PLUMMER, Idaho – Joseph Bonnell-Hall is headed to Dartmouth College next fall, one of the oldest and most respected schools in the country. Joseph is presently a senior at Lakeside High School in Plummer, Idaho on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation.

“I’m actually from Sandia and Isleta Pueblos,” he said, but was born in Portland, Ore. and has lived at Plummer for the past eight years.

His high school career is remarkable in many aspects. His grades for the four years have all been A’s with one exception. “I got one B in the Coeur d’Alene language, the only B in high school.”

He’s a member of the National Honor Society but that’s just one of numerous organizations he’s been involved with through school. A list of them is extensive but shows the all-around involvement he’s had in school and the contributions he’s already made to his community.

He’s been involved in Future Farmers of America and Family Consumer Community Leaders of America. He’s been involved with Close Up, a group involving sophomores, juniors, and seniors and helped raise money for a fund that will likely send about 10 members of that group to Washington, D.C. in the next year to learn more about government in action.

He’s gone to D.C. himself each of the past three years. His freshman year he raised $3,000 to go to the People to People Leadership Summit. His sophomore year it was to an Earth Vision conference, “where we talked about the environment,” he said. “I went on behalf of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and participated in the conference. I gave a short speech thanking the SCA (Student Conservation Association).” This was during the organization’s 50th anniversary.

“Last year I went to the UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth) conference. I’m the male UNITY representative for the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Youth Council and have also been the president of that council for the past four years.

“We actually hosted last year’s Northwest Indian Youth Council. Usually about 1,000 people show up so hosting it was a big deal for the community. I was president of our youth council and I did the opening address and helped things run smoothly.”

The youth council has also attended the Native Wellness Conference in San Diego. “It’s a good program. I went my freshman year and again last year.”

But that’s not all. “I’ve been a part of the BPA (Business Professionals of America) and the First Nations Club here at the school.” He’s also been a member of SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) the past four years.

Joseph is more than an outstanding student and school leader. He also participates in sports. “I’ve done four years in football.” Asked what position he played, he responded, “They switch me around a lot but I like wide receiver.” He’s run three years of track in the long distance races and plans to do track again this spring. He also wrestled his first two years of high school, going to the state tournament as a freshman. “They cut the program, so I was unable to do it my junior and senior years.”

Outside of school, he’s been part of Horizons, a community building program. “I sat in adult committees and got teachers from high school to come to the meetings. We divided into committees and worked on things. I worked on the communication and leadership committee.”

Dartmouth was the only school he applied to. “I wanted to go to kind of a smaller school that was prestigious and I wanted to set an example for other youth in our community so maybe they might decide to go to an upper class school. Dartmouth is actually pretty big but it’s the smallest of the Ivy League schools.”

He has plans to graduate in environmental science from Dartmouth and return to the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. “I’ve thought about working for the tribe in fish and wildlife. It seems like a good local program. I want to come back and help the community.” He had once thought about going into politics but isn’t sure how much that still interests him. “I like to be outside,” he said.

Even though Plummer has become his home, he still gets back to New Mexico every year. “My family, we try to go to the dances every year. I plan on going again this year. I hope to stay with my chee-ee (grandmother) for at least a couple of weeks and learn more of my culture and the language.”