Smiles From South Dakota

Our Final Post - by Elias Olsen As a part of our time at Simply Smiles, we watched a documentary titled “Warrior Women,” about Madonna and Marcella Thunderhawk, a mother and daughter duo who work together as activists for Native American rights. In the background of one of the interviews was a poster with a portrait of a Native American person with a bold-lettered caption that read “LANDLORD.” For some reason, this image made an impression on me. Perhaps it’s because I’m currently renting my first apartment that the word grabbed my attention, but the metaphor of the poster also made me think deeply about the modern white American’s relationship with the land on which they stand. The idea of the United States being a temporary residence for Caucasian, European immigrants is, in a way, satisfying to think about. It would mean that the people who, so many centuries ago, had their land ripped from them, would be able to say that they might be able to return home. But even t...

     Our fourth day here in South Dakota has been nothing short of exciting. Not as many of the kids showed up today as it was the July 4th but those who did come had a blast. Even with the rain the small group was busy and full of energy. At one point in the day a girl walked up to me with the smile she ALWAYS has on and looked back to her friend for affirmation and then back at me. I knew a shoulder ride was coming but my shoulders weren't prepared. She asked for exactly what I expected... a shoulder ride. Little did I know, that shoulder ride would turn into the fifth Avengers movie featuring the "Soup Monster". Erick, Ellie, Jake, Sarah and I all became allies or villains, either supporting or "fighting" our tiny tot heroes. I started as a hero and was beat up by Supergirl and the Hulk, but after the sixth time I "died" Black Widow came to me and turned me into a good guy. She then said I was healed and had to help them fight the Soup Monster (Eric...

Now three full days into our week on the reservation, the experience so far has been nothing short of exciting, challenging, energy exerting, and overall amazing. Unlike many of my peers, I am not someone who works with children on a regular basis for their job, so the presence of 40-60 campers ages 4-17 is a relatively new concept for me, and a learning experience overall. Each day we split camp into morning and afternoon sessions, each with a variety of activities to choose from both inside and out. The campers are energetic and inquisitive, and love bouncing from one activity to the next to experience arts and crafts, baking, playground games, and sports activities. With potential impending thunderstorms, we have many indoor activities, including making slime, bead melting, watercolor painting, shrinky dinks, and rafia bracelet making. Outdoors, campers have been playing disc golf, soccer, basketball, playing on the playground, hiking, and making a slip and slide. All of the campe...

After a couple of delays in our travel plans on Sunday and the resulting schedule changes on Monday, we were somewhat forced to accept the Simply Smiles mantra that we have already repeatedly heard from the staff and interns - "Flexibility is Fun". Even though we haven't been here for a full 2 days, and we have only had 1.5 days of camp, this seems to me to be the theme that will drive us through the rest of the week. Flexibility can be frustrating, but it can also be extremely rewarding and is a skill that is necessary for all of the people here at Simply Smiles, all of the people that live here in La Plant, and all of the native people living on reservations throughout the region. Some small scale examples have popped up surprisingly frequently over the course of the past few days. At the summer camp, plans for a structured game can easily go south when energetic children take the reigns. Each of us have experienced something along these lines, ranging from a more t...

SUNDAY -- We arrived safely last night after our initial plans shifted due to storms on Saturday throughout the middle of the country, an early lesson about the connections between all things. Wake-up came early - prior to 4 AM - in order to get us started on a full day of travel. It was a great relief to land in Rapid City, to get our feet back on the ground - but more than anything, to finally be here in South Dakota. As we drove northeast toward La Plant and could see glimpses of the Badlands to the south, I kept imagining much of what I'd been reading in "Black Elk Speaks" about the genocide of Sioux tribes on this very land: sweeping, systemic efforts by the U.S. government designed to eradicate the people who were here first. After a few stops, including one for dinner at the famous Wall Drug, we made it to the Cheyenne River Reservation and Simply Smiles. MONDAY -- This morning after breakfast we were led through an eye-opening orientation that quickly anchor...

Excited to Go Back Again!      For me, this trip has been seven years in the making. In 2012, my friend Nancy Herzig and I joined several other people as volunteers on the Reservation. The Simply Smiles volunteer presence was new at that point so we were essentially in at the ground level. We helped repair houses, we sheet - rocked the Community Center, we played games with the children and we hosted community dinners. Ever since leaving in August of 2012, I have wanted to return. I am so glad to have the opportunity to do so this year with my husband, two of our children and 7 others from Norfolk and other parts of CT.      The focus of the volunteer program for Simply Smiles this summer is mainly focused on running a day camp for the children so as a result, much of our preparation for the trip has centered on that. We have planned seven separate activities for each day of the week and gathered materials for those activities. We have mailed four boxe...