Small Town News

Lending a helping hand

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The sound of hammers echoed across the Kent Addition Housing Site one sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon recently.

The raucous noise came from a small army of novice carpenters who braved the conditions to install plastic over the homes of several tenants in the housing site west of Belcourt as group of volunteers from North Dakota State University in Fargo vistited Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation to help elderly residents prepare their homes for the upcoming winter.

"The trip was not only a gesture of goodwill, but a chance for the (NDSU) student volunteers to really learn first-hand about a native tribe and their culture," said Matthew Skoy, assistant director of the NDSU Service Learning and Civic Engagement. "We hope everyone involved benefited in some positive way,"

Skoy said he believes the project that brought the group of young men and women together gave them a succesful opportunity to experience the culture of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa. He said he hoped the project most benefited the elderly whose homes were improved and made better equipped to handle the extreme North Dakota cold.

The elders homes will be a little wanner and the memories of meeting so many generous young people should also be heartwarming, said Monique Vondall-Rieke, a Turtle Mountain tribal member who helped coordinate the event. Vondall-Rieke agreed with Skoy, saying that the project will add something special to all of the participants' lives in some way.

"This trip is important not only to the NDSU students who took part in it, but it also has a meaningful impact to the elderly tribal members who had their homes or even had a chance to meet such a diverse group of students," Vondall-Rieke said. "One of the main goals of the project is to celebrate American Indian Heritage Month and provide a learning opportunity for the students, while at the same time providing a great service for the tribal elders in the community."

Vondall-Rieke is the NDSU program coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Programs. Vondall-Rieke said the students enjoyed their adventure and some meaningful friendships were formed during the event.

The NDSU Turtle Mountain Education Service Trip on Nov. 13-14 allowed the volunteers to do minor repairs, painting, and cleaning for local tribal elders homes. The trip was open to any NDSU student, faculty and staff member, and it turned out to be quite a varied group as students from Nepal, Japan, Nigeria, China and other foreign countries who came to enjoy the unique taste of the cultures of the local venue.

Before the trip, the volunteers learned about the culture of the local tribe through an orientation conducted by Vondall-Rieke, Skoy, along with Dr. Robert Pieri, NDSU Tribal College Liaison and Clifford Canku, NDSU professor of Dakota Studies.

"This is one great way for our university to establish closer relationships with tribes and with that a connection to the tribal colleges," said Dr. Pieri.

The students were helped out by the Turtle Mountain Housing Au-' thority maintenance crew throughout the project.

Terry "Pug" LaVallie and the group of NDSU volunteers began their day by going to the Turtle Mountain Retirement Home. Next, a small group of three student volunteers descended on the country home of elder Verna Jeanotte for a day of renovation work. The three workers stationed at her home were originally from Nigeria and Nepal.

After a traditional lunch of LeBoulettes and frybread, the main larger volunteer group at the retirement home moved to the Kent Addition Housing Project east of Belcourt to continue their Good Samaritan work.

Vondall-Rieke said it was good to come home and see so many or her family and was grateful for the support and cooperation her project volunteers received. Vondall-Rieke indicated that the Turtle Mountain Community College allowed the student volunteers to stay at the An-ishinaube Wellness and Cultural Center's lake cabins.

"We all certainly enjoyed ourselves and the NDSU students had nothing but great things to say about the trip," Vondall-Rieke said.

"This trip is important not only to the NDSU students who took part in it, but it also has a meaningful impact to the elderly tribal members who had their homes or even had a chance to meet such a diverse group of students."

Monique Vondall-Rieke



Copyright 2009 Turtle Mountain Star, Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 Turtle Mountain Star Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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