure!

Another Spring Break means another trip to Pine Ridge. This time with 4 students with a goal to provide health promotion at the high school in Kyle. The reservation experienced a significant blizzard last week and then a sudden warm up which caused major flooding. I have monitored the news, weather, and social media prior to our departure to try to make sure that we would be able to get there and then get around to where we need to in Kyle. A few days before travel, things looked dire with some areas having water over the road, people stuck in their homes due to mud and flooding, and then a significant water main break near the motel. I called the motel to see if their water was on and was relieved when I heard that it was.

Renting the vehicle for travel on Friday involved a large pick up truck with 4-wheel drive to ensure that we would be able to get around the rez. I was initially offered a mini-van—a big no to that! We definitely would have gotten stuck, so really not an option. With all of our donations, the bed of the F150 was completely full. We left at 0430 on Saturday morning for the 18-hour drive. The drive went smoothly until we had to take a lengthy detour off I29 in Iowa that involved about 80+ miles on a two-lane road through farm country. Our goal was to get to the motel before 9pm so that we could eat dinner in the restaurant. We were on track for an 8:30pm arrival when within 1 mile of the motel, we came to where they were working on the water main break. A line of cars were stopped waiting to be let through on the road. After speaking to a police officer, we learned that they would let cars through but it would probably be a 30-minute wait. Our only other option was to turn around and drive through Allen to get to the motel which would have taken 90 minutes. After calling the motel again and finding out that the restaurant closed at 7pm for winter hours, we drove as quickly as possible to a convenience store in Kyle to purchase something/anything for dinner. Five party pizzas, a loaf of bread, some water, and a chocolate cake later, we got back in line by the water main break. We waited an hour and just at the point that I was ready to turn around to drive through Allen, they let the waiting cars through. Even for all of our discomfort in the car and then waiting so close to our destination, I am thinking of those stuck in their houses due to the mud and flooding here.

We quickly unloaded the truck and the overwhelming need to lay down was stronger than my need for pizza. One protein bar later, I turned in for the night—tired but happy and ready for a week of health promotion.  Photos to come!