Jesuit Journeys
Fall 2007

Thunder from the Plains

By Becky Berreth

There is thunder rolling across the plains of the Upper Midwest again. It is more than a dramatic weather pattern or a description of the herds of bison that once roamed South Dakota.

The thunder is rolling out from Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge reservation.

It isn't often that seven is seen as a staggering number. But in this case it is astounding. Seven of the graduating class of 41 at Red Cloud High School have received the Gates Millennium Scholarship.

“That's amazing actually, an incredible accomplishment,” said Charles Evans, the program manager for communications for the Gates Millennium Scholars program. “If you had a graduating class of 300 or 400, one would be huge. They are clearly doing some right things at that school.”

Evans also pointed out that the Gates awards, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aren't just about financial need and good grade point averages. There have to be recommendations from the community and activities outside the school as the scholarships stress academics, community service and leadership.

“For any student to become a Gates Scholar is tremendous,” he continued. “For a school to have that many it is extraordinary.”

A partnership between two Jesuit schools, Red Cloud and Creighton University in Omaha, has blossomed into a mentorship program that brings hope to seniors wanting to attend college.

Red Cloud students Allison Weston, Kaylynn Two Bulls, Matthew Shoulders, Tanner O’Daniel, Samantha Janis, Sammi Herman, and Monique Claymore received the scholarships which enable them to continue their education by meeting any unmet financial needs throughout their four years of undergraduate education. More than books and tuition, the scholars also receive health insurance and allotments for spending and travel.

The scholars at Red Cloud are providing hope and a bright future, two much needed commodities in their communities. “Without this scholarship there would have been no other way for me to attend college,” said Sammi Herman.

High unemployment rates – ranging at about 80% – and low incomes – $6,143 per capita – on the reservation are a challenge for everyone to overcome. Education is the key to breaking the cycle of despair.

“This is a great honor for these kids,” said Father Peter Klink, SJ, president of Red Cloud Indian School. “This opens the doors of hope and opportunity.”

The scholarships have helped college become a reality for these students because of the Creighton University Lakota Immersion-Mentorship Program, explained Robert Brave Heart Sr., Red Cloud Indian School Superintendent. Qualifying students are identified by the guidance department and placed in a College Success Class that focuses exclusively on the application for the Gates Millennium Scholarships. The students are then paired with a mentor from Creighton University. Throughout the semester, students are in constant contact with their mentors through blind checks of the students’ progress. Mentors also visit the Red Cloud Indian School campus and host the students at Creighton. While at Creighton, students have the opportunity to tour the campus and visit with other Lakota students who are already attending the university.

In the three years the two schools have worked together, 17 worthy students from Red Cloud have been awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarships.

“This is a great thing for the students. It communicates to them that the universities want them,” said Fr. Klink. “It allows the students to imagine that ‘yes’ they can do this. And it is not just the kids applying for the Gates; the mentorship program made all students aware of the Gates scholarship and the fact that they can go to college and be successful.”

Tami Buffalohead-McGill, director for Student Support Services at Creighton, was asked a few years back to be a sort of ambassador by the Gates program and help more Native Americans take advantage of scholarship opportunities. At Creighton an outreach program was created and Red Cloud grasped the reins.

"I wish that there was a Red Cloud School on every reservation in the country,” said Buffalohead-McGill.

“You can’t grow up on the reservation and walk away and not think that you need to make a change and the only way to make that change is through education,” said Buffalohead-McGill, who grew up on a reservation as a member of the White Eagle Ponca Nation of Oklahoma. “The future looks bright because of what is already happening. We need to start educating our people. You can’t run a tribe without knowing how to run a business. To set up a health center, we have to have people with a background in healthcare or administration.”

Buffalohead-McGill works with many schools and hundreds of students. Central to many scholarship applications are essays. She has been moved by the students’ work. “When you read these essays, you know them and can see the future through these kids. You can see where they were hit with blow after blow and not only have they gotten back up, but they have a genuine desire to do something positive.”

The sentiment captured in one essay stands out. Cheryl Cedar Face is a student on the Rosebud Reservation and Cedar Face called out in her essay to other students to change how they see their lives and the future. She says scholars are the new warriors.

“My father taught me that the shortest prayer in our language is ‘Mitakuye Oyasin’. Roughly translated, it means ‘All my relations’. The meaning behind it goes deeper, however. The message is that we are all interdependent, each of us relying on each other. The greatest thing that I have learned outside of school is that you cannot replace relationships with college degrees. The goal is to come back and help your people so that they will have more opportunities than you’ve had. The old days filled with brave warriors have been replaced with a new world requiring brave scholars. The goal hasn’t changed at all however, we will work so that the people may live,” Cheryl Cedar Face noted in her essay.

However, it is not just the mentorship program that makes the students successful said Fr. Klink. Both he and Brave Heart credit the staff at Red Cloud for being part of the cooperative team effort. The guidance department and other teachers serve as individual nominators for students. English teachers proofread essays, staff members help keep track of leadership and community service hours, and the school faculty makes computer equipment available for writing.

“Red Cloud does that sort of thing,” said Jody Stoddard, Tanner O’Daniel’s aunt. “They pushed him, created the class for the Gates kids, helped him keep track of his leadership and other qualifications that he needed, and they all (students and teachers) spent a great deal of time on the essays. ”

Those essays are the hardest part of the application according to the students. Each essay needed a unique answer from the applicant. The students said that one of the easier essay questions was about their favorite subject in school. Allison Weston wrote about her chemistry class – a subject she did not like at first. “I started to go in for help and then I started to go in to get ahead,” she said. “The teacher’s enthusiasm made it fun.”

Those essays are the hardest part of the application according to the students. Each essay needed a unique answer from the applicant. The students said that one of the easier essay questions was about their favorite subject in school. Allison Weston wrote about her chemistry class – a subject she did not like at first. “I started to go in for help and then I started to go in to get ahead,” she said. “The teacher’s enthusiasm made it fun.”

Parents and guardians have become a force with the school. Many of the parents are not familiar with the process because most of the time these students are the first of their generation bound for college. “But the ones raising them find it extremely important,” said Ellington. “They get the kids here after school and on Saturdays to use the computers or to get extra help with the essays.”

For O’Daniel, going to college was important because it was something his mother had always wanted him to do. Samantha Janis grew up in a household where her grandparents taught her that education is the key to the world. “There is no such thing as ‘I cannot do it’ in this household,” said Kathy Janis, Samantha Janis’ grandmother. “Everyday we told her to work on her essays.”

Monique Claymore said her family pushed her to succeed as well. “My family encouraged me to do well. I heard about the Gates Scholarship as a freshman and since then they have pushed me to go to school and to work hard. My family gave me a goal and expected me to achieve it.”

The ultimate goal is to make a change on the reservation, which is shared by parents and students alike. All seven scholarship winners plan to return to the reservation after college. Weston is not sure of her major, but making a change on the reservation is one of her top priorities. “I know very well what I want to do – give back to the people. I want to come back and help. We have to be a stronger people.”

The ultimate goal is to make a change on the reservation, which is shared by parents and students alike. All seven scholarship winners plan to return to the reservation after college. Weston is not sure of her major, but making a change on the reservation is one of her top priorities. “I know very well what I want to do – give back to the people. I want to come back and help. We have to be a stronger people.”where the teachers focused a lot on the culture. Some of the students here could know a little more and have a better understanding of who they are and where they come from so they are prepared to leave. The reservation and the outside world are two different places. The little kids today do not see a lot of success. They need to see people coming back and showing them that you can be successful.”

“It’s exciting too because we have the opportunity to show the kids that you do not lose your identity when you leave the reservation, you take it with you” agreed Claymore.

For other students, the opportunity to study at a better college was their motivation. “The nice thing about this scholarship is the kids can go to a school that they would not normally be able to afford,” said Guidance Counselor Gina Ferguson. “Now, they can afford to go to Creighton, pay outof- state tuition, or go to the university of their choice.”

Janis knew she wanted to attend college, but feared putting her family in debt and taking student loans. “I was ready to go to Laramie County Community College (Cheyenne, Wyo.), but this scholarship let me go to school where I really wanted.” She will now attend the University of South Dakota.

Matthew Shoulders, valedictorian of the class of 2007, is a prime example of the success and focus on the future. He will be attending the University of New Mexico, majoring in psychology with a minor in Native American studies.

“That is why I wanted to go there, for the Native American studies program,” Shoulders said. “Doing all that work and having somebody notice is a great feeling. This just shows that hard work really pays off.”

The school has had success beyond the Gates Millennium Scholars. Thirty-nine of the 41 seniors had a letter of acceptance to an institute of higher education at graduation.

“It’s exciting,” said Claymore. “Kids like us can do it. It’s just up to you to take advantage of what’s being offered to you.”

That sound in the distance is thunder. It is beginning toroll across the plains as students rise up and grasp their future through the powers of education.