A New Way of Living

Prior to our immersion trip to the Blackfeet Indian reservation, I had a completely different perspective on Native Americans. I had read about the problems of poverty and alcoholism that afflict reservations. Getting here and meeting the children and adults, my perspective has completely changed. All of the adults have been very nice and helpful to me, and the children have been engaging.

When we pulled into the train station at East Glacier Park in Montana, I immediately noticed the beauty of Montana's majestic landscape. With the Rocky Mountains in the backround and a lake right in front of me, I snapped a picture off my phone to capture the moment.

Glacier Park

This immersion trip has changed my perspective on many things. It has changed my idea of what is necessary for survival. For example, I don’t need to eat every time I am the slightest bit hungry. As an immersion group, we ate a very simple meal each day for lunch. Also, I have noticed that the children here don’t have all the things I have, but they seem to be just as happy as me!

Sam Fallon '13 Playing "Zombie"

Overall, the immersion trip has changed my life and shown me a whole new way of living. I did not think I would really enjoy helping out in a Native American school, but I enjoyed it very much.

Sam Fallon '13

 

 

 

 

 

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The Gift of History

As the week comes to an end, we had a visit from our final speaker last night. Marty, aka Beware of Sleeping Wolf, came to the cabin last night to talk to us about the Blackfeet culture and his family heritage. As I sat there listening to him talk, I became moved by his spirituality and his great love and understanding for his tribe's history. I wish I could replay the entire event for you, but instead I will give you a summary of one the most wonderful nights I had on this immersion trip.

DLSBS 7th Grade Class Photo

Marty began by talking about the "American Holocaust" and how it does not receive as much attention as it deserves. He said that when Columbus "discovered," or invaded, the Americas, there were over 40 million Native Americans. However, by the time the reservations were fully established, there were only about 200,000 Indians left in the Americas. After this he shared a story with us which filled almost all of his presentation.

The story was about how he and his wife, Vicki, met a man on a religious retreat. The man had come to the retreat to ask for prayers for his two year old grandaughter who was about to go into her sixth open heart surgery. After the retreat, Marty and his wife went down to visit the girl. He made prayer shawls for the girl and her parents to help them during this time. He also blessed the girl with an eagle's feather. A little later they got a letter from the grandfather saying that the girl had pulled through and she was feeling great. The letter also said that they wanted to give him a gift. Marty said declined, but they eventually talked him into paying them another visit.

Sam Fallon Reviews Marty's Family Photos

When Marty got to the house, the man had a trunk with him, and he opened it up. At this part of the presentation Marty explained something very important to us. He told us that he was a direct descendant of Mountain Chief, a great head chief of the Blackfeet. Marty passed around a picture of Mountain Chief, and he showed us the special war bonnet in the picture. He continued on with the story after this. He said that the man gave him an old medicine man's rattle for rituals. He gave Marty many other things for helping, but the greatest gift of all was the war bonnet of Mountain Chief. Marty said that at this point he was overwhelmed by the man's generosity because of the spiritual and historical value of these gifts.

It was so incredible to meet Marty and hear such an awe-inspiring story. All of the objects that he showed us related back through his family line. I was so honored that he wanted to share this us. We all learned so much from him. This presentation was a fitting conclusion to our immersion week. I am now eager to return to learn and experience more of the Blackfeet culture.

Tom Ceraso '14

 

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Getting Better

The DLSBS immersion trip has been an amazing, eye opening experience for all of us. I have had the great opportunity to work with the 5th graders at the school. On the first day, they were extremely wild, they refused to sit down or do any work, and I think they were a little suspicious of Nick and I. The first few days were frustrating because they just refused to listen. However, as the week progressed, the kids realized that we were here for one reason only - to help them. Once they realized that, it became much easier to reach them.

I bonded with one student in particular all week. She made an impression on the first day because while everyone else was jumping around being crazy, she sat and worked hard all week. Her personality is one that draws you to her because she was always nice and respectful. We bonded so much through the week that today, she called me her big brother. She told me about what's going on in her life, and I was amazed at how mature she was for being so young. I've tried to have an impact and form a bond with every kid, but this student in particular had a great impact on me.

Celebrating Community Heritage

When we first arrived in Browning, I missed the luxuries of everyday life: my phone, the Internet, my music,etc. However as the week went on, I started to realize how important our efforts are to these kids and how I didn't miss those luxuries as much. I realized how we can truly make a difference in their lives, and I started to really care about them. It's going to be extremely hard to leave them, but I consider myself to be very lucky to have met them. I feel that getting to spend just a week with them and getting to know them during that time has made me a better person.

Conner Pasquarelli '14







 

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A Special Place

As we began this experience at DLSBS five days ago, Brother Ray told us, "You may not realize it now, but there is something special about this place and by the end of this week you will come to love this place." As I sat there listening, I thought to myself how could anyone come to love a place afflicted by by poverty, unemployment, drugs and alcohol. However, when I met the students of my class on Monday morning, I realized exactly why everyone was willing to make profound sacrifices.

Zach Javorsky '13

As the children came in that first morning, I began to see where Brother Ray was coming from. They were ambitious and willing to try to do the classroom assignments. As I worked with them, I began to see they were all very intelligent. They simply lacked some basic skills. This lack of skills made them get a lot of answers wrong, and this gets the students down on themselves. The teachers, who are mainly volunteers, were wonderful at giving the kids instruction and rebuilding the confidence that had been harmed. I got the impression from the kids that this motivation was rare on the reservation, and they cherished even the smallest compliments. I tried to give them compliments throughout the week, and I soon saw my bond with the children grew exponentially.

As I prepare to spend my finial day with the children I see why DLSBS is such an amazing place and why so many people are willing to work countless hours to ensure the students succeed. The needs of the children surpasses any of the concerns that I had coming in and all the negatives on the reservation. The children are a bright spot in a dark place. They are the sole reason that we come on these immersion trips and their personalities and friendliness are why we take a personal interest in their success.The immersion experience has made me a better person, one more willing to accept people for who they are. Now I am more able to focus on the good in people and not the bad. This experience in the shadows of the scenic Montana mountains has changed my life forever and it will not soon be forgotten.

Purple Mountain Majesty

Zach Javorsky '14

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