Modern Native Americans

Joe Danko

Joe Danko learns about what it means to be Native American today:

When first volunteering for the Immersion trip to the De La Salle Blackfeet School, I was aware of the students and their ties to the Blackfeet culture, but that was about it. Without assuming too much, I kept an open mind when entering the experience. Myself and two other Central Catholic students volunteered to help in the 8th grade classroom. After the first day of school I understood that these students were no different in personalities and attitudes towards school. Some of the students are very motivated and others need that extra push to complete their work, just like any other 8th grade students across the U.S. On the second day of class, instead of having pre-algebra, we had one of the students' fathers come in for a brief presentation.

The presenter has been showing people what it's like to be a modern Native American since the 1960s. He started his discussion with the students by telling them people aren't going to change their views of our culture unless you as Native Americans take the initiative to go socialize and inform people of the truth. The presenter and one of his friends from high school served in the army during the Vietnam War. He compared himself to the African American soldiers serving at the time. The oppression that both ethnic groups faced were too similar to ignore and he tried to emphasize this to his fellow soldiers while he served.

Blackfeet Winter Count (visual history of the tribe)

At the end of the discussion, all of the students showed enthusiasm towards leaving the reservation to go to college. Although this may seem negative, there is also an enthusiasm to come back to the reservation with a new perspective and with aspirations for positive change and a better way of life. All of the students at De La Salle Blackfeet School are getting great practice explaining what its like to live on an Indian Reservation and how their life is different than people may think, even though there aren't that many differences in the first place.

J. Danko '11