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By Eric Connolly
You can use many words to describe
the Diocese of Helena’s Justice Outreach
Project on the Blackfeet Reservation, but
if you want just a couple, consider these:
solidarity and immersion.
Sixty-five youth and young adults from
several areas of the diocese were on the
reservation for a week, beginning June 27.
They left with experiences covering a lot
more than the service work on the calendar.
Kelly Ruby, youth minister for Holy
Rosary and Resurrection parishes in
Bozeman, put it this way: “It’s a big deal
for us to learn how to become one with our
community. We’re all a part of the universal
Catholic Church and to do that we need
to be in solidarity with each other. It’s not
about going and fixing a community. It’s
kind of immersing yourself, but also
becoming included in that community.”
Justice Outreach on the Blackfeet
Reservation “is a project that won’t ever
be finished, but we’ll continue to do it,”
Ruby said during a break at Heart Butte’s
St. Anne Cemetery, where participants did
cleanup and other work.
Justice Outreach drew people from
Anaconda, Bozeman, Browning, Butte,
Deer Lodge, Helena, Kalispell, Red Lodge
and Stevensville. Before they departed for
worksites at the start of the week, youth
participant Emily Jo Schwaller of Helena
shared thoughts with The Montana
Catholic. Working with people who are of
various ages, who come from different
places and who are brought together in a
culture that for some is entirely new contributes
to faith development, Schwaller
said.
The time on the Blackfeet Reservation
was divided among work sites and opportunities
to interact with Blackfeet people
eager to share their culture. Mass was celebrated
on four mornings, first by Father
Dan Shea, a Carroll College faculty member
and pastor at Our Lady of the Valley
Parish in Helena, and then by Father Ed
Kohler, pastor at Little Flower Parish in
Browning.
Work included clean up at De LaSalle
Blackfeet School, reclamation at St.
Michael Cemetery in Browning as well as
at St. Anne Cemetery in Heart Butte,
restoration and remodeling at Medicine
Bear Shelter in Browning, reconstruction
of a baseball field and chores at homes.
“This is a part of our Church we can’t
ignore, reaching out and standing in solidarity
with our brothers and sisters,” said
Dan Thies, director of Catholic Youth
Rural Outreach in the Flathead Valley. As
the week progressed, themes of community
and solidarity came across in remarks
by the youth, as well.
“Originally I came up here because it
sounded like a great thing to do to help a
community, but I’m actually learning more
about myself as a person and that I have
more compassion than I thought I did,”
Anna Weber of Helena said in an interview.
“Learning about the culture of the
Blackfeet is inspiring.”
Paula Bremner of Browning described
Justice Outreach as “a group of people getting
to know each other and developing a
relationship while helping others.”
Coordinators include Toni Running
Fisher, religious education director at
Little Flower Parish. On Justice Outreach
participants’ final night together, she told
them that “you’ve seen the best of us and
you’ve seen the worst of us and you
opened your heart and shared in that experience.
And that’s the power.”
Cultural immersion activities during
the week included stories from Blackfeet
tribal elders, teepee lodge building, riding
horses and learning about and listening to
Native American music. Chief Earl Old
Person, spiritual elder of the tribe, gave an
Indian name to Doug Tooke, coordinator
of the diocesan Office of Youth and Young
Adult Ministry.
Tooke received the name
Naatowiiksikka’yiwa, which translates to
“spiritual walker.” He was “overwhelmed
and humbled to receive such a gift,” he
said.
Before the naming ceremony, Chief
Old Person said having the Justice
Outreach Project on the reservation
encouraged the people who live there.
“To our young people, if they see what
you’re doing here, even if it’s just cleaning
the cemeteries, it is something that will be
acknowledged and recognized,” he said.
“While you were here, I’m sure the people
you were with were part of you and you
were a part of them, and that means a lot.”
Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 7, July 16, 2010.
Related Links:
Justice Outreach Project photo-spread*
The Montana Catholic, July 2010 print issue.
*PDF format; Adobe Reader® required
Justice Outreach Project 2010 photo album
Justice Outreach Project 2010 video
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