Monthly Archives: August 2024

With Friday night’s stressful events, I wanted to allow the students an easy day with no big time constraints and some fun.  They slept in, and after offering a few activities, it was decided that we would visit Robert’s Prairie Dog Town in the Badlands; Wall Drug (everyone’s favorite tourist trap); and then have a decent dinner that offered a bit more nutrition than our usual.  Everybody seems to be in good spirits-they have bounced back very quickly from the stress of the night before.  I am eternally grateful that we have a resilient group—they will certainly need this resilience as nurses.  And even more grateful that the group is safe, and no one else was injured. We’re not the only one’s who are resilient. The pow wow activities continue with increased security, including metal detectors.

Sunday was the much anticipated Relays, my favorite extreme sporting event.  S.  And E. Went with us which added to the fun.  The blistering heat continues-106 degrees and SO dry and dusty.  Thankfully it clouded up, and we got a decent breeze.  With the breeze, it was difficult to keep the canopy anchored, but we made it work.  We also got  the prime spot just next to the starting/finish line. 

Screenings were slow today, but still some great interactions and fun withe kids.  We gave away the rest of our booster seats and the majority of our diapers.  We also gave away IUS and Red Cross T-shirts, and when I asked a group of school-age boys on bikes if they wanted a T-shirt, I got a hug as thanks.  Again, it is the little things. 

The races were exciting as always.  I warned the students that I might be embarrassing with my cheering and yelling.  Just like the pow wow, I recognize familiar faces, including Parker, who we first watch ride in a race at the age of two.  He must be about 8 or 9 now and quite the rider.  It finally got to be main event time-championship race of the relays.  Unfortunately, a rider got injured on his first horse exchange.  He had to stay on the track until the race was over, and then was carried out by two of the staff.  The three nurses, S., E., and I, provided some simple care until EMS arrived.  They sat him in one of our chairs and we applied ice to his knee.  We talked to him and tried to keep him calm.  From the sounds of it, he likely tore a ligament in his knee when he landed with his knee bent under him.  The ambulance arrived fairly quickly from the pow wow grounds, and off he went.  Another eventful day at the races doing whatever we can-plenty of little things that hopefully add up.

After the busy day yesterday, we eased up the pace just a bit for Friday.  Our alum extraordinaire, Suzie, again very generously guided the students through a tour of the IHS Kyle Health Center facilities.  The students had some great questions for here, and Suzie provided a very important first-hand account of working with an underserved population in a very rural setting—her insights are invaluable for the students.  Whether the topic was the chronic underfunding of IHS, the limited health care resources on the reservation, or the current STI epidemic, it was obvious to me that some light bulbs went off for the students.  The tour is always outstanding, but we had an added bonus this time.  While touring the Four Directions Clinic that provides women’s services, sexual assault forensic exams, STI testing, and more, we met LTJG M., a member of the U.S. Public Health Services Commissioned Corp.  While I discuss the USPHS in my community/public health nursing course, I have not had a contact who could provide first-hand information.  She very enthusiastically gave a thorough explanation and answered questions on the spot.  I frequently tell students that the world is their oyster when it comes to nursing.  There are SO many opportunities, and the USPHS is a great one. After group pictures, we headed to the OLC Historical Center.  Unfortunately, the Historical Center and the shipping container coffee shop in Kyle were closed for the day for the pow wow festivities.  We returned to the campground for lunch and relaxing prior to our journey to the pow wow for the grand entry in the evening.

We got to the pow wow grounds early to get a good seat, and lucky for us, we were able to get a front row spot.  The Grand Entry is always the best—the veterans and elders in their regalia are so special to see. Also, I have had the opportunity of seeing the same dancers over the years, and there are quite a few favorites.  While the students were in the front row, I sat one row back behind a family with two dancers—a mother in her beautiful turquoise jingle dress and a teenage boy in striking pink regalia for the chicken dance. I loved watching the mom help him get into his very elaborate regalia for the grand entry and was really looking forward to seeing him dance.  It is also important to note that it continues to be 100+ degrees, and the dancers are in full regalia, as well as some of the veterans in full military uniform.  In the Veterans Group of flag bearers was the same Marine from last year.  He is in full dress blues with white gloves on in the heat, standing as tall and proud as anyone I have ever seen.  Seeing him reminds me of the sacrifice that the uniform represents.

This is always a favorite activity for me during the trip, and as usual, I enjoyed watching the students soak it all in.  After a pow wow dinner and the grand entry finished, I encouraged them to walk around the grounds and to not be afraid to ask a dancer for a photo. 

We had decided that we would only stay for another couple of dances by 10pm, trying to hold out to see the teenager in the pink chicken dance regalia.  Unfortunately, a shooting occurred on the pow wow grounds while we were waiting for our chicken dancer.  I won’t get into the specific details, but all in the group are fine.  This was the last thing that I would expect to happen here with so many families, kids, and elderly present.  It was quickly determined by the tribal police department that the shooting was an isolated incident that was the result of a fight.  The shooter was apprehended before we had even left the pow wow grounds.  The students, while shaken up, are outwardly calm and stayed that way throughout the incident. Lots to think about tonight on the long drive to the campground.

An evening trip into the main part of Badlands National Park was the request after dinner. The light was perfect and every stop and view was better than the previous. We did a lot of stopping for photos as the sunset inched closer. We were able to see ALL of the animals-prairie dogs, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, coyote, and an owl. The Wild Kingdom part of the trip came when we saw a coyote running full tilt toward a lone deer. I thought that we were going to witness a predator kill in real time. I actually honked the horn to try to get the deer to move-being a bystander to this was not going to happen. Thank goodness the deer finally decided to run into the hills, but it let the coyote get within about 5 feet first. This circle of life moment was almost too much for me! Our day ended with the reward of a breathtaking sunset.

We are starting the trip off with a bang. Day #2 is health promotion at the Tribal Health Fair in Pine Ridge that is part of the tribe’s sponsored pow wow activities. This will be our first attendance of this event, and I am not sure what to expect.

Health fair set up was at 8am in Pine Ridge, and we also needed to stop by Suzie’s in Kyle to pick up some of our shipped supplies. A 6am departure time to allow for the pick up and drive to Pine Ridge was going to be tough for Day #2 with everyone tired from traveling, but I got no complaints. I was exhausted but the new environment and being overly tired kept me tossing and turning all night. I maybe got 3 hours of sleep, and the 6am departure started to look iffy. I could easily say let’s forego the health fair—would anyone really notice or care? While it was a thought for about a minute, canceling was a hard no. Everything that I do on this trip is built around my word and doing what I say that I’m going to do. My word has to mean something, and I absolutely have to role model that for students. I did give everyone (and myself) an extra 15 minutes and that was enough.

Loaded up with health promotion supplies, donations, and students, we arrived for the health fair by 8:15. We were able to pick a spot for our booth under the pow wow arbor and worked on getting organized for a 10am start. The students are doing great with working as a team to get things done. I tend to bark out orders and directions during the trip, and I am trying very hard not to do this. They can problem solve, and I just need to let them!

We met Ted from Re-Member, a non-profit that works on the Rez. He gave us the scoop on what to expect at the health fair, and I nearly fell over when he told us that attendance may be 1200! I let the students know that we would likely run out of screening supplies and donations and that whatever we were able to do would be good enough. It’s also VERY hot with the temp around 95. Cholesterol monitor won’t work with that temp so blood sugars and blood pressures it is.

We got to work with screenings using two teams of students screening, two students doing giveaways of bubbles, sunglasses, and mini stuffed animals for the kids and marketing the screenings for the adults, and the final student keeping supplies organized and at the ready. We ended up being so busy! The students again pitched in however needed and switched off trading duties as needed. I love seeing them work and do all of the things that help the screening participants feel more comfortable with us, as strangers from Indiana. Things like getting down at eye level with the person getting screened; asking for permission before touching someone to do a blood pressure, reporting abnormal screening results, and providing information in a clear and simple way—it’s the little things that make a difference.

We were extremely well-received, and I felt very welcomed to be a part of this event. I met the elected secretary for the tribe, who conveyed in words what I felt here-that our presence was very much appreciated. By 1:30, we were done and everyone was ready to get out of the heat. We did as many screenings today as we usually do in a whole week, and our week just started!

A well-earned rest break back at the cabins followed by an eventful trip to the Badlands (that requires its own post!) completed our day.

The years have passed quickly and the travelers continue to change, but today marks my 22nd trip to Pine Ridge. I haven’t blogged in several years, I guess that I will chalk it up to an extended pandemic hiatus and an overall individual reset. With this time passage, changes, and reset, I have given in to the need to fly instead of taking the 18-hour one-way drive that would allow me to pack so much more. So with that, I left the Louisville airport to fly to Chicago and on to Rapid City with 7 energetic and somewhat anxious students and one overweight suitcase (mine). We nearly missed our connection in Chicago-thankfully a brisk walk rather than an OJ Simpson Hertz commercial sprint through the airport was enough to make it before the plane’s doors were closed. We made it! Our rental SUV barely fit all of us and our luggage even though I was the only one who overpacked so we had to drive to our lodging (new digs this year-cabins at the Badlands KOA). A quick offload and perusal of the surroundings, and we were off again for the big Walmart shop. I gave the students the option of staying behind to relax rather than another 1.5 hours in the car each way to Walmart, but they all wanted to go. A great sign for the group that they will be able to go with the flow. 45 minutes of tag-teaming the Walmart shopping, and we were packed to overflowing and ready to head back to the campground. Also worth mentioning was the harvest of some quills from a road kill porcupine near the campground. A very full and interesting first day as always!