Sharing a culture through service-learning

As an English major in the College of Liberal Arts, Josie Stahl ’24 always liked to read about other cultures, but she never expected to take part in a service-learning experience at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, living and working with Lakota tribe members.

For Stahl, who will graduate this summer, the June experience was an incredible way to cap her time at Towson University. 

The trip was sponsored by Amizade, a national nonprofit organization that provides volunteer and community service programs to students and community groups.

It also served as an independent study, since Stahl worked with Tavia La Follette, associate professor in TU’s theatre arts program.

As the founder and director of the nonprofit ArtUp, La Follette curates the Sites of Passage Project, which focuses on global exchanges for the migration of ideas across political and cultural borders. One group that has particularly interested her is indigenous artists who live inside the United States. 

Senior Josie Stahl '24 and associate theatre arts professor Tavia La Follette, front, spent this June doing a service learning trip with the Lakota Tribe in Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. (Photo provided by Tavia La Follette) 

La Follette has had the idea for the program for a while. After teaching Stahl in her Theatre for Social Change class, she thought the senior would be a perfect test pilot for the trip.

“I’ve been working and living with different indigenous cultures, both in the U.S. and abroad, and that’s been part of my scholarship and research,” La Follette says. “Josie clearly has a passion for social practice and is a really great writer.  So, to have this experience with her was just incredible.”

Stahl and La Follette visited historical sites like the Wounded Knee Memorial, where they learned more about the Lakota tribe’s culture and history. Before the trip was over, the two were given a powwow by the tribe as a thank you and to welcome them into their culture.

The learning experience featured elements of agriculture, sustainable development, environmental issues, land rights and animal science. This included helping paint buildings for the tribe, as well as helping maintain the tribe’s land.

“The trip made me think of practicing reciprocity, because they gave us a lot of information and ideas of ways to move through the world,” La Follette says. “And in exchange, I hope that we gave them something with us being there.

“We’re in the space together; we’re learning not just from the elders, but we’re learning from everything around us.”

Stahl (left) and La Follette provided different services, like painting buildings and helping maintain the Lakota tribe's land during their trip. (Photo provided by Tavia La Follette) 

Stahl, who is also part of the Honors College, had already taken two study abroad trips: a semester in Ireland and a minimester language immersion trip to Japan. But her last experience resonated with her in a different way.

While some days were filled with hard work, she couldn’t help but appreciate the opportunity she had been given to learn from another culture. In fact, Stahl can’t help but remember the advice her dad gave her when he dropped her off at the airport.

It was from Greek philosopher Epictetus, and it was simple: “You have two ears and one mouth — use them in proportion.”

“It was so hands on. By the end of every day after all the walking or digging or painting, I'd be tired, sore, bruised and scratched up,” Stahl says. “But it made the connection feel more real. Like, I'm here with these people, working with them, seeing more what an average day is for them. And in a way, that's part of them showing me their culture.”

Photo provided by Tavia La Follette.