St. Labre School is a Unique and Amazing Place

St. Labre-Ashland, MT

Last week the St. Francis Reach team from Yakima was able to join up with the Holy Family ladies from Helena in order to lead a retreat for St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, MT. Not only was it neat to work with my previous team again, but it was awesome to travel back to the most unique school that I had the privilege of experiencing last semester.

St. Labre Indian School has been around for about 125 years. It started out as a Catholic mission run by Ursuline nuns for the Cheyenne tribe after they relocated to the area. Today, it is a Catholic school for kids from Kindergarten all the way to Senior in High School and is especially dedicated to the Cheyenne as well as the Crow tribe communities. Because of the large donations and the generosity of many people, including big name companies, families can send their kids to St. Labre without having to pay the big fees that most Catholic schools around the country have. The students have well-balanced, nutritional meals in the cafeteria and some teenage students live on campus during the school week in one of the greatest dorms I have ever seen (seriously, I would gladly live in these dorms). This is all just detail to help paint the picture of what the school is about for those who haven’t experienced St. Labre.

So this past week the Reach teams were leading retreats for the freshmen and sophomore classes at the school. I will admit I anticipated the retreats to be chaotic. After having led multiple retreats for middle school and early high school students, I knew that there was going to be a lot of energy in the students. That it would be tough for them to pay attention during speeches or that they may not be interested in activities or that during downtime they would distract themselves with anything not related to the retreat experience. That’s the tough thing about retreats. When I have a hard time keeping the students calm or interested, I become one of those cranky elderly people that are like ‘Back in my day, young whipper-snappers weren’t so hyped-up, talkative, loud, rude, tired, bored, or crazy’ (P.S.-Why do I feel like an old fogey at 23 years old?). In truth being with these students gives me hindsight to my own middle school and high school experiences and I realize that my peers and I were just as hyper, talkative, and crazy as today’s students and that we also got bored or disinterested in what the adults wanted us to do because we wanted to do our own thing.

Viewpoint and Humility

I had a HUGE humbling moment during our sophomore retreat. There was a more serious, prayerful moment where the students were allowed to discuss some of their struggles and issues in life. In that time, my whole viewpoint and understanding of those students changed drastically. The kids, who live on reservations in a quiet and isolated part of Montana, have had very different experiences growing up than I did. They have lived through more severely difficult challenges at this point than I have faced my entire life. I realized how lucky I am to have the life I have and how I can take certain things for granted.

I take for granted the fact that I grew up with both my mom and my dad. I take for granted how supportive and caring my mom and dad are. I take for granted the fact that I have always lived a middle-class life where I have not had to worry about where I will live or what I will eat. I take for granted that in my life I have not had to witness people’s addictions tear apart the family.

And yet, these students at St. Labre Indian School are just about as normal as any teen I’ve met. They like to play sports, watch movies, draw, play videogames, go out hunting, and other fun activities. The teachers and staff that work at the school truly care about these students and these teens deserve caring adults in their lives. I think the adults at that school already know what I am just now realizing.

The Need for Love

What I have come to realize is this: I cannot let any tough experiences I have with the teens affect my view of them and their lives. If I do become cynical and just focus on any tough times, then I begin having the wrong view of the teens. I cannot assume that everybody comes from a background similar to mine, where I was positively influenced by both of my parents and my big family was always around and all I had to worry about was getting my homework done and watching my favorite TV shows. If I think that way, then I miss out on loving the kids through the tough times.

These students need to be loved. No matter how crazy they act or how distracted they are, they still require and deserve love. I'm talking about love like how God loves His creation. How Jesus Christ loved us so much that He sacrificed Himself in His Passion. How I love my best friends and my family in spite of the moments when we argue or dispute something because there are many more happy moments. The students need that LOVE. If they are not receiving it at home, then they need it at school from their friends, their teachers, and their retreat leaders. Even if they are receiving it at home, it never hurts for there to be someone else to give them that love as well.