Wow Time Flies

As I write this post it is mid day on Friday and this time tomorrow we will be well on our way to Great Falls to head home. Apologies for missing an entry yesterday, things were busy and it got away from me.

That said there were not major happenings in the school other than the boys are getting a taste of what teachers go through during the school year. I also think on some level they have a great appreciation for their teachers at CBC. Since the last post we had two guest speakers, Mrs. Olivia Davis and Mr. Robert Hall.

Mrs. Davis spoke to us about the plight of the reservation, how her faith and the Christian faith plays a roll in the lives of the people living on the reservation. The passion she has for her community was very evident and she shared some details of the problems individuals face. Her discussion of blood quota, racism in Montana and her personal experiences were very moving. I think it is hard for the boys to really wrap their brain around the idea of that the percentage of Blackfeet a person is has a bearing on whether they receive benefits or not. The idea of a Pedigree similar to animals was very eye opening.

The damaging roll that drug abuse has on the reservation is very troubling. In 2014 40% of children born on the reservation were born drug addicted and now in 2017 that number has risen to 60%. The idea that this is getting worse in the community weighs heavy on my heart. West Coast gangs from California are using the rural aspects of the community to produce Meth and distribute it. When we first came to Browning in 2012 we heard mostly about Alcohol abuse and Marijuana use, but Meth was not mentioned prominently.

Mr. Hall is a teacher of language at the local community college. He talked about the Blackfeet language and how it was almost lost. As a young man in the community he is one of the youngest speakers of the language. In his discussion it was amazing how the structure of the language was very verb/adjective driven. The name of an object is described as a way of naming it. He also discussed that gender and pronoun use is not prevalent in the language and that masculine and feminine is described other ways. I found much of this very interesting, but I am not sure how the boys felt.

We ended our day with 4 mile hike at Two Medicine at Glacier. We went up the trail to Aster Falls and toward Aster Point, but the snow made it a little dicey and there was a slight concern about whether we were on the correct trail. We decided to turn back. It was a pretty taxing hike considering the differing experience levels of the boys.

Today we are wrapping up our time in the school and as I finish writing this the boys are getting ready for lunch and getting a opportunity to pop into the two stores that typically have decent souvenirs.

Time will likely prevent me from writing another post before we depart but I will wrap up the trip in a later post. The reality that another trip is coming to end is sad, but we will all be happy to see our families tomorrow night.

Live Jesus in Our Hearts.... Forever!