Indigenous Parent Advisory Committee draws hundreds with back-to-school event

'We want them to feel welcome and free to come speak to us'

Hundreds of Indigenous students and parents braved the storm to gather supplies and join in the fun during the back-to-school event on Aug. 14.

It was standing room only at the celebration, which organizers moved to Bismarck High School from the original outdoor venue because of the storm. The Indigenous Parent Advisory Committee’s event offered backpacks, supplies, vaccinations, activities and resources aimed at ushering in a good academic year for Bismarck and Mandan Public School’s Native families.

The IPAC invited a lineup of community groups to meet students’ families. Valerie Siqueiros, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and secretary of the IPAC, handed out flyers about the upcoming meeting on Aug. 28. Siqueiros shared that the committee will begin sending out links to those who signed up via email so parents can attend meetings virtually. IPAC’s new officers have been recruiting more Indigenous families since the election on Feb. 28.

“For us, it’s definitely important to engage because we want more Indigenous families to come to our meetings,” Siqueiros said. “We want them to feel that we are a safe place for them to speak their minds. If they don’t feel comfortable talking to the Indigenous Education Department, we want them to feel welcome and free to come speak to us and be able to help them out with whatever issues they’re having, or even if they just want to get involved and hang out to meet other Indigenous families.”

Siquieros was happy to see the large turnout, in terms of families as well as community groups. “We had a lot of people come through, and we’ve definitely had enough room for our vendors,” she said. “Everybody seems to be pretty pleased with how it’s turned out.”

Another reason the IPAC chose Bismarck High School as the alternative spot was its central location and accessibility, especially for those families who don’t have vehicles. “I think people would have been willing to walk over there [Sertoma Park] for the event, but even just drizzling, I don’t think we would have had the same amount of people,” Siqueiros said.

Many of the organizations at the event offered activities for the kids. From robotics to coloring pages, games, freebies and treats, there was something for everyone.

Kathryn Froelich, a retired teacher from Standing Rock, showed students how to tie sweetgrass at the Central Regional Education Association booth. Before retiring, Froelich worked as an educator for over 35 years. For 15 years she was an elementary school teacher, then she taught at Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates for 17 years. Towards the end of her career, she worked as a cultural coordinator for the CREA, where she taught language and culture to students.

The Sahnish (Arikara) and Blackfeet citizen instructed students about the four sacred plants –– sage, sweetgrass, cedar and tobacco, which are at the heart of many of their cultural teachings. “I talked to them about how we use the sage and sweetgrass for blessings and smudging,” she said. “And then the cedar; when we have ceremonies, especially in our sweat lodge, we use the cedar for blessing the rocks when they’re brought in.”

She recalls many students being interested and engaged in the process. Parents also seemed appreciative of the teaching. Froelich said she is glad she shared this history, because it’s important to pass on this knowledge to the next generation.

“I think it’s important because our traditional knowledge… is being lost,” she said. “Because we know that when our students have good self-knowledge, self-concept –– they do better in school. So, what better way to help them be more resilient and be stronger and have more self-confidence than to give them this history?”

Another service offered throughout the event was free haircuts. Aaliyah Smith, a master hairstylist and founder of Humble Beauty, gave 20 haircuts during the back-to-school event. The girls, she said, liked to keep their hair long, while most of the boys asked for fades. After each appointment, her son gave a lollipop to each client.

In May 2023, Smith moved to Bismarck from Devils Lake near the Spirit Lake Reservation. Since last year, she has been working with Sacred Pipe Resource Center to help organize free haircuts. Even before her move to Bismarck, Smith was offering back-to-school haircuts, beginning on her reservation in 2018, then traveling to Bismarck to extend her service.

Smith shared that she was always in awe of the world of cosmetology. She decided to become a stylist, she said, to add representation to the field. As someone who knows the cultural importance of hair, she collects the trimmings at the end of each session to give to her Native clients. If children want to keep their hair long, she only takes off what’s essential.

“I would have liked somebody to do this for me and my siblings when we were younger,” said Smith. “It’s something that I would have remembered, I think. I’ve seen the way that they looked at me while I was doing their hair. And to hear that I was from the same place and same tribe and doing what I was doing, as young as I was. It’s just for the kids, at the end of the day.”

Perusing their school gear, family members talked among themselves. Many were familiar with the local organizations in attendance. Despite the bad weather, the community came together in support of its Indigenous students.

As the event came to an end, Froelich’s message to students was: “If you have any chance at all to talk to an elder, anybody in the community that has those stories, has that knowledge, reach out to them and learn as much as you can,” she said. “They may not have degrees or may not have finished college or maybe not even high school, but you know what? They have a rich history. And so, if you can get out there and talk to the elders in your community, bring them in and talk to them. They have important lessons and teachings they can give you to help you be stronger.”

Dateline:

BISMARCK, N.D.