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Tips for Helping Students from the US Dept of Education
This publication is focused to assist students that have suffered traumatic recent events such as school shootings and hurricanes. Native American/Alaska Native students and adults might benefit from reading this publication with an eye toward using the concepts inside to increase our healing or understandings today from the intergenerational impacts of traumas we or our people experienced in addition to current events or traumas.

Mdewakanton Explorer Post Begins Third Year
Prior Lake, Minnesota - Youth from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Community have now spent two years learning about the fire service through Mdewakanton Fire Post 9100. They devote more than two hours each week learning what fire fighters do. The SMSC Explorer Post 9100, which began in October 2003, has members from Shakopee, Prior Lake, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community ranging in ages from 14 to 17.
"It opened up my eyes to a lot of different things that the fire department and the EMTs are doing in the Community. The different activities we got to participate in were educational but still fun and exciting," said Explorer Natasha Coursolle. "Its a great environment to be with the fire crew. They are very welcoming to the kids and so much fun to be with."
Explorers are a national career education program which provide life experiences to help youth grow into the leaders of tomorrow through hundreds of Explorer groups across the country. To participate youth must maintain an overall minimum grade point average, and they also have attendance requirements for Explorer functions.
Over the past two years Explorer Post 9100 has had several milestones. Their first year Mdewakanton Fire Post 9100 was awarded "New Explorer Post of the Year" out of seven new posts in the state. They were selected for being the most enthusiastic post, for the dedication of the sponsoring organization (Mdewakanton Fire), the adult leaders, and the fast growth and strength in the post over a year's time.
All members took part in a first responder class and all successfully became state certified first responders. Members actively participated in the Mdewakanton Fire ride-along program and in weekly meetings covering such things as fire ground conduct, competition drills, medical training, live house burns, and basic firefighter level 1 topics. Training sessions included putting on fire gear and other the tools of the trade, using the radios, radio protocols, oxygen masks, and ladders, and avoiding safety hazards. They've also learned basic search and rescue techniques, hose operations, first aid, and how to take vital signs.
They also competed in a weeklong national competition in June 2005 at Texas A & M in College Station, Texas, the site of one of the nation's largest fire training schools. Over 551 young adults from 51 different posts from 20 states participated in the event.
At St. Paul on April 25, 2004, they participated in an X-games event, a fun competition for different fire posts where the kids did 17 different stations. In this individual competition, they went against each other on events like ladder races, going up stairs in gear, and carrying apartment bundles (of hoses). They competed in a state team competition against other Explorer groups from around the state at St. Paul's drill tower as part of the State Fair activities. They came in second place out of eleven at the St. Paul Explorer Games.
For two years members of the Post have also performed public service such as picking up litter on a section of County Road 82, along with other Community service projects. Starting in November 2005, they will assume responsibility for litter pick up on a section of County Road 42 from Marschall Road to County Road 21.
"I'm so proud of the kids; they work so hard. Right now our fall recruiting drive is going on so we have some openings for some new Explorers," said Advisor Jason Melby. "Interested kids can call the station or go to our website." For more information about the Mdewakanton Explorers call 952-233-5027 or go to www.shakopeedakota.org and click on the link for SMSC Tribal Government, then on Mdewakanton Fire Emergency Services.

About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
The SMSC utilizes its financial resources from gaming and non-gaming enterprises to pay for all of the internal infrastructure of the Tribe, including but not limited to housing, roads, water and sewer systems, emergency services, and essential services to its Tribal members in education, health, and welfare. The SMSC, out of a cultural and social tradition to assist those in need, also maintains an active charitable giving program. Over the past several years the SMSC has donated more than $56.5 million to charitable organizations and Indian Tribes. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, a federally recognized Indian Tribe in Minnesota, is the owner and operator of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Playworks, Dakotah! Sport and Fitness, and other enterprises on a reservation south of the Twin Cities.

Caring as Prevention
Intervention Based on Tribal Values
By Dr. Catherine Swan Reimer, Inupiat

"The good seed has been planted, it will mature and develop and produce good fruit so all can be nurtured and sustained."

The focus of prevention is to look at the symptoms of an individual student so as to recognize the potential changes he/she may be experiencing.  Once the changes are confronted, the student can be thereby appreciated, intercepting the possible threat to student safety.

Intervention based on tribal values provide a powerful prevention model. 

For too long the focus of “No Child Left Behind” has been the academic achievement of the child and not on the human/spiritual development that provides a guide for living a good life.

In the past, tribal values such as Caring, Sharing, and Respect have been the cornerstone that parents & extended family have held to in raising their children.  Yet, today, interfacing our traditional values are assaults against them through popular media and technology.  Furthermore, our school systems may propogate the values of Respect and Sharing, but far too often the value of Caring is not the focus of Education. 

Indian young people are sensitive and vulnerable to terrible abuse among their peers.  They survive by “packing” together, forming “cliques.”  But when one is not part of a group, one falls prey to bullies and group assault.  Without the value of Caring, young people feel alone and isolated and begin to fantacize ways to retaliate and take revenge.

Caring is the basis for respect and sharing.  Caring is a value that evolves in later years into Empathy and Compassion.  Without the personal sacrifice of letting go of one’s self centered “me” only perception, one continues to be locked into a self serving community.  This self seeking focus breeds all kinds of negative behavior such as envy, gossip, selfishness and meanness.

Caring has to be taught in all grade levels.  It has to be modeled by teachers, older students, and through the models of behaviour of popular profiles such as movie stars, musicians, and sports heroes.

As Indian parents and community, it is our responsibility to move our school leaders to focus on our traditional values to be integrated at all levels and classes so that our children may begin to care for the outcast, the loner so that they may feel a sense of belonging and responsibility to their fellow students.

Some practical ideas would be to begin early in the lower grade levels.

• Praise students who help another.
• Discuss traditional stories that show how caring was part of the hero/heroine’s behaviour.
• Create a chart with children’s names and each day have children share how they cared for an animal, plant or person and let them paste a star by their name.  Later, reduce the number to three days a week that they outwardly reward themselves for such behaviour.
• In Language Arts, have students keep a Journal on how they cared for some student and how it made them feel.
• Have students role play how it feels to be the “animal” or “bird” that is not nurtured by the group.  Have students create a skit and then ask other students how the little “black sheep” must feel when all the other white sheep stuck together and shunned the other.
• Have students create a symbol of Caring and then combine all the symbols together to show how beautiful a community of caring looks like.
• Establish a “Caring” school wide curriculum for a month, to remind older students of the need to not only care for each other but those outside the school community.  Elders and parents could be invited to school and students could provide a day for the community at large with food, service and entertainment.
• Teenage years can be rough, have students create small groups where they can share their week, what has been going on and giving each other advice.  This could be once a week.  During one of the Language Arts classes, for example, ask students to Journal about this.
• Have Elders come and share the values that are important for young people to live by at least once a week.
• During lunch hour or outside recess, ask students to spend one day a week to eat with someone new or play with someone they don’t know.

These may seem like simple exercises, but the daily reminder, fun activities, outside speakers and inner reflection can change a whole school environment so that a traditional value like Caring can be integrated into the school and students who feel on the fringe of society can begin to feel a part of one’s community and develop a healthy self image.  The good seed has been planted, it will mature and develop and produce good fruit so all can be nurtured and sustained.

Last Updated: Feb 04 07