The Immersion Effect

 

What is the Immersion Effect? I have asked myself this question every day I have been on the Blackfeet Reservation. The Immersion Effect goes far beyond making connections with kids in need, the Immersion Effect is one of self-discovery. Discovering your strengths and discovering your weaknesses, who you are and who you want to become.

I am writing this with the knowledge that much of my life has yet to be decided, many paths not ventured, and many experiences not had. However, everything is put into perspective after seeing what the children of Browning, Montana struggle with. My problems are small, my future has unlimited paths. Immersion students must use their experience and their knowledge to help improve their own lives and the future of DLSBS students. No matter what the size of the impact, one is nevertheless made.

Of all the Immersion groups that work with DLSBS, we would be naive to think that we have single-handedly created an astronomical number of opportunities for the children of Browning. Perhaps collectively, the Immersion groups have created just one path, just one path that can lead to a future away from crime or poverty, a path that leads to happiness.

So what is the Immersion Effect. To call it life changing would be an understatement. This experience will most likely dictate the second half of my life and the ideas that I hold true throughout.

In the end, the Immersion Effect is one that challenges everything you know about not just the people around you but yourself as well.

M. DuPlessis '12
           

DLSBS-"Building Faith in Education"

Paul wearing war bonnet

Today is the last day we will be spending with the Blackfeet children. Saying goodbye is definitely going to be  difficult. Although we have only spent one week helping the kids, I got to know all of them very well. Many of  these kids are dealing with serious problems yet they are able to stay seemingly carefree. Partially, this is due to the loving teachers that the De La Salle Blackfeet School (DLSBS) has surrounded the kids with. I have so much respect for all the teachers working here. They are making a great sacrifice by dedicating their time to these children and teaching in a loving manner.

When these kids graduate from DLSBS and go to Browning High School, they excel in their classes. Brother Paul told us that nine of the top ten kids of Browning High School's class of 2011 came from De La Salle. Clearly DLSBS is making a huge difference in the Browning community. These kids are not only learning the valuable skills necessary for high school but they are learning to respect themselves which is a serious problem in the Native American community. DLSBS is doing a great job helping the students deal with the major issues of self worth as well as the temptations of drugs and alcohol. I genuinely believe all these kids can become successful wherever life takes them. There's no doubt that DLSBS is working miracles here in Browning, Montana.

P. Brahan '13

End of the Line

Christian Motta

At first, I was apprehensive about embarking on this trip. Even with the numerous weekly meetings explaining almost every aspect of the trip and what we would be undertaking, I was still completely unsure of what to expect. It would be my first experience with both working with small children in a classroom environment and life on a reservation. I knew this was going to be an adventure.

When we got off the train and saw the town of Browning laid out before us, it became apparent that life here was very different than what I had grown accustomed to in Pittsburgh. That same feeling of apprehension again manifested itself as we boarded the bus to go to the school for the first time. This time, however, it was mixed with a feeling of excitement. I was ready to finally meet the kids that I had traveled so far to work with.

My first day with the fourth grade here was certainly an experience in itself. They were very energetic and friendly, but they did not seem to care too much about school. It was almost frustrating to work with them at first, but as time went on, they began to get more and more focused. There was a noticeable change in attitude from the start of the day to its end. This increase in focus persisted throughout the week. By Thursday, I found them to be willing to do their work and I found myself happy to work with them. Sitting here on this final Friday, I realize how sad I will be to have to leave them behind. It has been a wonderful experience working with them, and I will miss the challenges and rewards that this trip has brought me. I am happy that I was able to have this experience, and I have no doubt that my fellow students feel the same way.

C. Motta '13

The 4th Grade Trip to Choteu

Nick on the Mount

Yesterday, the fourth grade, my immersion teaching partners and I went to the Choteu park. Choteu park is a lot of Native American significance, it was a heavily traveled place by the Native Americans and has many artifacts from them. The trip was definitely one of the best parts of this entire immersion experience.

The first thing we did at Choteu was meet the third and fourth graders from the Choteu school who were going on the trip with us. Our guide then walked us up to a rock that marked part of a trail that stretched from Alaska all the way down into Mexico.  Native Americans made pilgrimages up and down this trail staying at different points along it for months or even years.

Tour Guide with the 4th grade

After being shown the trail we got onto a bus and traveled to a hill where the Native Americans would go to have visions. What the Native Americans would do is walk up to the top of the rock and fast, trying to hear the voices of the mountains and have a vision. The hill was also an eagle capturing site. Here. they held eagles in high regard so they would not kill them. Instead they captured the eagles to take their feathers which were holy objects. Capturing an eagle was a long held tradition and something all boys had to do in order to become men.

The first thing we saw at the next site was a circle of rocks with a smaller circle inside it.  Our guide explained that, in the winter, the Native Americans would build a tee-pee with a smaller tee-pee inside it so that when water would condense on the wooden pole of the tee-pee it would roll down the outside of the inside tee-pee and the people inside would not get wet.  Close by was a huge ring of stones about 165 feet across, much larger than the Native Americans could have ever made their tee-pee's. The ring turned out to be a turtle effigy, another holy animal in their culture. The effigy was where they would perform medicine ceremonies.

Site of the Turtle Effigy

The final part of the trip was going to Big Bear's cabin.  Big Bear was a Native American who lived in Canada but got into some trouble with the law so he fled down to Montana and became a hermit.  There are a lot of interesting stories about him. For instance, one day his neighbor came over to see how he was doing and as he came over a horrible stench was wafting from Big Bear's cabin, it turns out Big Bear had caught a skunk was cooking it. Another story about Big Bear is he would go out hunting with only one shot in his gun because, as he said, "A good hunter only needs one shot."

N. Zurawsky '13

Blackfeet Spirituality

Aaron Raey in deep thought

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go on the 4th grade's fieldtrip to Choteu, where there are many sacred Indian sites. On the hour and a half drive I had the privalege to talk with Miss Darnell, an Indian traditionalist whose job it is to remember all of the history and stories of her people.  After we visited the various historical sites, she would tell me more about the sites, and sometimes correct the less knowledgeable tourguide.

The first site that we visited was the Old North Trail. This trail was traveled by the Blackfeet Indians for thousands of years and extends from South America all the way through Alaska. We were able to visit one of the stone markers on the trail, and saw the trail extending across the fields and over the hills. So many indians had walked the trail and packed the soil so hard that tractors are unable to plow through it. The Indians believed that they have been walking this trail forever, literally. The Blackfeet believe in an infinite existence, that they have always been here living in the same land, doing the same rituals. According to Miss Darnell, the Blackfeet believe that they are the source of all peoples, and that they will one day be rulers of the entire world. The Blackfeet are one of only a few Indian tribes still on their native lands, although these lands have been significantly decreased. Before Columbus, the Blackfeet lands ranged all throughout middle America and into Canada, butting up against the Rockies in the West.

Students on their way to the vision site

They believe that they were place here by the Creator and given these lands to tend and protect. Miss Darnell said that like in the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, one Indian left his homeland and began the rest of the nations with other lesser beings. They believe that they are the source of all peoples, they will one day be the conquerers and rulers of the world. The Blackfeet Indians were originally four bands, but now only the South Piegan bands remains on the reservation.

The next site we visited was a fasting and vision site. It was a hill in the middle of a field that the Indians used to come to fast on for several days, hoping to receive a vision. On top of the hill there was a pile of larger stones which they used as an alter. The visions which they received were for direction, and often came through an animal. The Blackfeet fully believe that they can commune with the other side, and that they can talk with each other across great distances through dreams. The sacredness of the hill comes from the spirits who live on that hill.

As we moved throughout the sacred sites on Choteu, Miss Darnell expressed great pride in her people's history and tradition, as well as a sadness about their current state. She was truly proud to be an Indian, proud of the Indian's ability to speak with spirits, proud of their heritage, and hopeful for their future.

A. Raey '13