Wayne_fox_introduction.mp4

Well my name is Wayne Fox I’m the new superintendent there and white shield high school or white child school also alumni of that of the school so it’s very different you know coming back being a superintendent and also being a former student there walking down the halls and kind of reminiscing as you go along I grew up actually partly and in waychel North Dakota but in my younger elementary middle school years I grew up in denver colorado Westminster Colorado at that time we were still brought into a lot of our cultural ways of going to powwows traveling up north to visit my grandpa my grandma going to the war bonnet dances and being I guess educated in that way of knowing how to give away no one went to dance knowing about military Wars you know in a different way you know and how to honor different people and I and I always think that’s a education in itself you know as you go along and as we were growing up there in Denver we once you we had long hair at United long hair you don’t go in pause I was it was quite different back then you know people would ask you why you had the long hair and you would always just kind of go back and say well you wouldn’t say you know you’re Native American because they knew your native american well I dance and it’s just our culture of who we are and you know we never really thought anything different you know and we may be saw a lot of maybe we saw a lot of prejudice at that time but we didn’t see it you know we looked upon it we look we went we went forward my dad was always very strict in education he you know he’d always say this is this is the only way to remove yourself from a situation you know was educational he and so he always talked about it you know and so I my family all my brothers and sisters are educated you know work very hard workers raise families and as we were growing up my dad also worked for the government so then he said well that’s he wanted to move back home which was in North Dakota and so you know kind of partly grown up in the in the city but always going back to you know different areas of powwowing you know we travel all over the United States you know going to Arizona going to mex New Mexico going to you know all over we move back to North Dakota and it was a cultural shock for us you know for a lot you know for like from our siblings also you know and asking God why is everybody where the same clothes here you know you know everybody wears the same clothes you know here’s this you know me I think I wore 501 levis with van shoes you know they’re still around today you know regular t-shirt you know and everybody here is growing cowboy boots and wranglers and then button shirts I was like why see why these young guys weren’t like button shirts you know and I you know I did that’s just I thought you know we’d work polos and the other little bit would still be kind of not buttoned up but you know it was just one of that time you know is that on it but dumb but once again you know being there with our grandparents as well you know and growing up with them it and my grandpa always you know telling stories just like he always said you know you never know when you were going to go see her you know see what you were going to do whenever you went there you know and I’d always go with her because my mom heard up my drama he would always cook you know so that was the best place to go you didn’t know you know even to this day you know I always talk about food my wife because how here he goes again talking about food even my little daughter like she’ll roll her eyes but uh you know that’s I guess that’s that’s a place to my hardest food you know and so my grandma was always there and then I would always listen to my grandpa tell these stories you know and when he had visitors or maybe he held had elders / like missionary you know the LDS people they’d come over and they’d share about you know the LDS ways that there are Catholic ways and he would kind of talk about a little bit different but then to you know even as a little as a person sitting at the table you would see some of those similarities because we were all we were always into that the culture you know if I hearing in the middle of songs and he going to powwows and also going to traditional power varied you know like traditional powers where they would kill a cow right in front of you butcher it and get it and then cut it up and throw it into a soup and then you’d have it a little while later you know and also going to my dad also introduced me to sweat lodges when we were when I was very young and continued at that at that stage and so it kind of you know was embedded in me to have that some you know along the way while I was growing up and but in this setting with my grandpa and grandma you know he would always you know talk about he would always I would think that this dis man would probably know about five or six languages you know Cree French lakota Wow a Chippewa Rick raha Dotson he’d laugh at me so how bet you didn’t know I could talk like you know all this time delight laughs and laughing you know he tell me but he’d always tell me jokes and as I kind of grew up and then start you know learning a little bit more things those stories began to be like life lessons that he was talking about you know and at that time they were very funny but they always had that sense of you know where you kind of had to get that point where you may be five years later you got the point oh yeah you know and that’s Hugh on it not only did it take you know maybe most of the day maybe it took me five years before you caught that story you know and as they followed into that as I graduated we once again you know my father always pursued school and we went to school we went to you know I went to mayville didn’t do too good my first year you know as everybody you know some of us and we just kind of you know continued on with the journey you know my dad would all say what you’re going to do where do you see yourself in a two years you know when I he’d always sit in his chair when I’d come home visit like oh my god he sit in that chair again you know what’s he gonna say to me you know or you don’t you know my siblings we’d always talk about was he sitting in his chair again yeah he was sitting this year again you know you don’t he’d always be taught you don and so as we went along you know as we you know did our journey our educational journey we we start hitting little pieces of our education you know start completing here and start completing over here and my sister Stacey she completed it you know first and you know that the struggle for her you know washing her and then after a little wild and I completed the struggle of getting the education because I call it a struggle because you know you’re you’re in that almost poverty-stricken stage where you know you can remember ramen noodles we can remember macaroni cheese or you can remember getting down to the last bits and pieces of your food and then also trying to work and trying to go to school at the same time you know and at that time I finished my bachelor’s my words I was kind of here was my dad said and this was getting kind of close and he said you know for the EU probably was kind of waiting for me to finish you know because I was probably the hard one you know the one that was you know God lean I don’t know about you know and after I graduate he said now I can die you know when I thought I can’t look down I thought he was kind of joking you know but he actually maybe he you know had some sense of he’ll be okay now you know and I was kind of it was kind of different you know it was kind of different you know and it kind of sitting back and thinking look going back into the stage right now and thinking about you know he still kind of get kind of jerked about it and and so we I continued on we continued on with the journey and you know and I completed my I guess of my bachelor’s and start teaching you know and met some wonderful teachers along the way wonderful people wonderful kids you know and finding out that passion of wanting to be that teacher not just coming there but being that you know having that passion having that drive to get that you know just having that drive you know and you know and I guess on the other part you know I’m not saying that we lived in poverty but you know as a call you know is that when you start getting out of college and when you get that first check over you know like wow seven hundred dollars your first year teacher you’re already like oh I can do a lot of things you know and then you take your kids to Bismarck and you kind of do a little bit of things and stuff like that you know just that thinking like why was I crazy you know endo but having that cultural piece is very important that understanding of where our children come from you know and in it and I always say it’s not just in digital it’s all ending it’s all children that have that sense of you know because sometimes we never know what those children are going through and so having that understanding in that compassion i believe is is the main key of being a great teacher you know I’m not saying that I’m a great teacher but I have those instilled in me you know and as I went along I met my wife Jennifer and through a couple failed marriages we I met my wife Jennifer and we were both going through some tough things that meantime I lost my dad and you know things just kind of the grieving process was what wasn’t you know what was kind of miss you don’t was just it was there but you know as epic as Indian people sometimes we don’t know how to grieve you know we don’t know how to top because of I don’t want to hurt your feelings if I say this or I don’t want to say you know so we kind of hold a lot of things in with us so then I think that grieving process kind of stays with us for a while you know and in the meantime you know I got back into teaching and I hasn’t been my wife and meantime a lot of it I think it took me a couple years to kind of kind of get you know kind of bring myself back you know my wife was very patient was amazed you know and watch me do Fisk’s teach fifth grade and then what we went to heart of the years where most of our kids were I would have to say sixty percent homeless being shuffled in by a taxi cab in Minnesota you know the idea I’m Minneapolis in the init in the inner cities and all indian school and being able to connect with these students and then we actually then we moved to South Dakota my wife and I and in the meantime we still had her our family you know you know she had her three boys and we had her baby and at that time i was i was in the process of you know seeing my kids as well and once again a grieving process was still there you know and I just can I seem like and as we went along I went to Kyle South Dakota and I think that area what that place was probably IIE in fact I just came back from there and I and I always say you know that was probably one of the greatest feelings that I’ve ever had of teaching there and I and those kids that I was able to teach are still around me today you know whether it’s culturally or whether it’s just by you know passing by I always say those kids brought me back to chew that area because they realized of how important that understanding was you know not only did you have to understand as a teacher of where they came from of how they want it to be and but yet they understood me for some odd reason of where I was at and so they you know it was kind of a process where I would help them and they helped me a lot and so from there then after that I went and got it to my master’s program and dumb and I thought well let me know I want to be a pretty don’t want to be a principal I thought you know let’s just you know not but I in the meantime I did kind of want to see how other Indian schools operate I just didn’t want to go from a bachelor’s to master’s in it but I wanted to understand things I wanted to see how things operate it then most apart i also wanted to understand where teachers were coming from how they thought and how they you know and once again my wife was always you know my stone and she would always you know be able to tell me different a different perspective you know maybe a female perspective where it was more had compassion and you know no and then she’s very strong as well and so it was kind of it was ok and as soon as we finished there I think we were in Kyle for a couple years maybe three years and it was probably like I said it was probably one of the best years of my life there you know and no we were brought in with the culture we had a lot of culture you know spiritual spirituality and I think that’s what I was missing was the spirituality piece because these children had it no matter how you could say poverty they were you know in that in that in that mode there they were very spiritual you know they would sing a prayer song in the morning you know and that was just my class you know and they with it we had a drum in our you know and all of us and all the start stuff coming back in our room in my room and these kids got every morning would see mr.Fox I want to sing a prayer song with full relief or are you know and that connect was like you know and it was just it wasn’t really like but it was one of those moments like wow you know Here I got here I got these kids and that these kids also believe in me of thinking you know kid I always say you know this is the only way to remove yourself in this situation if my dad was with was my education you know and then to understand that sometimes you know yes education is important but it’s not that important you know it was that it took a down there they call him mooncheese a grandma for her to come in say you know I just want you to teach my grandchild because he wants to stay here and work or take care of me and this one lesson that i was doing i did a less than that dumb I wanted to ask them you know like my dad would all say well what do you see yourself in a few years what do you see yourself in 23 years a couple of my students said uh just living in Kyle watching over my grandma and grandpa you know one and that kinda gave me some more understanding a little bit of understanding you know back then you know 2,000 when bush was president that no child left behind was very strong was very strong that’s actually what i wrote my thesis on was you know was thence NCLB and I knew that you know these kids were very resilient these Indian children that were very resilient because they were able to walk into my classroom and I know that culture was there where there was a prayer song or whether it was just bits and pieces of stories of where you saw that moment of whether it’s in science our social studies or math or even any you know writing where you would siege at that moment as a teacher and you would say and you would just shift off from your lesson plan and he would say okay now a long time ago this is how they did this or this is how this was structured you know and these kids were like you know they would look in so then you would kind of slowly lead into you know then you would actually catch yourself kind of going off a little bit too you know and I’d really get into it and stuff and then so you would have to say okay I got to go back to mindless I got to go back to my plan here so then you go back and but the meantime these kids you know and it was that and then you know once again that understanding and as we went along you know we I graduated with my masters and I wanted to you know what it you know there I was blessed with opportunities you can say you know what I from being able to find programs that actually pay for your masters and you know different ways but i’m still paying for my undergrad believe it or not and so i had to become principal you don’t to pay back and say we moved to cannibal and North Dakota which was another good place you know III have nothing you know what sometimes administrators leave a place that was has to but I have nothing but you no respect for those people to the people that lived in that community you know and the struggles that they were there they were faced with but those kids knew the same thing and they and they understood where I was coming from and I understood where they were coming from you know when I and I had that compassion still and I never wanted to lose that compassion because it was you know it was very important but yet I was still test driven because of the ncl being as an administrator you know you were that’s how you rate it you know and I and it was very hard you know when I and but i also wanted that cultural component of our varsity of our students you know and it didn’t matter if I was her dots are Arikara but this these were the these were Dakota people so I had to you know and you know enrich myself in this culture here and in and say you know this is you know no matter no matter who I am you know this is this is who we are because there was all still a lot of similarities still a lot of relationships and a lot of stories I go along between these people you know the Dakotas and there Rick arasan and even further the localism and my dad or my grandpa would always tell me stories about gentleman and cannibal about grass dancers and they you know so when I went into this community I knew certain bits of pieces of a family a family of you know but what my grandpa died was kind of talked about and we were you know I think teaching staff was excellent we were very successful i’m going to say with that school and you know and i still talked to the ministry up from cannibal and he was he you know it was we brought in once again you know prayer songs we brought in you know the language in it was there and I and I had always talked about these children before their the children could achieve they need to know they need to know who they are you know I they that the identity you know they may not know the language but if they can know bits and pieces and I used to always you know you know just the rock in the water he throw it in there and they’ll just the ripple effect you know and the kids the kids really shined you know and I was made sure that I was able to learn some of the language and when we came on for the morning announcements I would always say that and the community also heard me you know and whatever I said the community would hear you know and some you’ll always come back to me and saying I said you know I still miss how you used to say that and everything and but as years went on I was put into this once again the opportunity came up and i was in there for from education specialist degree and as I was in Montana State University in Bozeman Montana and it was I lead where they were pic now indeed nom leaders to become you know doc you know EDD you know dog you know with education and looking at different areas and so I thought well here’s an opportunity let me take it you know and so as I went along I was talked into working on my doctorate and I was like I was I thinking you know and I passed you know I did my comps did my royal comps and I was just so you know a three hour process but one thing that I always reminded myself of was the culture it was my identity you know what and that was the piece I think I was able to use you know and i always think prior to that I was a hoop dancer I was a dance out in my younger years I was a hoop dancer where I connected those hoops into behavior you know model where everybody was connected where everybody had that unity whether we were white black yellow red we had that connection no matter who you know who we pray to no matter what we did we always came back to who we are and that was as a whole and so I always you know and I and that took me all over the play I took me to Costa Rica took me to Japan it took me and just being able to do this and share this and once again i was able to open my mind by you know this here business then never thought this would take me all over and pay for magic some somewhat of my education help support my children and whatnot and as i completed you don’ts that portion I left to the hyatt area and you know it just too much paperwork I was thinking it is that what just wasn’t you know now struggling you know I was really struggling and as takata just I can’t change the world here you know I need you know and so I and at that time I all my boys graduated we had six boys in the house and I had one girl in our baby and they were all teenage boys you know 17 some were 65 somewhere down you know I think the smallest one was like 511 you know and also athletic and we you know we were going all over the place you know for there’s cross-country basketball football whatever it was we were going you know and here as we went you know we took a year your break and we thought you know what’s just thinking your brain we never took a year you know we never took a year you know we just kind of my you know our son plays for you for football for you and d Division one and we thought well let’s follow him so we bought an RV where we’re going to go all over and then said the meantime we can just up here we can sub in gear saying we go you know we had this little dream of you know whatever you know and stuffing because we only had one kid at the house so you know and and so we start doing that and we ended up in white shell North Dakota no move back home and it was you know not once I ever think I was going to go move home you know and live right there and my wife came back she said you know I don’t even think they’re looking for teachers Wayne and I said yeah is but in the meantime I was getting attached to the sixth graders where I was totally the long-term sub and a lot i knew a lot of these students that were struggling but they were coming to school but they were due saying anything they weren’t talking about it they weren’t you know they were just and once again that resiliency of our indian students of you know and wanting to please me you know and they were see you know mr.Fox you know I had never gotten a you know bad grade in my life until I got into your grade yeah getting like c’s and d’s i’m never i said well you know this is what I demand this is what I want from you in and having that understanding but the most important once again having that cultural connect with them and being able to kind of go back and use that cultural piece you know and it wasn’t never unplanned you know and that’s one thing I’m never goodness is always going to say it was never planned you know it you would have your lesson plans and you would have this one don’t teach this year this year this year then it was never planned where you were going to come across water and then you were going to talk about water or you were going to talk about a circle you were going to talk about blood quantum as fractions you know and make students aware of you know while you know mr.Fox I’m a force the Rick rah I’m a fourth Hidatsa I’m half suit and you know in it using that piece as your introduction to fractions you know I you know you’re just like there you know or that piece there are looking at the structure of a the earth watch are looking at the structure of a camp you know how it was set up you know and different things you know you would kind of hit pieces and so when white you know further in white shield and um say you know we were there and once again you know I said you know I taught every other on every other reservation never was able to teach my own my own you know and I enjoyed it i really did you know going home and in you know you were that in that administrator position anymore you were just able to go home and you know and then but you know the greatest part about it is you only had eight students and so it was very you know very easy to you know make sure you have great papers you almost sat on a sylvan type style where you were able to like boom boom boom and you’re you know and you’re just able to do different things with these students and as we went along the superintendent position open up in white shield and I nobody was really applying for it in different things were kind of happening to the school and I thought well back of my mind I thought well maybe this is why I’m here this is why I’m here you know and me maybe it is maybe it’s not you know so that’s firma that’s where I’m at today