The Gift of Literature
Hello, it’s Ellis. Today we began by sorting through all the donated books, sorting them into piles based off genre. We went to many different towns on the Reservation dropping off the books at each free library. The idea of the free library is to give the community a choice of free books given by those who no longer need them. April told us that kids ride their bikes to these free libraries and pick up books, and the idea is to excite kids in an educational experience.
After donating books, we went to a local high school called St. Labre. Both of April’s children went to high school there. It is a private Catholic school with no funding from the government, and is privately funded by people all over. The school provides every graduate assistance in paying for college and April’s daughter received a full scholarship. St. Labre also has a museum that contained interesting artifacts from the Northern Cheyenne tribe, such as, dolls, tribal clothing, and shoes. It was very fascinating see old artifacts used by the Northern Cheyenne tribe, and it helped us better understand their heritage and culture.
While we were at St. Labre they offered us lunch at the feeding program. This program provides all local children with free breakfast and lunch on weekdays. On the weekends, it is common for kids to have little to no access to food. Many children attend summer school at St. Labre because, according to April, there’s nothing else for kids to do. Summer school there is more like camp: the kids play games and go swimming.
The day ended with a surprise from the sun, which has been hiding in the clouds this entire week. On our way home, we encountered a herd of buffalo! We ended our final night in Busby admiring the landscape and surroundings, knowing we may never be back.
