Another Adventure!

I am going to the Spirit Lake Dakota reservation July 24 - Aug 1st to chaperone a group of high school students on their work-trip. The Dakota are a tribe of the greater nation - The Great Sioux Nation. Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota make up the GSN. Another opportunity for me to learn and increase my Plains Indian experiences! Yay!

The South Dakota/Pine Ridge Experience

The trip was amazing to say the least. I am so glad I was able to lead our small little Loyola group to the Rez to make what little difference we could. We met some really great people and made a really good connection with the ABI group from Northern Kentucky University.

Hiking in the Badlands was great. I have never been hiking before and was so happy that I didn't quit, or give up half way to the destination. It was beautiful. We went to this place called "The Sanctuary" which was basically a valley surrounded by towering rocks and gorges. We sat in silence for 15 minutes and a lot of stuff just "hit me" that I didn't realize i had bottled up inside. It was kind of freeing. (At the same time it was 96 degrees and what I thought was an epiphany could actually have been heat exhaustion...)

We went to Wounded Knee cemetery. It was really shabby and uncared for. There was garbage everywhere. It hadn't been mowed in a long time. And the steps leading to the mass grave were broken and not very sturdy. If the story of the massacre didn't make one cry, the condition of the cemetery was enough to bring a tear. It made me so angy that Gettysburg, or other national battlefields are guarded by US Marines, cared for by a crew of landscapers, and funded by tax dollars, but this mass grave that represents the Lakota history and the sadness of the massacre is just left to fade away.


The trailers we were working on were pieces of shit. They would be condemmed by our standards. But the government ships them to the reservations and sells them to Indians for $5,000. I wouldn't pay $500 for one. Plus they don't even come with a furnace, some don't have windows, none have skirting, or appliances. So the organization we were working with called Re-Member works to help families who have just received a "new" trailer fix it to living condition. We put windows in and put insulation and skirting around the bottom. We tar the roofs to help insulate them. And we install stove pipes to ensure proper venthilation for the wood burning stoves they use for heat in the winter. We also build outhouses (and dig the holes) and build bunk beds for the families where kids sleep on the floor. We heard of one house where the family had a piece of ply wood over the bath tub. 4 toddler girls slept on the ply wood at night. That is so sad.


The first site we went to was the Wounded Head family. They had just suffered a bad fire and lost 2 family members and one trailer. Not even bones or teeth remained the fire was so bad. Tangela, the young woman we talked to, has cerebal palsy. She told us so many stories of the double whamy she gets by being both handicapped as well as Indian. They were extremely poor. No running water. No electricity. No phones. No car. 12 people living in one trailer. I played with 2 little girls named Lucy and Toby. They were covered in dirt, peanut butter, and honey. And all they wanted was to be held, hugged, kissed, and have their hair braided. When I left I was covered in peanut butter. I will never wash that shirt. It is a constant reminder of what those girls did for my life.

We also planted a HUGE garden. It was a complete waste of time. Nothing grows there. I was really mad that we weren't building more outhouses or beds. But I couldn't complain; the organization has its reasons I'm sure. I just think our time would have been better served actually helping a family obtain proper living standards.

We toured Red Cloud School, the Jesuit high school on the Rez. It was great, but really white. The education is top-notch. But they can only allow 400 students. There are atleast 15,000 kids on the reservation (according to one source). Darryl Red Cloud, great-grandson to Chief Red Cloud sang us a song at his great grandfather's grave and told us about his days at the school. He couldn't say enough good things about the school. He said they have a waitlist atleast 4,000 kids long. EVERY kid wants to go to the Jesuit school because it is really high-class and they have a better chance of leaving the Rez if they graduate from there. Darryl wasn't an employee of the school. He just really wanted to get the message out that the Rez needs more Red Cloud Schools. He was our bus driver for the whole trip. We got to know him and his family history and stories pretty well.

We had 2 days off between sessions. We went to Custer State Park to see the buffalo herds. That was so nice. WOW was it beautiful. The buffalo were right in the road at one point. We also saw burros, mountain goats, a cyote, and tons of prairie dogs.
We went to Wind Cave National Park. The cave is the place of the Lakota origin story. Kind of like their Garden of Eden. But the tour guide hardly mentioned a word about the Lakota. The book store didn't have any books about the origin story either. It really hit home that the Lakota really are a forgotten people.

We also went to Ft. Robinson. It is the place of the Cheyenne Breakout and where Crazy Horse was killed. But again, little mention of the Indians at the place. it was a monument to the US Soldiers. That place made my blood boil! The museum displays portrayed Indians as evil savages. They often referred to them as a "problem" or as "unmanagable." No wonder SoDak is so racist - the school kids on field trips there are fed nothing but lies and racist ideology.

The racism in the border towns was heart breaking. White Clay, which lies just steps off the Rez, sells millions of dollars worth of beer every year. They exploit the Indians and make huge profits off the Lakota. We wanted to bomb the place. It was just a shabby hole-in-the-wall town with MAYBE 6 buildings. The Lakota who lined up outside the liquor stores were so sad to see. They looked so hopeless and drained of all life. I wanted to reach out the van window and tell them someone cares about them.

We were invited to the home of Evans and Jolene Runningshield. (Just the 5 of us Loyolans.) That was the best night of our whole stay. They invited us to a sweat lodge. But we had to decline because we weren't really prepared. I REALLLLLY wanted to go but I knew Dr. Amick would be disappointed if we smoked opium on a school field trip!!! But anyways, the time we spent with the family was priceless. They had 2 little girls with more energy than any child I have ever met. (Tina and Jade) The family gifted us sage, cedar, and orange Hawaiian Punch! We will never forget them. In fact we have sort of adopted them! We are "pen pals" with the girls now.

We went to Mt. Rushmore to take pictures of us flipping it off, and take video of us yelling obscenities at it. We also went to the Crazy Horse monument. That place was kind of creepy. The museum is more of a monument to the sculptor and his wife. Nothing at all about Crazy Horse. And we saw two white tourists that had us cracking up! They would point to the employees and say out loud, "Is that a real Indian?" Or in the gift store they kept pointing to jewelry and saying, "Ooooh, this one really looks Indian. I want it!" They were carrying their two little terrier dogs with them in the museum. I had to shake my head in disbelief.

There is so much more I could tell you. What do you want to hear? I have so much bottled up inside me. No one really understands why it impacted me so much. I didn't want to leave. If Jamie and the kids could have just picked up and moved out there, I wouldn't have come home. Ever. I woke up every morning and felt more alive than ever before. I didn't want to go to sleep at night for fear that I would be one day closer to leaving. It sounds really cheesey, but I really did feel like I belonged there.

Most of us bonded and became family to eachother right away. We went for hikes and sat in a tipi for hours talking and just sitting in silence thinking of solutions. We have a lot to discuss. I have another year at Loyola. I am going to spend the year in deep thought.

So - - - just ask questions, or tell me what you think. I would love to have someone to talk to about all of this.


Thanks for listening to me. Until later,
Kelly

Pine Ridge Pictures! (Blog will follow when I have a chance to unload my thoughts...)

The top pic is Slavica, Alicia, and me at Red Shirt Table in the Badlands. The next is a monument in memory of Chief Crazy Horse.

Mt. Rushmore is evil. The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota. It was absolutely rude and selfish for Americans to dynamite the sacred land into a monument of a bunch of white people who historically did nothing but harm to the Indians of the country. I felt dirty and like a traitor going to see the monument.

These buffalo were right at the side of the road. Signs everywhere said not to approach the buffalo. But we couldn't avoid them if they were in the middle of our path!

This is as close as I would get to a buffalo! As beautiful and "American" as they are, I am afraid of them!

This is a group shot of us outside our bunkhouse at Re-Member on the Rez.

We were honored to meet Darryl Red Cloud, great grandson to Chief Red Cloud. Darryl sang a beautiful Lakota song for us at his great grandfather's gravesite. Darryl was very inspirational and informative.

The prairie was super-windy!

This home was cut in two and renovated to house a family of 4. We painted the outside, added some insulation, skirting, a stove pipe, and new windows.

My best friend, Slavica tarred a roof!!!

This was a different home where we also installed a stove pipe. I was told that Pine Ridge loses up to 125 homes per year due to unsafe stove vents.

Chris was the model for Corbin's regalia.

We went for a hike in the Badlands National Park. It was 90 degrees outside, but worth every step! What a beautiful place!

Re-Member is a non-profit organization that works with volunteers to improve housing on the Rez. It was our home-away-from-home for 2 weeks. Check them out at www.re-member.org.

Almost time!

The past week in a nutshell:
Slavica graduated; I got a 3.9 GPA this semester; I celebrated Mother's Day at a bookstore; Patty solved another delimma with the PR trip; and Simon cut his foot on the bathroom door.

So we leave for Pine Ridge on Friday morning. I am packed and ready to go. But the trip hasn't even started before we got our first snag. One of the participants has been hospitalized and diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes; so he had to cancel. I have contacted our first-runner-up and offered her the spot. If she can't make it, I guess we go with just 5 people and try to make the best of it. I am so sad for our friend who can't go. I know how much this trip meant to him and feel very disappointed leaving him behind. But his health is our first concern. And Pine Ridge is not the place to chance any health risks.

I posted some pictures of my best friend, Slavica's graduation party. Congratulations, sweetie! You make us all proud! Bravo!

Closing one door while opening another

Today is the last day of classes for the semester. I will take exams next week and then officially be a senior! It is bittersweet as I am overly thrilled to be done with a somewhat boring semester, but will miss a few routine behaviors I developed along the way. (Sleeping in on M,W,andF because class didn't start until 11:00am! or grabbing a Chai Latte for the train ride from the AIC to theology!)

I registered for my fall classes. I am taking the following:
1. German I
2. US History to 1865
3. Violence and Culture
4. Independent Study (Expressive Culture/powwow)
5. Issues in Cultural Anthropology (Refugee Resettlement)
6. Fieldwork in Anthropology (NSF Grant at the AIC to develop science ciriculuum with a Native American approach)

I will be quite busy! But each of the classes (with the exception of German) are pertinent to my research goals and will be very beneficial and rewarding. I look most forward to the independent study, and the fieldwork - obviously because they are directly related to my work at the AIC.

We leave for Pine Ridge in 21 days. I am ready. Very ready! I am looking forward to spending 18 days in Indian Country! I am hopeful of making new friends, learning new information, seeing beautiful scenery, and helping where I can. I am not-by any means-a handywoman! My skills with tools and home improvement materials are quite lacking. So I am hoping to learn a few while I am there, or offer other talents to the organization's purpose.

I have grown a lot this semester. My outlook on the future is certainly brighter and more optimistic. My work with the AIC and the Pine Ridge trip have really helped to secure my interests in Native American anthropology.

Today is a great day. I couldn't be happier!

More pictures

Slowing it down isn't an option!

Sorry it has been so long. School, work, the kids, and all my other projects keep me on my toes!

I have posted some pictures of Sarah and her first powwow contest at Saline Middle School on April 4-5th. Univ. of Michigan's NA Student Assoc. hosted the event. The AIC's drum "Cricket Hill" was there too! We felt right at home!







The Pine Ridge trip is in 4 weeks! I am already packed, mostly! Our team is very excited to get this much-anticipated event underway! All the hard work that has gone into planning, researching, and preparing will come to pass soon enough! I can't wait! Pine Ridge holds a very special place in my heart!

If you are available on June 20th, please join me at the Annual Chicago Hunger Walk! All pledges my team earns go to fund the AIC's food pantry. If you are interested, please message me and i will give you all the details!

The kids are growing up fast!
Simon can read now! And he reads EVERYTHING! In the car, he reads store signs. In the house, he reads commercials and junk mail. In the stores, he reads packages and logos. He is a reading machine!
Sarah moved to a new classroom and is doing 100% better! I couldn't be happier with her new attitude about school. This new teacher actually cares about Sarah, and it shows!
Andrew is trying out for softball. He is pretty good, so I see no obsticles in his way to get on a good team. He loves sports. And he tries really hard to be the best on his team.

Jamie is working, working, working as usual. Hopefully when the weather decides to stay warm he can get back out on the courts and hit some tennis balls with some friends. And I think he is interested in playing some Lacross with our friends at the AIC. I hope he does, anyway.

That's it for now. Enjoy the sunshine and fresh air!