Your Gift Helps Students Dance, Sing and DrumThe St. Joseph’s Indian School campus is buzzing with excitement for our 43rd Annual Powwow!

The annual wačhípi — powwow — is not only the highlight of the year, it’s also the largest celebration we host on our campus.

Students, their families, staff members and supporters from near and far gather together for a weekend filled with cultural demonstrations, dancing, food and fun.

This year’s celebration will take place on September 21 — meaning show time is less than a month away! Staff are busy preparing for the upcoming celebration, while students are fine tuning their dance skills for competition.

Students dance while dressed in beautifully designed powwow regalia. Not many families have the financial ability to provide their children with regalia

of their own. But, with your support, St. Joseph’s makes sure each student who wants to dance has fancy, traditional, grass or jingle dress dance regalia to wear.

When I dance in regalia at powwow, I feel thankful, lucky, myself and free. I feel like I don’t need to think about anything else except concentrating and having fun. —Kyla, St. Joseph’s student

We look forward to your visit during powwow this year. If you are unable to make the trip, please follow along on social media. We will be posting live videos and photo updates throughout the celebration on our Facebook page. Follow us at stjo.org/facebook!

Philámayaye — thank you — for supporting programs and events like this at St. Joseph’s Indian School!

DreamerExclusive news for the St. Joseph’s Indian School DreamMakers

The

September 2019

St. Joseph’s Indian SchoolWe serve and teach, we receive and learn.

PO Box 326Chamberlain, SD 57326

1-800-762-2162 • www.stjo.org/Dreamer

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Keeping the Heartbeat of the Drum AliveThanks to you, young men at St. Joseph’s learn and experience the cultural significance of the drum.The St. Joseph’s Indian School gym is typically one of the last places described as quiet. It is home to bouncing basketballs, cheering crowds and blaring buzzers. But early on Saturday mornings, when the balls are put away, the cheering crowds have gone home and the buzzers cease, there is a stillness — a quiet.

If you pause and listen closely, the only sound you might hear is your own heartbeat drumming within your chest. But then, enter the St. Joseph’s Chalk Hills Singers, and that drumming from within escapes boldly through the beating of the drum and singing of Lakota (Sioux) songs.

“It’s nice and quiet in there so we can make as much noise as we want,” said Mark, the leader of the drum group.

There is a deeper meaning behind drum practice — one that helps students connect with the other members, and also with their ancestors.

“The drum group is important for the boys,” said Mark. “The drum is the center of the community. When you are a part of the drum, you are part of your community.”

And it’s what Mark has been helping young men at St. Joseph’s learn since the group was first created nearly a decade ago.

Knowing not every young man has access to learn how to drum and sing Lakota songs in their homes, the Chalk Hills Singers fill a very important need to teach Lakota boys this valuable skill. Boys are able to join the drum group starting in the fourth grade.

The Chalk Hills Singers perform multiple times throughout the year. Some of those venues include the St. Joseph’s Annual Powwow, the Chamberlain High School Powwow and at memorial services. They also sing the Flag Song every morning over the school announcement speaker and at home sporting events.

Performing for others is an honor. We sing for our ancestors and our school. —Wally, Chalk Hills Singer

Wóphila tȟáŋka — many thanks — for supporting programs like the Chalk Hills Singers. It’s our hope the young men will teach others the drum is more than a musical instrument. It’s the heartbeat of their Native American people — a heartbeat that must continue.

Watch a video of the Chalk Hills Singers by visiting stjo.org/flagsong.