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from the issue of January 11, 2007
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Student Involvement group earns new appreciation for Omaha tribe, traditions
3 days in the Omaha Nation
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
A first impression of Macy, Neb., moved, Sharon Penry.
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| | | OMAHA GAME - UNL student Hong Yue of China (far left) smiles as he plays a traditional hand game with Rex Webster, a student in the Omaha Nation High School in the Huthunga, a culture and language classroom. Also pictured are tribal elders Donna Parker and Rufus White. Photo by Troy Fedderson/University Communications.
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Penry, the science events coordinator for UNL's Center for Science, Math and Computer Education, joined five UNL students and a fellow staff employee on Student Involvement's alternative service-learning trip to the Omaha Nation reservation town of 956 on Jan. 4-6. Taking note of crushing poverty - highlighted by dilapidated homes, abandoned vehicles and a business district of one convenience store - Penry formulated a single inquiry for Omaha Nation Public Schools officials.
"I wondered, when a student from here goes to college, what would bring them back," Penry said. "It really was an insulting question."
Less than 24 hours later - after helping with two community projects, interacting with teens, teachers and tribal elders, and learning about the deep roots of Omaha culture - Penry regretted the question.
"We've only been here a very short time, but this community has been so welcoming and willing to accept us for who we are," Penry said. "I know what brings these kids back. It's the importance the Omaha put on family and traditions that ties them to the community."
| | HELPING HAND - Ashlee Dickinson (right), a UNL graduate student and service-learning project leader, paints a hallway in the Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center with members of the Omaha Nation High School student council. Photo by Troy Fedderson/University Communications.
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The service trip was the second organized by Student Involvement to take place during the annual break between semesters. The first, Jan. 1-7, 2006, sent 94 UNL students and employees to assist with Hurricane Katrina cleanup near Waveland, Miss.
"We wanted to stay a little closer to home this year, while also providing the students the opportunities that a service-learning project offers," said Linda Moody, assistant director of Student Involvement at UNL. "The trip to Macy was a good opportunity to learn about another culture and the history of Nebraska."
After arriving Jan. 4, the UNL group spent their first day cleaning a storage closet in the high school and painting hallways in the Carl T. Curtis Health Education Center - a community health care facility.
While the group hoped to accomplish more than the simple tasks, their work was appreciated.
"It would have been difficult for us to complete this project without their help," said Wehnona St. Cyr, executive director of the health education center. "We had just started planning this project when this group called and asked if they could help out. They called at just the right time."
School officials were also thankful for the free labor.
"That closet would not have been cleaned out if this group didn't come here," said David Friedli, a 1979 UNL graduate and principal of the Omaha Nation High School. "It may not be an exciting project for them, but it is really going to benefit our school."
The UNL volunteers ended their first day with a community tour by Vernon Miller, a tribal member and first-year teacher who graduated from UNL in May.
In their discussions with Miller and Friedli, the volunteers learned family roots run deep in the community.
"When someone in a family dies, family members are required to mourn the loss for four days," said Friedli. "It doesn't matter if you have an important test, need to study or work. Tradition says you need to be there for your family."
The group also learned that the Omaha people are slowly rebuilding tribal traditions. The school includes a special room, the "Huthuga," which is devoted to study of the culture and language of the tribe.
The room mimics a traditional Omaha lodge - in the round, lined with wood poles and an opening at the top to allow light to filter in.
"Each pole in this room has meaning," said Susan Fremont, one of three tribal elders who met with the UNL group on Jan. 5. "It was built to help our children take an interest in the traditions of the Umonhon. Our goal is to preserve those traditions and our language for future generations."
During their meeting with Fremont and the other tribal elders - Rufus White and Donna Parker - the volunteers took part in a traditional hand game in the Huthuga.
While a recording of traditional Omaha music played in the background, the UNL group divided into two teams, with Omaha Nation students joining each side, to play the game - a Native American contest similar to Button, Button, Who's Got the Button.
The game involved hiding shells in closed hands. An opposing team member then used a feather to signify which hand they believed shells were being held.
With the tribal elders assisting (and keeping track of the score), Omaha Nation student Rex Webster single handedly defeated the South team.
"Rex was amazing," said Diane Ohlson, a staff secretary with Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education. "He beat us four to nothing. The loss was so bad that Rufus (White) said we should have had to buy Rex a horse."
White went on to leave a lasting impression on the group.
"We enjoy being here with you," said White after sharing snacks brought by the UNL volunteers. "Maybe something good can come out of your being here with our people.
"It is a blessing on our people to have you here."
That theme continued as the volunteers divided for college-related question and answer sessions with the Omaha Nation students, then returned to the care center for a final painting push.
"People wonder what we're doing here," said Ashlee Dickinson, a UNL graduate student and project leader for the service-learning opportunity in Macy. "When we tell them about what we're doing, they are so appreciative.
"I wish we were able to do more for them. I feel like we are getting so much more from this opportunity."
To give back a bit more, the group opted out of attending an Omaha Nation basketball game in Bloomfield, and dug into a second high school storage closet.
"I didn't really know what to expect when we came here, but this has turned into an amazing opportunity to learn about the Omaha people and their culture," said Haley Tuttle, a Native American Studies minor from Lincoln. "It makes me want to get involved in an organization working to better the quality of life on the reservation."
Other UNL students involved in the service-learning opportunity were Joselyn VanCleave, Ayako Ebata and Hang Yue.
The trip was co-sponsored by Student Involvement, Residence Life and International Affairs. Linda Moody, assistant director of Student Involvement, also credited Mark Awakuni-Swetland, a member of the Omaha tribe and assistant professor of anthropology and geography at UNL, and Friedli for making the service-learning opportunity possible.
GO TO: ISSUE OF JANUARY 11
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