Reservation Reflections

As has been evident, a lot of stuff happened during my week in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. I interacted with teenagers, got beaten up by little children, and got advice from a pretty smart man. I learned a lot from my brief time on the reservation. And from what I've learned I would like to share three things that I feel people should take away from what happened.

First, there is a difference between what you hear or what you learn and what actually happens. In the weeks leading up to my trip to Eagle Butte, I spent my time learning about the reservation and issues that plague reservations. I figured that I had learned enough to prepare myself for what I was about to encounter. As was evident, I was wrong. I came into the situation with expectations, beliefs, and stereotypes that were pretty much crushed before the first day ended. By the end of the week, I realized that almost everything I had learned did not actually prepare for me for the whole experience. I believe that knowing this will help everyone not only in terms of Native American affairs, but in terms of the world. You may think you know something about a culture, or you may come into a certain community believing one thing, but until you have experience a culture or a community in person, you have a lot to learn. I enjoyed my experience, but it would have been helpful to know this so I could have prepared myself for it.

The second thing people should take away from this is the power of empathy and diversity. I described my experience with Larry Fiddler and how he noted that I could never truly understand the Lakota experience because I wasn't Lakota. This is where empathy comes in to play. I may never be Lakota, but I should still try to understand the issues that concern reservations and the people that live on them. If anyone ever wishes to change the world for the better, then they need a healthy amount of empathy. You cannot change the world if you do not understand how the world is affected by certain issues. Diversity is important because it is clear that the people who live on the Cheyenne River Reservation are different than the people who live in Ames, Iowa or Tampa, Florida. I’m not saying they are vastly different, but I am saying they have had different experiences than I have had, and they come from a different culture than I did. Understanding that they are different in this way will allow you to better interact with them. They respond to issues differently than most people. They interpret community different than other cultures do. If we are to help them or the Project, we must know that we are stepping into a different culture in the process even if it doesn’t seem evident from the start.

The final thing people should take away from this is that my generation and future generations have the power to help others and change the world. Larry Fiddler noted this in his talk. Future generations have the power to fix past mistakes and create a better world. Because we have that power, it is our responsibility to act on it. We have the opportunity to be defined by our actions and not the mistakes that our ancestors made. I want to move the world in the right direction. Who’s with me?

Meeting Larry

During my week in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, I heard a couple people talk about their experience on the reservation or with the Project. I loved listening to everyone talk. I learned a lot, and I plan on using the information I learned in the future. While everyone was great, one person stood out in terms of what that person had to say. That person was Larry Fiddler.

Larry Fiddler is a Lakota man who works at Habitat for Humanity in Eagle Butte. If you ever find yourself there, say hello to him. He is a very friendly man who was great to talk to about life and stuff. On the final day of my stay in Eagle Butte, Larry came to the Project and talked to us about his experiences and gave some pretty good advice. In terms of his experiences, I don’t know everything about his life. He and the group I was with did not have enough time to listen to him recount all of his life experiences, but what he did tell us was emotional and interesting. Larry has gone through a lot in his time on Earth. He has experienced hardship, happiness, enlightenment, and grief. And hearing him tell us all of this just gave me an enormous amount of respect for him. What’s more is that his experience has provided me with more information about past life on the reservation along with current life on the reservation. I understand that his story is only one story and does not represent everyone. Still, his experiences highlight some of the trouble that has occurred under the reservation system and with the policies that the government enforced in the past.

Larry also gave everyone some great advice. One thing that he said was that everyone should follow their heart. I heard this in the past, but no one said it quite like Larry. He noted that logic and the mind are great, but they influence our lives a little too much. We should follow our heart more often because it will lead us to great things. This advice really spoke to me. I am a guy who has been operating with a logical mind in all aspects of my life. After utilizing his advice though, I believe logic and my mind can be utilized in some areas, but in the rest, I should just follow my heart. I have been doing this for the past week, and I have never felt better. This reexamination of my life has brought welcome change. Overall, all of the advice that Larry gave was great. It was not great because of who said it. It was great because I needed to hear it, and it had wide applications to life in general.

Listening and talking to Larry has taught me some important lessons. Larry mentioned that he was proud of our generation (I’m talking about 20ish year olds here) because we were more accepting of others, and we were trying to fix the errors made in the past. This is important to remember because if our generation has the opportunity to make the world a better place, we should take that opportunity to do so. Historical mistakes can be bettered, and I want to help do that. Another important lesson, as Larry mentioned, was that we can try to understand that issues of the reservation and the issues that Larry’s generation went through, but not being Lakota or another form of Indian hinders that. He is right. I am not from a reservation, so I will never understand what it is like to grow up on one. But this is where empathy comes in to play. I will never have those experiences, but I must still try to understand them. It is by knowing of these issues and how they affect people that I, and my generation, will help not only Native Americans but also the world. 

B-Ball on the Reservation

Today I find myself reflecting on the time I spent with the teenagers on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Yesterday I mentioned how I came in with expectations that the children would behave a certain way. I thought similar things about the teenagers, and once again, I was wrong. The Lakota teenagers are just like any other teenagers; aggressive, mean, and with high school mentalities. Being around the teenagers felt like being back in high school, and I was not a big fan of high school. Still, I felt by the end of my time in Eagle Butte, some of the teens were more accepting of the group I was with and me. It would have helped to have stayed there longer, but Spring Break only lasts so long.

The first thing I should note about the teenagers was that they loved basketball. Throughout the entire time I was there, the teenagers came to the Project teen center mainly for basketball. There were a few kids who just wanted to play on the computers or play board games, but the others went to the gym to hang out and play basketball. Even when other events were scheduled, such as a college night or a spaghetti dinner, they were more likely to go to the gym and play there. You can’t really blame them. Basketball is a fun game. Still, trying to pull the teens away from the game was a challenge. When we offered them a spaghetti dinner with some yummy snacks along with it, they wanted to keep playing basketball. It was only after some coaxing did they go enjoy some cupcakes and whatnot. On the other hand, their love of basketball is what allowed our group to bond with them. In our group, there were some serious b-ball players which allowed for a couple bonds to form with the teens.

Another (more negative) thing that should be noted about the teenagers was how life on the reservation seemed to affect them. I am in no position to judge how life is on the reservation because I do not live there. But I have read up on the issues plaguing reservations, and I heard a great deal of information about the Eagle Butte reservation from people who worked there and live on it. From what I gather, it isn’t too tough, but there are still issues. One issue concerned education. From what I heard, the educational system isn’t too horrible, but it also does not seem to be doing its job. The teens were not enthused with any sort of educational talk by our group. It was easy to tell that they were a bit unhappy with college night. A possible reason for this lack of interest is because no one pushes them to be interested. It is hard to want to succeed if no one tells you that success is an option. One good thing is that it didn’t seem like all of the teens hated the idea of higher education. Perhaps it would be better to talk to all of the teens of the reservation before making a giant assumption. Still the various issues associated with the reservation make it sound like a tough place for teens to be.

Overall, I think the Project is doing a pretty good job with helping the teens. The Project could definitely improve in various ways. They have a pretty awesome library which I’m hoping will be put in use soon. They also have a dance studio. The Project rents out the space for various groups, but it could also be used to get some of the teens interested in dance or other non-basketball sports. The Project also had an art room. I feel if they let teens use that room more often, some of the teens might discover other talents that they have. Furthermore, I feel that the Project could offer other services as well to better benefit the teenagers. Tutoring, counseling, educational planning, financial planning, and hobby identification are all things that could find a place at the Project. The Project was under-staffed, but I am hoping that with more people aware of this, there will be more people to help with future endeavors. There is so much potential for what the Project could do with teens, and I am hoping that it meets that potential. This is one reason I want to go back and help. I want to help the Project meet the potential it has. These teenagers were a joy to be around, and I enjoyed interacting with them and learning about their lives. They deserve an opportunity to have great lives. If I can help offer that opportunity, I will go for it. 

They Said my Head was Weird

Before I left on my trip to the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, I found out that I would be interacting with the children and teenagers that frequent the activities organized by the Cheyenne River Youth Project. Today, I am blogging about my experience with the little kids. To be honest, I came into this whole thing with stereotypes and expectations. I had no idea how the little kids would behave around me. I kind of expected them to behave all proper-like because they came from a Native American reservation. I realize now that that thinking was ridiculous and stereotype reinforcing. I went into this experience believing something that I had no evidence for believing. And I believe this sort of made me ill-prepared for what went down when I interacted with the little kids.

As I came to find out, the little kids I met on the reservation were no different than little Chinese, Russian, German, or American kids. These kids were brutal. Because they did not refrain from speaking their mind, they pretty much said anything about you to your face. They made no attempts to hide that they were bored or that they were hungry or that they disliked what was cooked for them. They pretty much acted like my little sister when she was seven. I’m not saying that I didn't like interacting with these kids. What I am saying is that they tended to act like any other group of kids from 4-12 years of age which made any sort of interaction difficult. Once again, this isn't taking away from my experience. There were a plethora of things I enjoyed about interacting with the little kids.

One thing I enjoyed about working with the kids is that they enjoyed learning or playing games. Each of the days that I was there, some people in our group were teaching some sort of lesson to the little kids. One day the lesson concerned science while another day the lesson concerned around the world topics. The little kids were eager about each day’s lesson which is more than I can say for the teenagers. Another thing I enjoyed about working with the kids is that it brought out the kid in me. I had an enormous amount of fun during those five days. I laughed a lot which I hadn't done in quite a while. The kids were brutal, and they would not hesitate to beat you up if they got the chance, but they were a pleasure to interact with which is part of what made this experience worth it.

I know that when I describe these Lakota children, it sounds a great deal like American children. This is because I didn't get a whole lot out of the children in terms of their culture. This was definitely not the case with the teenagers, but I will get to that tomorrow. What I think this means is that being a kid is (Or should be) a universal thing. Little kids like to have fun, they do not refrain from saying what they are thinking, and they like to explore the unknown. Perhaps the reason I didn’t get a great deal of understanding about their culture form them was because they were not that different from any other group of children. Yes, most of them were Lakota, and they grew up on a reservation, but just because someone is from a different race or ethnicity, that does not necessarily mean they have to be different than you. I guess that’s the important lesson I took away from the children. A different race or ethnicity does not mean drastic differences in other areas of life.  

The Experience in Eagle Butte

Last week, I spent my entire Spring Break in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. What was I doing there? I was helping out the Cheyenne River Youth Project. This project is located on a Lakota Indian reservation, and I went there as part of an alternative spring breaks program at my college. A great deal of stuff happened while I was there, and I’ve decided to blog about it over the next five days.

Overall, I loved my experience there. I learned new things, acquired wise advice, and bonded with some cool people. If I had not gone on the trip, I would have just spent my time at home. This was a more productive use of my time, and it is probably one of the most important things I will ever do in my life (I’m probably exaggerating). I have numerous things to say about my trip, but I guess I should start with where I volunteered.

I volunteered at the Cheyenne River Youth Project in Eagle Butte. This organization was founded 25ish years ago in order to help the youth in Eagle Butte. What many people fail to realize is that the youth on reservations are at risk due to issues such as gang activity, poverty, and educational issues. I did not realize this until a short while ago. All of these issues are important to understand because they affect everyone on a reservation including the young people. I’m not saying every reservation has these issues, but they still exist on some reservations. The Project in Eagle Butte has been designed to provide activities for teenagers and little kids alike in order to prevent nefarious activities from going on in the community. Nobody wants to see wasted potential occur with anyone, and I believe that the project can help to insure that most of the students do healthy activities that will not ruin their chances at a great future.

Other aspects of the Project include the fact that many colleges and high schools visit the area to help as well. This can result in issues that I will get to in another post. The Project has a gym where teenagers can play games (mostly basketball) at night, they recently hosted a “Passion for Fashion” night, and they have libraries and an art room. All of these aspects combine to show the true nature of the Project: to help teenagers feel welcome and encouraging growth. The Project also has an afternoon drop off session for little kids where they can learn, play, and have a small dinner. It was a joy working with the little kids even if they were a little brutal at times. Finally, the Project does try to help the community by offering family services. This service allows those in the community to request items that the Project may or may not carry. The Project has a warehouse that I saw. It is pretty big, but it does not carry everything. Still, families do utilize it and seem relatively happy about it.

I will get to what I learned and what exactly happened in later posts, but overall, I enjoyed the experience. There were some ways in which I felt the Project could have been improved, and there were times when I disagreed with practices or philosophy. However, this should not take away from my experience. It was a great experience. I learned a vast amount of new information, and I would gladly do it again. Hopefully, I can do it again this summer as a volunteer. It would allow me to gain hands on experience working with young adults which is what I want to do as a counselor in the future.

This is my first post of my experience in Eagle Butte. I feel I should also link to the website in case any of the readers want to help as well.  http://www.lakotayouth.org/

The Notebook is a Bad Relationship Model

I am going to submit the theory that movies and television are responsible for the downfall of proper romance. This is a bold claim to make. It is like my bold claim that cheesecake is the most awesomest food ever. And much like my cheesecake claim, it is true. My evidence for this claim is The Notebook, reality TV, and the entire Twilight series. Let’s start with the Notebook, shall we?

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Noah Calhoun might be a psychopath. In the Notebook, he asks Allie out at a carnival. This isn’t so bad, but he asks her out while she is already on a date. He couldn’t wait until some other time when she wasn’t so…busy? What is worse is that he asks her out while she is on the Ferris wheel. He wasn’t in the same cart as her; he was holding on to the wheel while they were in the air. As if this wasn’t enough, he scares her while in the air when he pretends that if she doesn’t answer, he will kill himself. I am a firm believer that no one should use suicide to get the attention of others. It is just an unclassy move. Still, Allie isn’t without fault either. She is married to an okay guy in the movie, but when Noah comes back into her life, she forgets all about that and proceeds to make sexy time with him. This is what experts call incredibly stupid. I realize it was the 1940s and divorce was frowned upon, but no guy (or girl) deserves to be cheated on even if the other guy is Ryan Gosling. This movie is ruining romance because it is giving women unrealistic expectations. No guy should behave like Noah because Noah was a lunatic. And no woman should behave like Allie because Allie was a bit of a jerk.

Reality TV isn’t much better. You have entire shows devoted to the idea of romance. The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Temptation Island, various wedding shows, and others which I cannot list because I don’t bother ruining my life by watching them. Think about the logic behind The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. One man or one woman is manipulating a group of individuals into showing him or her who loves him or her the most. That’s not love. It also seems to promote cheating on others because you’re not really in a relationship. It makes for great television, but it just seems to be promoting terrible ideals for what makes a great relationship.

And finally, we have the fantastic series which is Twilight. I am, of course, being completely sarcastic. While I doubt anyone is truly taking this franchise seriously, I have a feeling that some teenage girls might develop horrible beliefs about relationships by watching Edward and Bella (or even worse, Jacob and Renesmee). Edward pretty much stalks Bella. He watches her at night, and he did it for a while before she found out and encouraged it further. Furthermore, Edward pretty much tells Bella that he is a bloodthirsty monster and would love to do nothing more than kill her and drink her blood. And Bella’s only reply is “sounds cool.” When you think about this, their relationship is a metaphor for abuse in a relationship. Edward constantly threatens Bella and even inflicts emotional abuse upon her, and she’s totally okay with all of this because she loves him. Another horrible aspect of all of this is the stupid love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob. In no way does Bella ever say that she’s going to leave Edward, but she still keeps Jacob around, leading him on in a terrible fashion which results in Edward and Jacob wanting to kill each other. I think that people reading this should understand that abusive relationships are not worth the trouble (AT ALL PEOPLE), and that having guys (or women) fight over you is not something to be proud about at all.

So there you go. My reasons for why television and movies are slowly turning romance into a joke. I can only hope that I’m not the only one who realizes this. There is a difference between love and obsession and recognizing this will prevent people from getting hurt in the future. If you disagree, please feel free to explain why. 

Interview With a Blogpire

So, I have an interview tomorrow for a very prestigious spot. It’s not every day that the Vatican calls you and asks if you are available for an interview. I was going to turn them down because the work schedule was going to conflict with my Norwegian Double Agent spy schedule, but I figured I could do both and still be awesome. Because I have an interview, I figured I would go over the rules of interviews with all of my readers because I want all of you to be just as successful as I am. Here are the rules.

1. Remember to put on pants before the interview. Interviewers are allergic to nakedness.
2. An inability to deny yourself a single slice of cheesecake is NOT a weakness. It is your greatest strength.
3. Calling the interview a “Cotton headed ninny muggings” is probably not a good thing.
4. If you’re going to burp or fart in an interview, you might as well burp or fart to the tune of the National Anthem.
5. Despite how awesome it would be, “Riding a dinosaur” is never an appropriate answer to “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
6. Try not to threaten the interviewer. This will look bad in their evaluation of you.
7. Uggs are not an ideal item of clothing to wear in an interview. Uggs are not an ideal item of clothing to wear anywhere. If you are wearing uggs, you probably will never get an interview anywhere.
8. The only appropriate thing to do while having a phone interview is cooking bacon.
9. Never mention your organ harvesting scam during the interview.
10. This is an interview, not a counseling session. Try not to tell the interview about the time your father missed your big baseball game in the third game. Yes, it was an important game, and your father shouldn’t have missed. It is the reason you started drinking, and you stay up all night wondering why your dad doesn’t love you like he loves your sister Janice. But the interviewer doesn’t need to know this.
11. Taking the interviewer’s seat and saying “I’m you now. I have your life” is not a good way to start the interview.
12. Bro hugs are not a good way to end an interview

So what do you think? Are there any tips I did not put on here? Is it possible that an organ harvesting scam might actually be a good hobby to address in an interview?