Monthly Archives: April 2019

Today we finish our week at Little Wound. This has been an absolute whirlwind! There is a renewed anxiety today since we were told that we would be teaching in the gym and then in the middle school. The topic today is self-esteem and healthy relationships. We got to school at 8:30 for the entire school assembly in the gym. We were introduced and thanked as part of the assembly. Besides an awkward moment of staying out on the gym floor too long after our introduction, everyone made it through this time in the spotlight.

In addition to announcing some art awards, the Special Olympics basketball team from the high school was celebrated for winning the state championship. The team and coach were welcomed out onto the gym floor with each member of the team receiving a star quilt for their accomplishment. The entire school was then invited to come up and shake each team member’s hand. After recognizing one of the guys from a health class teaching session from earlier in the week as a team member, I decided that I wanted to show my respect as well. We went out onto the floor and shook hands also—these kids were so thrilled to be recognized in this way by the entire school.

Much to the students’ relief, our teaching in the gym was changed to teaching Juniors in a classroom. They taught 3 classes in the high school and then went to wrangle about 40 7^th graders in the middle school. They have been required to adapt frequently and teach more than initially planned this week but have remained focused and hard-working throughout. Unfortunately, we could not return to the extended classroom today—they were on a field trip. We did get to see some of the kids during the assembly though, and we also dropped off a box of goodies with a note at the classroom before leaving. One of the activities that was part of the teaching today was to hand out word bubbles with the statement “Love is…” and asking the junior students to complete this statement. They could talk about love for another, themselves, or anything that they wanted. I was surprised that so many of them were willing to do this, and we got some great explanations of love!

We were invited to Mrs. U. B.’s classroom for lunch also. We met a teacher from the SDSU extension that does outreach work related to 4H. She was helping Mrs. U. B. with prom dress alterations. We had the very best lunch, courtesy of Mrs. U. B., of chicken with pickled onions and corn tortillas from the burrito stand across from the school. This was the best chicken I have ever had—delicious! After saying goodbye to Mrs. U. B., we were done for the week.

We went to Singing Horse to see Allyssa and Lily after our time at the school. Lily is one now and toddling all over. She is a happy baby who loves mom and grandma—even with not feeling the best after getting her 12-month vaccinations, she was still bright eyed and smiling. So good to see them! We missed Rosie though—she was in Rapid City for the day. After more shopping and visiting, we returned to the motel for napping prior to our nighttime driving.

Thinking about both the kids at Little Wound and my future nurses, the following quote fits, and I hope that they will keep it in mind:

“You’re so hard on yourself. But remember, everybody has a chapter they don’t read out loud. Take a moment. Sit back. Marvel at your life: at the mistakes that gave you wisdom, the suffering that gave you strength. Despite everything, you still move forward. Be proud of this. Continue to endure. Continue to persevere. And remember, no matter how dark it gets, the sun will rise again.”

How can it already be Wednesday? Time is like a vacuum here—standing still but moving forward at the same time. Snow is in the forecast again. This time for Thursday night and Friday. The students will be done with their planned teaching during the day on Thursday, so Friday was going to be sightseeing, visiting, maybe some screenings, and some sort of attempt to help with flood relief. Unfortunately, this is not to be. I can’t risk getting stuck here with 4 students who still need to complete their capstone hours. We are going to have to leave Thursday night to be on the safe side.

We were back to school this morning for first period in the health class. This day’s topic was again a sensitive one—drunk driving and drug and alcohol abuse. I had told Mrs. U. B.earlier in the week that I really did not want the students to be perceived as the “outsiders who know best”. I truly want their teaching to encourage partnership and to be done in a participatory, interactive way. The students asked Mrs. U. B. to say a few words when it came time in their presentation to talk about peer pressure, and boy, did she add to the presentation. Her approach with her students is one of gentle guidance, tough love, and a challenge to uphold the Lakota culture. She has frequently told the high school students to be role models and leaders and to share their new insights with others who may be in need of assistance. Her discussion on peer pressure focused on community and family as the source of the pressure. She also shared that she had been an EMT and discussed some of the meth-related ambulance calls that she experienced. These stories were heartbreaking and extremely sad. Before the main event of having the health class students experience the drunk goggles, they were asked to make a plan—a plan for what they would do if in the situation where drugs or alcohol were present in the environment. Several students wrote on their plan that they would choose not to drink because they did not want to be like their father. The drunk goggles were very exciting for participants, but my students did a great job of driving home the point that even though this was a fun activity, there were very serious implications in real life. Our traveling band of health promotion returned to the extended classroom and provided the same activities.

Just as we were leaving for the day, I received a text from Mrs. U. B. that we had been invited to participate in a radio program with the school’s principal. No time to work up any anxiety about this addition to the plans! Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the radio show site, the broadcast was over, but more new plans were made. Thursday am we would return to the high school to be a part of the circle meet up which involved all of the students from Kindergarten through 12^th grade in the gym. We were then to provide the healthy relationship and self-esteem education to all of the Juniors in the gym with more teaching to follow on the same topic at the middle school.

After teaching, we headed to the Red Cloud Indian School and Big Bats. I saw the following on one of the paintings in the Heritage Center at Red Cloud:

“Sing me a song

A song of promise

For all of my tomorrows”

This spoke to me, just like the poem and prayer at Crazy Horse on Sunday. I couldn’t help but think of how this fits the high school students that we have had the pleasure of interacting with this week. They have so much promise! No one has a guarantee of tomorrow, but with the ongoing guidance (or song) from Mrs. U. B. and others, their futures are filled with hope and promise. They can rise to meet the challenges that exist and be the role models for Lakota culture that are needed on Pine Ridge.