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Friday was our last day on the rez.  I never like to blog after I’m home because, well, it just isn’t the same as writing in the moment.  Our last day was quite hectic though so it is my only option for capturing Friday’s happenings and feelings.

There was no health promotion topic planned for Friday by Britin and Ashley, beyond sharing a story about maintaining who you are while reaching for your goals and celebrating with the distribution of prom dresses, dress shirts, and neckties.  Even though we weren’t teaching anything, we wanted to go back to the alternative classroom to say thanks to the students and teachers for welcoming us all week.  Ashley and Britin had the brilliant idea of sharing our leftover breakfast items with the class as part of the thank you.  We brought cereal, apples, bananas, and yogurt for the group, along with more giveaways.  After a group photo, we headed back to the Lakota Prairie restaurant for one more order of fried pickles and ranch.  I never eat fried pickles anywhere but there–they are always delicious!

The cabin has looked like there was a formal-wear explosion all week with prom dresses hanging everywhere (there are no closets in the cabin).  With 50 prom dresses, approximately 7 dress shirts, and a bag of neckties, plus jewelry, shoes, and other items, we rolled into the high school, setting up in the foyer again next to the gym and the security office.  Before I could even get in the door after parking the rental, Britin and Ashley had already given a dress away and had girls in the bathroom trying on others.  The excitement and smiles were so great to see.  Britin and Ashley worked hard to give each girl attention, help them find something that suited their style, give encouragement, and even helped them get their dresses on if needed.  So much fun!  The girls got lots of hugs, photos, and even requests to be Facebook friends.  We now know many of the students by first name, and I look forward to being back in August and looking for these new friends dancing at the pow wow.  The hugs are especially meaningful–it is a sign that we are more than just acquaintances; as an acquaintance, a hand shake would be the appropriate gesture.  We were able to give away all but about 15 dresses, two dress shirts, and a few ties.  One of the high school teachers kept the leftovers to share with some of the girls not present on Friday.  We really didn’t want to leave but knew that we had to eventually.

We left Friday night at 6pm and drove straight through again.  I usually need 1-2 weeks to recuperate from a trip–there is always so much to process.  But, alas, Spring Break is over as of tomorrow.  As I return to work, I can’t help but feel blessed for these experiences, new friends, and the privilege of doing this very small bit to encourage safety at Little Wound during prom.  Wopila!

With my word clarity severely lacking yesterday, I am going to try again today here.  The trip has been phenomenal overall and truly so much more than expected.  Today was filled with many memorable moments, and while I have held back tears more than once so far, today was the day that the dam broke for me and my students.

Little Wound High School has overwhelmed us with a welcoming, positive energy–faces are familiar now, and we are greeted warmly no matter where we go at the school.  It feels like we have been coming to the school everyday for months, instead of part of a week.  Almost like we are part of this community.

Today’s health promotion topic was healthy relationships and positive coping.  We started out the day with our new friend (and fellow Hoosier), Mr. Reed, who brought his freshman Math classes to see Britin and Ashley for a teaching session.  The topic at hand was again quite sensitive–talking to teenagers about date rape, domestic violence, unhealthy coping, codependency, how to handle anger, and the like is no easy task.  Mr. Reed commented that Britin and Ashley handled the topic well and were very sensitive to some of the cultural differences.

During our time in the foyer, I had a teacher ask if we were from the Indian Studies department at IU.  I explained to him that we were from the nursing department and what the students were doing this week and some of my previous experiences at Pine Ridge.  He mentioned that he had done some work with IU and that his son is an artist who makes ledger art.  Later in the afternoon, after visiting our friends in the alternative class, we were again in the foyer, when this teacher came back to see us.  I have since come to know that his name is Cliff, and he teaches drivers ed.  He brought a ledger art print by his son that depicts IU–I will attach a photo because my explanation will not do it justice.  He handed it to me, and simply said, “Thanks for coming”, and walked away.  This very generous and kind gesture of thanks overwhelmed me.  While I talk about Pine Ridge quite a bit and love to be here doing whatever I can, I am not looking for thanks.  But with that said, I will treasure this gift always.

This evening after our time at school, we went to Wounded Knee finally.  We were met as soon as we arrived with several Lakota ladies selling bracelets and dream catchers.  At this time of year, there is literally no tourist traffic on the reservation except at Wounded Knee.  To sell a bracelet or a dream catcher or two might help buy a bit of food or enough gas to travel for a few days on the reservation.  When I am met with these offerings, I want to buy something from everyone because I know that even a few dollars can make a big difference.  We did buy a couple of things, and then went into the cemetery to visit the monument and mass grave.  One of the ladies selling jewelry had a little girl with her, and the girl came back to ask if we had any water.  Ashley got several bottles of water for the girl and her mom, and the girl commented, “I’ve been thirsty for so long”.  This statement was heartbreaking–it is one thing to not have food (which is bad enough), but to not have water?  Quite difficult to wrap our heads around.  What else can we do?  Our very small contributions will never be enough, but we can keep trying and will.

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The title will make sense shortly!

After a fun and highly successful day on Tuesday with drunk driving prevention, Ashley and Britin switched gears to a more personal topic for health promotion today–body image.  Honestly (and I hate to admit this), I was not expecting much as far as participation from the students at the high school.  Boy, was I wrong!

We continued in the alternative class with about 14 students again.  Ashley and Britin did a phenomenal job with this topic, teaching and connecting like seasoned pro’s.  It even gave me pause to consider how I consider my own body image.  With some great examples on how to work on improving body image with positive self-talk and a reminder that we are always harder on ourselves than others are, the students were genuinely interested in the topic.

The activity for this topic was, “Do You See What I See?”–students were paired up and asked to list positive things about their partner.  After each wrote these down, the papers were returned to the partner to allow the student to see how others view them and to recognize that they do have positive attributes.  Some of the things that were shared were: you are a great friend…a good listener…you are funny…I like your eyebrows…and more.  Students were asked to keep these lists and pull them out on days when they are feeling bad about themselves as a reminder of their good traits.

After visiting this class, we moved up to the foyer again, and immediately went to work.  Students at the high school are now seeking Britin and Ashley out and seem to be quite comfortable with them.  It is interesting to watch the dynamics at play in the high school–I remember the challenges vividly and body image was a big part of those challenges.  I see the kids here, who have it much tougher than I ever did, and I hope that they can see their worth and know that they have much to offer.

It’s been a long day, and I am struggling to find the words to put the day in perspective so I will stop typing!

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After one of the best nights of sleep that I’ve had in ages (I think it is the peace, quiet, and fresh air, along with just being HERE!), we woke up to a gray day of soft, steady rain.  While this weather encourages laziness and lounging in your pj’s, we had places to be and people to see!

Our day started at the alternative classroom again with our health promotion topic being distracted driving (don’t text, bro! to quote a student) and safe party habits.  While we do not want to encourage or condone underage drinking, our education on the topic encourages safety at all times.  We also were able to provide a fun and interesting activity to go along with this–the beer goggles.  These were borrowed from the campus police at IUS and simulate different levels of drunkenness–.08 (at the legal limit), .15-.25 (twilight); .26-.35 (blackout drunk).  Students participated enthusiastically, asking questions with no holds barred.  Most of the students tried each of the different levels of goggles while walking through an obstacle course.  While there was much laughter and joking when someone walked into one of the obstacles, once reminded that if they were in a car and this had happened, they could have potentially run over someone, hit a telephone pole, etc, there was usually a somber, thoughtful moment for each.

We also went back to the foyer area like yesterday and had crowds at a time to get this education and “walk the line” with the beer goggles.  All told, we saw about 50 kids today.  Again, so much better than anticipated.  Many, many eyeopening interactions–when the majority of the class of students raises their hands when asked if they know someone who has been in an accident and injured as a result of a drunk driving incident, you know that the education is needed–not just this once, but on an ongoing basis.  Britin and Ashley continue to amaze me–they have worked so hard and continue to do so during this trip.

We were able to see Rosie and Allyssa tonight and spend some time visiting and chatting and shopping in the trading post.  Always feels so comfortable to be there with old friends.

My students surprised me with a gift from Rosie’s –totally unexpected and not necessary but still much appreciated!  I have admired on multiple trips the fans that are made of feathers and either painted or beaded.  These are traditionally used in some of the pow wow dances by the female dancers.  They got me a beautifully painted fan with the most striking color combination of feathers, along with a porcupine quill bracelet.   I am speechless and thankful!

…..You never know what you are going to get!

Today started with our first trip to Little Wound High School for health promotion at 0900.  Topic of the day was STD and pregnancy prevention, along with 300 condoms to distribute along with other resources.

The school nurse’s office was hopping upon our arrival with a continuous influx of sick kiddos requiring attention for cold symptoms, bumps and bruises, red eyes, etc.  After reaching a lull in the flow, the school nurse, Lindsee Harris, welcomed us and let us know that she was waiting to hear from the principal where we would be placed for student access.  We waited patiently and got the go ahead to take our traveling STD education to the alternative classroom.  The teacher for this class, AJ, kindly explained to us that this class format (which is mostly online) allows students to continue to attend school when the demands of the regular school hours and curriculum cannot be met.  For example, teen parents are one of the common attendees of this class. The high school has a dropout rate of between 45-55% so this alternative is a good option for keeping kids in school.   We were thrilled to have this audience for teaching and spent about an hour with them.  Britin and Ashley did a great job of teaching about STD’s and pregnancy prevention.  I, unfortunately, completely underestimated the number of condoms to bring–we handed out the majority of our supply to this group (nearly 300!).  The students in this class were full of great questions and participated enthusiastically.  We also were able to spend some time talking about nursing as a profession and encouraging them to follow their dreams.  This health promotion session went so well that AJ scheduled us to come back into the classroom to present our other topics on each day for the rest of the week.  If this was a box of chocolate, then I would say that I got the caramel nut piece, which is, in my opinion, the best!

After this session, we took a lunch break and visited the burrito stand in Kyle, which I had no idea existed!  What a find!  We sat outside in the beautiful weather and enjoyed a delicious Indian taco.  Pretty much a perfect day…

Upon return to the school, we sat up in the foyer next to the office and the gym.  The school nurse sent an email out to let teachers know that we were available for STD education.  We also met several more of the school administration, including the principal and one of the counselors.  We have been completely overwhelmed with all of the kindness and appreciation for our presence from both students and staff.  I am still in shock that this is going so well.  The kids here are great.  Our time in the foyer allowed for a steady stream of students–about 35 total–to receive individual teaching and time for open questions.  Britin and Ashley did an outstanding job and were very surprised by the keen questions that they got from students.   We also met a Teach for America teacher who graduated from IU Bloomington in 2015–great to meet a new friend and fellow Hoosier!

We ventured into the Badlands to show Ashley Red Shirt Table–the clouds and light at this time of the day was nothing short of spectacular.  Pictures really don’t do the beauty justice.  So excited to be here and to see what the rest of the week holds.

I was approached back in December by two senior nursing students, one of whom had made the August trip to Pine Ridge, about completing their nursing management project on the reservation during the Spring 2017 semester.  The student who had made the trip previously felt a strong calling to return, and in talking to her peer about her experiences in August, found a kindred spirit.  Both were (and still are!) very enthusiastic about reaching out to the teenagers of Pine Ridge to provide health promotion and teaching on several topics.  After exploring the logistics, getting support from the School of Nursing (this support has been unwavering!), and providing some guidance, these two students, Britin and Ashley, were off and running.  Full of creative ideas and the aforementioned enthusiasm, they reached out to the school nurse and principal at Little Wound High School in Kyle, SD.  I never expect much from a cold call with an offer to provide services from a distant location; however, their call was received with excitement and an invitation.

So here we are…on the rez during Spring Break.  We drove up yesterday from southern Indiana with a car packed to over-capacity.  I drove straight through–18 hours total.  We are here with a plan to go to the high school everyday this week.  The students’ Pre-Prom Health Blast will offer education, giveaways, and games related to prevention of STD’s; healthy body image; healthy coping strategies; distracted driving prevention; and more.  We will culminate on Friday with a prom dress giveaway–we have about 50 prom dresses for the girls and dress shirts and ties for the guys.  I never know how things are going to go here–usually have a general trend to give me an idea, but my experience has been that you bring your best and things fall into place.  The students have worked so hard, and I only want the best results for them.

This journey is a new one–I have done the summer trip so many times that I  have an idea of how things might go, but this time, I am not sure what to expect.  Tomorrow I will try to take the following quote to heart and encourage the students to do the same:

“None of us, including me, ever do great things.  But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”   –Mother Theresa

As always, I feel grateful and privileged to be here, and there will certainly be more to report tomorrow~!

Here are some of the sites from today’s journey through the Badlands to Rapid City, Crazy Horse, and Mt Rushmore.

In some ways being on Pine Ridge feels like suspended animation, time passes slowly because there is so much to do yet the week is already over somehow?  The group is tired and sunburned with the occasional bit of car sickness yet morale remains high.

Had to do a bit of fine-tuning of the plan for the day.  My friend and Head Start contact, Jennifer, has been sick and out of the office and wasn’t able to talk about plans until mid-day Monday.  She had thought that Early Head Start began the school year on Tuesday but found out that the school year starts Wednesday instead.  So…no health promotion at the Kyle Head Start on Tuesday.  That’s OK, back up plan was in play!

Our morning started at the OLC Historical Center.  In addition to learning about the history of the Lakota, we also met the artist in residence, Nathan Blindman, who made the art for the 2016 OLC Calendar–a pow wow dancer in full regalia.  He also had a painting of a medicine woman, Moon Wind, that he took the time to explain as well as to teach about medicine women.  Very interesting lesson on a topic that I have always been curious about.

The Badlands Visitor Center and Red Cloud Indian School were also on the agenda.  All great places to learn more about the Lakota culture.

Our back up plan for health promotion involved Oyate Teca, the Kyle Youth Center.  I have never been able to get students into the center for health promotion (not for lack of trying though!) so I wasn’t sure what would happen when we just showed up.  Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained….we donated some of our many toothbrushes and toothpaste and did 5 screenings.  The director wasn’t there, but we were able to meet other employees, sit and chat, and, of course, screen.  There was an older teenager (male) there who the students offered condoms to, and he said, “I never use them”, but asked if he could have “a lot” in the next sentence.  Gave him “a lot”!  Lesson learned from this–just show up and do what you can!

This morning we did get into the Pine Ridge Early Head Start and did screenings for parents and staff for about two hours.  We were busier than anticipated for the short time that we were there.  The director of Pine Ridge EHS is a very gracious and welcoming Lakota man named Dallas.  I had met him on a previous trip to Head Start, and he was again very appreciative of the limited care that we can offer.

After a winding but beautiful 2 hour drive to Custer State Park, we finally saw some buffalo. I am now taxiing to take off from Rapid City to head home.

The trip was one of the best that I’ve had with students–lots of time out in the community, more health promotion than usual, and lots of learning.  I have no grand ideas that what we do makes a big difference at Pine Ridge, but we are at least planting the seeds to encourage and reinforce healthy behaviors and building relationships at the same time.

Wopila, Pine Ridge!  Thanks for welcoming us into your community–I will think of you everyday until next time!

I made no particular health promotion plans for today since the students were to horseback ride at Denise’s house under the expert guidance of her sister, Victoria, in two groups.  Our planned arrival time was 0930, but since the dirt road to Denise’s house is sometimes quite muddy and difficult to navigate, I allotted some extra time.  Well, the road was in great shape (comparatively) so we arrived extra early.  Denise very kindly invited us into her home while we waited for the horses to be rounded up and saddled.  She talked to us for quite a while about her history of moving from Colorado and her family now.  She cares for many of her grandchildren, including Mala, who is 10 years old and was born deaf.  I was thrilled to find out that two of the students could sign, and they hit it off with her right away.  We had met this girl on a previous trip, and she has grown up quite a bit and continues to have a special way with the animals at the home–horses, cat, dogs, chickens.  We also met two very small boys who loved playing baseball with the students.  We also, of course, did screenings, including for Denise’s daughter.  All the students did beautifully horseback riding, and Mala and her poodle went with the second group.

Beading was also on the agenda for today.  While the second group rode horses, the first group started their beading lesson at Rosie’s.  Jessica was a patient teacher, and the students learned quickly that the beautiful, intricate beaded art is worth every penny for the effort that is required.  When the second group returned from riding, we went to Wounded Knee to meet with Jerilyn and Emerson Elk.  The Elk family has always been very kind and welcoming to me, and Emerson’s discussion of Wounded Knee from the Lakota perspective is one that is always appreciated.  I got to meet and hold the Elk’s newest grandbaby, Isabella, who is 7 months old, and the apple of their eye.  We went up the hill to visit the Wounded Knee Memorial and burial site, and unfortunately, had an interaction with an intoxicated man who I knew would be asking the group for money.  All of the group were very kind to him and again demonstrated their compassion and understanding.  The burial site is a place that I always find very significant to visit, no matter how many times that I have been there before, but I found that my focus was instead on the intoxicated man and ensuring that the students were ok.

We returned to Rosie’s for the second group to have their beading lesson.  The students were at the ready to continue screenings and did so for several ladies in the store, as well as for customers coming to the store.  I am finding this approach to health promotion is working well–wherever we go, make the screenings available, even if there is not a large number of people around.  A relaxed setting in a place where business is going as usual seems to put people at ease and helps to break the ice.  I will continue to do this for future trips.  Our time is getting short here, and there is still so much to do–I will always be back though!

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.

We’re always trying new things–trying to get out in the community as much as we can, wherever we can.  I have my tried and true health promotion sites, and Saturday was going to be about health promotion in the parking lot of the pow wow.  But first, the group went to the Pow Wow Parade in Pine Ridge for the first time.  I love this group-when offered the opportunity to sleep in just a bit and go to the pow wow grounds after the parade, the decision was an immediate request to leave early so that the parade could be experienced.  We waited for quite a while for the parade to start, and the day was overcast and cooler than anticipated.  The main street in Pine Ridge (where Big Bat’s is located) was full of families with children and older adults ready to see the parade.  After helping 3 kids who were near us at the curb gather as much candy thrown from the floats as possible, we moved back to the SUV when it started to rain.  I was ready to wait the rain out since we had planned to do health promotion and loaded the vehicle with all of our gear and giveaways.  The rain did not cooperate though, and after becoming more steady, I made the command decision to pack it in, at least for the pow wow plan.  Did I mention that this group is great?  Well, they proved it again when no one uttered a single complaint about not being able to do what we really wanted for the day.

We adjusted the plan and went to see Rosie to do her “check up”.  Along with Rosie’s screenings, we also did 2 others–for the girls who were working in the store.  The students did a great job with these screenings and health education.  We also took the opportunity to browse in the store, chat with Allyssa, and visit with Rosie more.  After a quick motel siesta and a change of clothes, we ventured out into the Badlands.  I know that my friend, Lisa Preston, who has traveled with me to Pine Ridge in past years will be shocked, but the road in the Badlands has been paved!  So exciting!  We drove to Red Shirt Table and admired all of the beautiful sights–the terrain, small fields of sunflowers,  the Red Shirt Table overlook, and the beginning of a gorgeous sunset.  After many pictures, much laughter, shopping at the Sharps Corner grocery, and some singing along with KILI on the radio, we turned in for the night.

So, while at first glance this day seems like a bust because we did not get to do the health promotion at the pow wow grounds because of the rain, it actually was not.  It was a successful day because I learned more about Pine Ridge and have a new potential site/event for health promotion.  Next year we will set up beside the parade route and offer screenings to those who are waiting for the parade.  I’m pretty sure that we can actually make this a mobile service–rather than having people come to us, we will just carry our equipment with us and travel the parade route. In addition to this new opportunity, the students completed three screenings with education.  It’s not about the numbers, it is about the quality of the interaction, and this was a great start.  The trip to the Badlands was fantastic.  The bonding experience and laughter is not one that I will forget.  So, yes, a change in plans, but no, this day was a success!