Article
“St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain is catching more flack than dreams for its decision to distribute dream catchers – an item of traditional Lakota Plains Indian culture – as a fundraising tool. The problem, according to some potential donors, is that the dream catchers the school has been distributing are made in China.
Each year, St. Joseph’s distributes a packet to potential donors in an effort to raise money for the school. In 2013, the packet included a dream catcher. A hoop with webbing – “a dream catcher,” in traditional Lakota thinking – helps trap bad dreams, while allowing good dreams to reach a sleeping person.
When retired art teacher Robert Blunk of Denver, Colo., received his packet in late 2013 from St. Joseph’s, he noticed something – the dream catcher was identified as “Made in China.”
“This is very sad,” Blunk said, “I think there are better ways to raise funds.” Blunk, who has contributed in the past, asked the school why it couldn’t have its Lakota children make the dream catchers. He even sent a letter to the school, questioning its decision to distribute Chinese-made products to its donors. The school acknowledged Blunk’s concerns but said the decision was necessary.”
-Capital Journal, Native American school criticized for fundraising tool.
Download
Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #2 – Made in China.
Close Ups
Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
Creative Commons License
This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
