Blackfeet Students

Blackfeet freshmen make De La Salle hoops history

Although freshmen Brayds Vielle and Jamerson Lazyboy are 1,700 miles from their Montana homes, they were already familiar with Lasallian teachings before walking in the door for freshmen orientation last August. The boys attended the De La Salle Blackfeet School from fourth to eighth grade on their Indian reservation in Browning. The school was established by the Midwest District of the Christian Brothers in 2001.

The Browning area is one of the poorest in the country, with the attendant problems of poverty including chronic unemployment, alcohol and substance abuse, and welfare dependency, along with one of the highest high school dropout rates in Montana. Seventy percent of the students are raised by an adult other than their parents. De La Salle Collegiate began a relationship with the Blackfeet School in May 2016, with a team of International Baccalaureate students spending a week in Montana. Another team of IB students and teachers returned four months later. The IB program has sent teams of students to the reservation in each of the last four fall seasons. To date, three other Blackfeet students have attended De La Salle Collegiate. Their attendance has been made possible by a generous sponsor who offers tuition assistance to interested boys from the reservation.

Lazyboy and Vielle began thinking about the possibility of attending De La Salle while seventh graders. Their parents were enthusiastic about the opportunity. “I was lonesome for home at first,” Vielle said. “But also felt at home instantly because DLSBS and De La Salle Collegiate share the same Lasallian teachings. I made the decision to attend De La Salle Collegiate to better my fu ture, and in my time here I’ve had the opportunity to know the brotherhood they share.” “It’s just a whole different space,” Lazyboy said. “I moved in with a family I never even met before and it was hard at first. However, I knew all the prayers and expectations of a Lasallian school. I’m so happy to have the opportunity. De La Salle Collegiate has a lot of connections in the outside world that can help me in the future.”

Although they knew only two plays before trying out for the Pilots’ freshman basketball team, both im pressed the coaches. The two are the first Blackfeet Indian tribe students to make a basketball team - at any level - in De La Salle history. The pair were the top distance runners at their grade school, and this fall, they ran cross country. In fact, Vielle earned his varsity letter, with a personal best time of 17 minutes, 59 seconds.

Both are adjusting to high school, though they have found challenges with going from a rural-area school to one in an urban setting. So when they saw more than 50 freshmen in the Bill Fox Gymnasium for basketball tryouts, they were a bit overwhelmed with the experience. Assistant coach Brendan Johnson saw their potential. “They are always smiling, and are fast learners,” Johnson said. “They have earned their places on the team. They have fit right in.” Lazyboy and Vielle are living with the Hertel family in Grosse Pointe Woods. The Hertels’ older son, Brendan graduated in May 2019, and is at Albion; younger son Colin is a junior. The family had never thought about being a host family, but responded to an email Admissions Director Steve Laudicina sent last year seeking host families

Generous foundations provide tuition assistance

For the past few years, the Woods Foundation has provided tuition assistance for boys from the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. During the 2019-2020 school year, four students are enrolled at De La Salle. John Towle Jr., foundation member and father-in-law to DLS teacher Dave Dudus, along with Dave’s son Noah, who also serves on the foundation board, were at De La Salle to meet with the group. They were joined by DLS President John M. Knight, Greg Esler, major gifts director, and Marta Rhea-Johnson, diversity director. Sam and Nada Simon, who established the Simon Foundation, have also begun providing tuition assistance for the Blackfeet Reservation students during the 2019-2020 school year. The Foundation also supports the Downtown Detroit Boxing Gym, and several DLS students have benefitted from their generosity.

Front Row, right to left Noah Dudus, Blackfeet students Brayds Vielle, Mark “Tanot” Devereaux, Jamez Michell, and Jamerson Lazyboy. Back row, right to left Marta Rhea-Johnson, Greg Esler, John Towle Jr., David Dudus, and President John M. Knight.