Our Mother Tongues | Crow
"The language is not just words... it's a culture, a tradition, a unification of community, a whole history, and it creates what a community is- it's all embodied in the language; language is central to it. So it's really the revival of a culture and a way of life... it's a central component." -Noam Chomsky, MIT linguist, on the revival of the Wampanoag language (They believe the last native speaker lived over a century ago; now, after a burst of revival effort, a young girl is raised as the first native speaker in seven generations. A language brought back to life. Amazing.)
"What we would like to do, I heard in many ceremonies amongst our people, is to take this way of life into the future, into good times, into celebrations where we can be speaking the stories of our people, speaking in terms of our cultural practices, like clan practices... the stories that define who we are... to the point of where we empower ourselves and liberate ourselves with our identity and maintain this true civilization of who we are as Apsáalooke." -Dr. Lanny Real Bird, Apsáalooke (Crow), professor at Little Big Horn College
http://ourmothertongues.org/
I wasn't even going to attempt to try to present any new concepts with everyone tired from trick-or-treating, masquerading, and sugar highs... so I made use of the Halloween excitement and turned it into a math activity. It was a chance to practice sorting, tally marks, and making up their own number stories, which we've been working on. (Plus it's a creative way to make use of those candy wrappers littered all over the room!)
Three Stonehil alumni have recently embarked on a year of full-time volunteer work with Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) Northwest, continuing to live out Stonehill's mission of compassion and service beyond their time spent at the College.
Julie Albert ‘11 is currently at Orutsararmuit Native Council in Bethel, Alaska. Erica Carmody ‘11 is serving at St. Paul Mission Grade School in Hays, Montana. Janine DiLorenzo ‘11 is also in Montana at Pretty Eagle Catholic Academy in St. Xavier.
"JVC is one of hundreds of programs available for seniors interested in service, says Associate Director of Career Services Kris Silva. "The College's Catholic mission and commitment to service led to the creation of our own post-graduate service program, International Extension, with locations in India, Honduras and the Dominican Republic."
Silva notes there are 30 graduates from the Class of 2011 who are currently in volunteer service programs, both domestic and international.
A total of 141 Jesuit Volunteers (JVs) - 28 returning for a second year - are serving in 20 locales throughout the five states of the Northwest, living in 23 JV communities.
"Our JVs will be making a big impact for the people and habitats they will be serving this year; they will participate in transforming the communities where they serve and they will forever be transformed," says Jeanne Haster, executive director for JVC Northwest.
This type of volunteer work is an extended version of the service being performed at Stonehill through the Into the Streets program and the HOPE trips every spring. Students are not letting their love of service graduate after their four years at the College, but are instead carrying what they have experienced with them into the wider world.
Ablert, Carmody and DiLorenzo were all involved in service to others while at Stonehill. They are now taking a year to explore the needs of humanity while simultaneously caring for the environment and pursuing their quest for spirituality.
Jesuit Volunteers can be found in a variety of urban and rural locations and are challenged to live simply and work for social and ecological justice in a spiritually supportive environment.
Established in 1956, JVC Northwest is an independent, non-profit organization that recruits, places and supports volunteers living in communities across the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
This year, the JVs work with over 100 partner agencies across the region in many areas, involved in critical service advocating for refugees, nursing in community clinics, teaching in schools on Native American Reservations, assisting in shelters, and organizing community garden projects, and many more important works. Throughout their year of service, JVs focus on four core values-social and ecological justice, simple living, spirituality and community.
Halloween here at Pretty Eagle on Monday was a blast. In the morning we took grades K-4 trick-or-treating at Crow Agency. They got to trick-or-treat at some tribal offices, the college, the post office, and a bunch of stores and gas stations. It was like a big long trick-or-treat parade.
The first building was totally decorated so it was like walking through a haunted house... so cool!
In the afternoon we had a Halloween party in the classroom (oh man, we had 5 different varieties of cake/cupcakes brought in!) Luckily they got to let out their sugar highs at a Halloween dance in the little community room we have. The kindergarten teacher's husband came in to DJ and they decorated real cool... it was awesome (I think I had as much fun as the kids!)
After school was yet another Halloween Party- the 5th-8th grade kids had a bigger dance in the gym, so we went to help and hang out. Since most of the middle schoolers were 'too cool' to dance, the little kids dance was more fun, but it was still a good time. (They haven't ever had many dances so we're going to help put on a few more this year, like a Winter Ball and Spring Fling and stuff.)
One of the other things that happens around here for Halloween each year are masquerades- they go on for the whole week before Halloween and are a very big part of the culture. We went to the last one the night after Halloween. All I can say is... oh my. It was the most bizzare thing I've ever been to. Participants dress up in ridiculous costumes (mostly young men dressing up like crazy-looking women and stuff their backsides really big) and full-face masks, and they dance around this gym. It sort fo resembles a pow-wow, except they dance really goofy to modern music and try to be the weirdest/funniest dancers. It's hard to describe why it's so funny but I laughed the whole time. They usually pick on audience members as well and one of them made Don come out and dance... it was hilarious!! The middle schoolers he works with won't let him live it down ;)
We sat with one of the families we know from school and bunch of our favorite kids, so it made it even more fun. I couldn't believe there were so many little kids there, all the way until midnight! I was so tired the next day at school but most of the kids had been at the masquerade as well and were still there bright and early. I guess they're used to it! I was so glad we went and could finally understand what their masquerades truly are!
p.s. I was Princess Lolly from Candyland for Halloween... the kids loved it! I made it homemade with an old dance costume. (I'll try to find some pictures of me dressed actually dressed up at school..)
