Upper School Students Visit Montana
A group of Upper School students—including two rising freshman—traveled to Montana for 10 days in June to volunteer on a Cheyenne reservation while immersing themselves in the Native American culture and natural beauty of the American West. The students stayed on a reservation, spoke with Native American elders and attended local events, restocked free-book community library posts, went horseback riding, visited National Parks, and much more. While they were there, their faculty advisors Tori Wilbur and Yoshi Fujita encouraged them to write journals chronicling this unique experiential learning opportunity. Below are some excerpts from their trip, posted on their Montana Service Trip blog.
“Today we went to the anniversary celebration of the battle of the Girl Who Saved Her Brother. We listened to speeches from the Cheyenne tribe members, prayers, and sacred songs from the “Cheyenne Boys” and had our faces painted. In the speeches they emphasized the importance of women in the society and how the tribe couldn’t survive without them… Today, we learned a great amount about the Northern Cheyenne tribe and their history. The point they emphasized the most was that women are the backbone of the society. They even passed out shirts to everyone with a quote on the back that read, “A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground.”
“After breakfast, we helped remove weeds and other nutrient-depriving plants around the outside of the house (where we’re staying). This took lots of focus and concentration, but as a group, we figured we could get the job done. We helped clean out two hydroponic plant towers to get them ready so we could add new seeds to them. We planted a huge variety of plants including (but not limited to) tomatoes, eggplant, watermelon, cucumber, basil, and more. We also played this cool game called Avalon…a role-playing game that takes place in the time of King Arthur. We played this for such a long time and had so much fun playing it too.”
- Sawyer
“Yesterday evening, a man named Linwood came to the lodge. He teaches ethnobotany at the local college, and has spent his whole life tracing the roots of his people, the Cheyenne… Linwood talked about his experiences in Alaska, told stories from his childhood, as well as from various Cheyenne legends…I have a lot of interest in plants as well as their purposes, so to hear about all of the different ways that plants can be used was a really cool experience that I will definitely remember as one of my favorite moments of the trip.”
-Anna
“The robotics day was certainly one of the more interactive and fascinating community service opportunities we have experienced during our trip so far. To start off, we got the opportunity to work with kids involved in the 4H program. 4H is one of the “largest youth development programs” in Montana…This exchange, despite all that we have seen in Montana so far, taught me the most about how Montanans my age truly live.”
- Mason
“We went to many different towns on the Reservation dropping off the books at each free library. The idea of the free library is to give the community a choice of free books given by those who no longer need them. The day ended with a surprise from the sun, which has been hiding in the clouds this entire week. On our way home, we encountered a herd of buffalo! We ended our final night in Busby admiring the landscape and surroundings, knowing we may never be back.”
“We saw Callie Bennet who is a spiritual/inspirational singer and songwriter who has won a NAMMY award as well has recognition in Canada. She is part of the Navajo people and lives in Arizona. Her voice and the lyrics she sang were beautiful. The concert was most likely my highlight of the trip so far. Callie’s message was about having hope in the young people and she had us remind our neighbor, throughout the concert, to keep hope alive.”
- Janelle
“After the horseback riding, we headed to the whitewater rafting location. When we started rafting, we immediately encountered many rapids, which made the ride exciting. Soon after, in calmer water, we had the opportunity to jump in the water and go for a quick swim. After the swim, we took turns doing what’s called, “riding the bull.” This is when one sits on the front of the raft and tries not to fall in. When I tried, I fell in anyway. Overall, although we were sad to leave the Wild Rose Center, we had many fun and new adventures in the days that followed.”
- Will
Be sure to check out the students’ complete reflections and the photos they posted with their blogs.
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