St. John the Baptist Youth Group visits Sioux Indians

photo courtesy of St. John the Baptist Youth Group

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The St. John the Baptist Parish Youth Group traveled to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to minister to the Indians there. They painted houses and held classes for the children. 

by Camry Martinez

and Julia Popp

DRAPER — Twenty unsuspecting students and leaders arrived Aug. 2, in the St. John the Baptist Parish parking lot wondering what lay ahead of them. Little did we know that a life changing experience is what lay ahead. 

We arrived in Kadoka, South Dakota Sunday evening, Aug. 3, and Monday was our first day on the reservation or as the locals say, "the Res." The first thing that we learned very quickly is the Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation is a place full of startling numbers. 

•The median income on the Reservation is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.

•The unemployment rate on Pine Ridge is said to be approximately 83-85%.

•Over 33% of the Reservation homes lack basic water and sewage systems as well as electricity. Alcoholism affects eight out of ten families.

•Some figures state that the life expectancy on the Reservation is 48 years old for men and 52 for women.

•There is an estimated average of 17 people living in each family home.  Some larger homes, built for 6 to 8 people, have up to 30 people living in them.

•The infant mortality rate is the highest on this continent and is about 300% higher than the U.S. national average.

•The school drop-out rate is over 70% (Teacher turnover is 800% that of the U.S. national average)

•Recent reports indicate that almost 50% of the adults on the Reservation over the age of 40 have diabetes (800% higher than the U.S. national average)

Sadness, poverty, and hopelessness were our first impression.  However, while the first day was heartrending, our return visit on the second day was a much more hopeful experience.

We realized quickly on the Res that you could possibly change a person’s life with only a few things: paint, a genuine smile, time, love, and hope. Our youth group split into three groups and went right to work. The first two days, one of the groups painted Mrs. Lakota’s house. Mrs. Lakota is an extraordinary woman. Despite the poverty in which she lives, she has pride in her home and has hope for a better life for her family. Since she has such pride in her home, she would often wash the outside walls of her home and because the paint color was a light pink it would show dirt easily and she would have to wash it again.  Until one day, her water was shut off. That is where we came in, we worked for two long days painting her house a dark rose color in hope that she would not have to wash it as often and be able to have running water again. During our two days working at Mrs. Lakota’s house, we never met her. As we were driving back after the last day of painting her house I looked at Deacon Paul (Grahm), our youth leader, and said, "I just wish I could have met her." And then he spoke the truest words: he said, "You will. The day you meet Jesus he will say ‘thank you, for painting my house.’"  The words stuck with me for the rest of the week and even if we didn’t receive direct thanks, I knew we would be thanked later.

The second part of the mission trip was to play with the children at "Kid’s Club," a day camp program where we would pick up children from all around the Res and play games, do arts and crafts, and just let them be children.  Kiley was a little girl who is full of hope; she loves to read and she loves school.  Her dream is to go to college, ambitious for a ten-year-old girl from a large family with only one high school graduate. Despite poverty and the struggles she’s been through, Noah, a four-year-old girl is about the happiest person we’d ever met.  She has a delightful smile that is ever-present and she was constantly giggling.  She is a beautiful little girl and I hope that her positive attitude is the future for her tribe.  

All of the children had so much potential and were so beautiful. Even though we could not guarantee that any of the children we played and sang songs with would be one of the four to graduate from high school, or would refuse to join a gang and choose instead to further their education, it was an awesome feeling knowing that we could make them happy for a while. Seeing Deacon Paul and others playing with the children, and having one little girl on my shoulders and having a little boy holding my hand made me happy beyond description.

I think we are all guilty, especially teenagers, of forgetting how lucky we are. We get so caught up in the dramas of everyday life that we do not take the time to appreciate the gifts God has given us. Whether it is hot water, an amazing education, or the person you say "hi" to on the street we should make sure we realize that these are not things all people have. This trip has been and will be our constant reminder not only pray to God in thanksgiving, but live the way he would want us to in every aspect of our lives. It will be our reminder to act with love and to try to make a difference in this world because, as Mother Teresa said, "It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters."

We went on this trip hoping to make a difference in their lives and in the end, they made a difference in ours.  The residents of Pine Ridge are an amazing people. We went to inspire hope in them and ended up having hope inspired in us.

That first morning as they drove onto the Reservation the students came face to face with the gritty reality of life in a third world country. But they also experienced the inexpressible joy that comes from sharing, and receiving God’s love with others.

Despite overwhelming odds, the people we ministered to do not live without hope. They have hope. We know that, because we saw hope in action.

Before we departed Aug. 8 for an Aug. 9 return home, someone told us a story:

A young mission worker left one summer feeling somewhat depressed, wondering to himself. "Is what we are doing helping? Are we really making a difference in these peoples’ lives?"

He stopped at Crazy Horse Monument near Mount Rushmore. And the clerk behind the souvenir counter saw his Youth Ministry t-shirt®, smiled, and said, "Thank you. I was in Kid’s Club. I graduated from high school and I’m a sophomore in college now.

"I wouldn’t have done it, if it weren’t for you." That young man’s "thank you" was, we believe an extension of gratitude for the entire Sioux Nation.

- Deacon Paul Graham and Pam Bojack, St. John the Baptist Youth Minister