There is a song that laments, “I need a hero.” In this day and age, there seems to be a big problem finding someone to fill that “hero” role. This is not the case for Jack Shillingstad. In a time of desperate need, Jack found he had four little heroes to help him.

Jack has been a dedicated teacher, administrator and mentor with the Wakpala School District on the "Standing Rock Indian Reservation" for over 20 years. Throughout those 20 years, he has accumulated many stories to tell his children, and now, his grandchildren. A very hot day in June, 2001 was the setting of one of the most harrowing and heroic stories that he is able to tell. In fact, thanks to the quick and calm actions of four, 10 and 11 year-old boys, Jack is around to tell the story.

Jack and his wife Teresa, raise horses and ponies on the ranch south of Eureka South Dakota, and had decided the children in the Wakpala school’s summer program would benefit from interaction with the animals. Teresa works her young horses with a gentle hand and trains them to obey voice commands. This creates a loving, trustful relationship between horse and human, according to Jack.

The Shillingstads carefully chose the ponies to use in the program and moved them the 70 miles to Wakpala. Little did they know, this was the beginning of a life’s lesson adventures for both man and beast.

The first weeks of the horse program were a resounding success. The children were very eager and were in “horse heaven.” They learned how to touch the ponies and speak to them in soft, reassuring voices. The children and the animals soon created a bond that only they seem to understand, with the most eager of the children spending extra time, grooming, feeding and cleaning the make-shift corral.

“They were just hooked,” Jack said, “they wanted to camp overnight by the ponies just to watch them. It soon became apparent that a few hours in the afternoon was not enough time for the children, and they began to stay after the school program to spend more time with the animals on their own. They were becoming more anxious to experience more of the horse program than was available in the confines of the corral.

I decided some of the children were ready for this type of experience, and with the permission from the parents and the school, decided a trail ride was a good idea. I knew I would have to have a dependable horse for myself and decided on a gentle, black quarterhorse named Sampie. Sampie was a very good example of my wife’s hands-on training, and I was about to find out just how good a trainer she was.

After a pre-ride over the trails on Sunday evening, I felt prepared to take the ponies out of the corral. On a hot and muggy Monday afternoon, I found that I would have a smaller group than expected, as some of the children chose to swim because of the heat rather than a ride. Three young boys, Kolt Tiger, Darren Wells and Ridge Cadotte chose their mounts, each choosing their favorite that they has chosen from the very beginning of the program. These boys are especially good riders and are among the children who spent their own time in the program.

Our troop headed out for the creek area, with Darren in the lead and myself pulling up the rear on Sampie. We came to a place in the trail that went down a cut-bank into the creek where we could cross. After careful instructions from myself, the boys moved down the bank. Wild grapevines covered the area and extra caution was necessary. I followed the boys carefully down the bank when Sampie suddenly took a turn to the right. I tried to rein him back but the grapevines caused him to slip and lose his footing.”

The horse scrambled and clawed at the top of the bank to keep his footing, but the slippery grapevines made it impossible for a good foothold, and Sampie began to pitch to the left. I saw what was happening and threw my feet from the stirrups, but it was too late, as me and the horse fell down the bank. I found myself trapped between my horse and a log at the bottom of the bank around 12 feet from the place where we started to fall.

Sampie was on his back with his feet up in the air, like a dog waiting to get his belly scratched. The log was resting on its root system and was a couple of feet off the ground. My ankle was pinned, and because of the bank, there was only one way for the horse to move. That would have taken Sampie right over the top of me, causing much more damage to my leg than was already done.

I was in excruciating pain with the weight of the horse resting on my damaged ankle, but I was clearheaded enough to realize the situation could go from bad to worse, if the horse followed its natural instinct and started to struggle. Laying my hand on the horse’s head, and relying on his wife’s training ability, I was able to keep the young horse calm enough for my “ little heroes” to step up to the plate.

The boys had heard what was going on and turned around in time to see the end of the accident. “I saw his horse fall right on top of him,” said Darren. Trying to evaluate the situation and keep the horse from snapping his upper leg, I noticed the branch that held the log anchored to the ground had broken on impact with the horse. I told the boys to come back across the creek as quietly as they could. The pain was getting worse and I was fading fast.

The boys realized the importance of keeping the horse calm. Slowly and quietly they followed the instructions given to them by myself. Together the small boys worked feverishly to move the big log, giving their me room to maneuver myself into a better position under the horse. After a couple of heroic attempts, the small boys were able to move the large log just enough for me to pull out my leg. Realizing the horse could not right himself with the weight of the saddle on, I tried to remove it, but I did not have the strength. Once again I instructed the boys as they moved around the toppled but remarkably calm horse and they removed the tack and gently coaxed Sampie away from me. Sampie had remained calm thoughout the whole situation and is also a hero to me.

I was able to crawl backwards several feet and the boys then found me a good, sound crutch. As Ridge held the ponies quiet on the other side of the creek, Darren and Kolt helped me bring Sampie to his feet and make sure the horse was not injured.

I was becoming aware that my strength was zapped and I didn’t have much time to get back to the school. I hobbled to the creek and submerged myself,. Using my cowboy hat to throw the cool water over my head, I tried to revive myself and clear my head. Thinking that I could ride back, I instructed the boys while they saddled my horse and waited for me to mount up. The pain and the damage to my leg made this impossible. Darren even offered to get on his hands and knees and let me use his back as a step. Nothing would help and I had to have the boys take me back to the creek. I was submerged in the water to help me keep cool and relieve the pain in my leg. The boys brought over smaller logs to keep me floating and to rest my head on and keep it above the water.”

My strength waning and the heat taking its toll, I made the decision that the boys must go back to the school to get help. Reluctant to leave, the boys had to be persuaded to leave their teacher’s side. Finally, they mounted-up and I settled in the creek for the long wait for help to arrive.

Time passed slowly as the swelling in my leg caused pressure and more pain than I could bear. Before long I realized that someone was coming, and saw another of my young horsemen riding towards me. “Did you get bucked-off sir?” questioned an astonished Kellyn Hill. Relieved that help could not be far behind. I told Kellyn to ride to the top of the hill and wait for the ambulance to arrive so he could point them in the right direction.

Soon other help began to arrive. Lloyd Thompson, James Parisiene and Melvin Hill arrived with news that the ambulance was on its way. The Mobridge ambulance and crew, Doug Weichman and Ed Fried, arrived on the scene, only to find the terrain too tough to traverse with the backboard. The slope where the accident occurred had a steep, 10-12 foot incline that would have made it extremely difficult for the rescuers to carry the me over. Melvin Hill suggested the rescuers try to reach me from the other side of the creek. Even though the land scape was not as steep, it was going to be about a 300-yard carry., in rough, rocky terrain. Weichman crawled down the embankment to where I was lying in the creek to evaluate the situation, while Fried drove the ambulance to the other location. Weichman made the decision not to use a regular splint on the leg and ankle because of the extreme pain that I was in.

“We had to make a splint with blankets and towels to hold the leg still on the back board,” Weichman said. As the other rescuers arrived at the creek, they realized just how beneficial the water was going to be in the helping to ready me for the trip back to the ambulance. “Being in the creek really helped, “ Weichman said. “ We just floated him onto the backboard and strapped him in for the ride.” Weichman also noted that the cool water of the creek helped to relieve some of the pain that I was in, and helped to keeep me cool in the unbearable heat.

It took all five men to carry me out of the creek and to the ambulance for the trip to the hospital. X-rays revealed a broken ankle and severe bruising to the rest of my leg. My entire leg was marbled black, red and purple, and every shade in between.

Myself and many others who work in the school, along with Paramedic Weichman, feel that these four boys are definitely the heroes in this story. They reacted calmly and listened well, following the instructions that I gave them. “I was in a one-sided pit with no safe way out. These boys are my heroes. They saved me from, at minimum, a life-crippling situation. They did an excellent job listening and following instructions.”

The boys themselves don’t quite realize that, had I been alone and not had the help of these four boys and the gentle nature of a well trained horse, people might still be wondering where I was and what happened to me. My hat is off to them. They performed excellently in a life-threatening situation. I am so proud of them, they are my heroes in every sense of the word. In a time when some people say there does not seem to be many positive examples in our youth, these four shining stars need to be recognized as true, real-life heroes."

If you would like to help support efforts to provide a healthy learning
environment for these deserving young Native American minds, please contact:

Smee School District 15-3 Mr. Joe Strongheart President, Wakpala School Board P.O. Box B Wakpala, SD 57658 (605)-845-3040

Smee School District 15-3 Mr. Jack Shillingstad, Wakpala, Supt. P.O. Box B Wakpala, SD 57658 (605)-845-3040

Daschle Visits Wakpala, Awards Grant - 7/6/2000
The Smee School District will be receiving a $1.3 million Department of Education grant for a needed school in Wakpala, Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) announced while touring Wakpala School on Monday.

"No child should have to learn in the type of environment that these children have been forced to endure for many years," Daschle said." Read The Story

Wakpala school officials, residents celebrate school groundbreaking - 8/24/2000
More than 100 people, including Smee School District officials and Wakpala residents, attended the official groundbreaking at the site of the future Wakpala School on Saturday. Read The Story

Local Volunteer Helps Wakpala School Receive Donation Of Books - 12/28/2000
Wakpala School has received 30 new books thanks to Mobridge resident Heather Bohr and Page 1, a nationwide literacy project created by Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt. Read The Story

Jack Shillingstad Creates Sakakawea Piece - 2/10/2000
Most people in the Mobridge area know Jack Shillingstad for his restoration work on the Sitting Bull Monument but only a few people know about his sculptures including a handful of people who have seen his latest creation, the "Bird Woman." Read The Story

Two hunters were camping in the forest. They had gone to bed and were lying beneath the night sky. Spotted Horse said, "White Bull, look up. What do you see?"

"I see thousands of stars."

"And what does that mean to you?" Spotted Horse asked.

"I suppose it means that of all the planets in the universe, we are truly fortunate to be here on Earth. We are small in the Great Spirit's eyes, but we should struggle every day to be worthy of our blessings. What does it mean to you, White Bull?"

"To me, it means someone has stolen our teepee."

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