June 3rd

June 3^rd

            My first impression of the Cherokee environment was there was a lot of shops that sold materials that are made by them, they take care of there land, I noticed a lot of painted bear statues on the streets. I also really like that the street signs have the name of the street in English and in Cherokee.  I think that we share some similar values such as that everyone deserves respect and that you should take care of what you have including the land and areas you live in. On the tour today the nurse educator Kayla talked about how many great grandparents and grandparents take care of the younger kids in the family because they believe that the children should grow up in there culture with there own family. I value family as well and I really find it wonderful how they provide and take care of the elderly people in the community. They have a certain school that children can go to that incorporates the Cherokee language and all about there culture. The tour guide in the Indian village also talked about how in school they learn certain skills and trade such as basket weaving, pottery and many other skills that have been passed on through generations. I think it is pretty interesting how after all this time they continue to learn and use these skills. I think the past probably influences their beliefs, the community itself and how people in the family live. Drugs have become a huge issue and this is a huge factor in these families lives. I have noticed that the community is close and loves to teach others about the community. Growing up my community was close as well all the neighborhood kids would always play together outside after school and all go to the pool together during the summer. They were always parents around to help watch over the everyone so those who’s parents couldn’t be there could still join in on all the fun.

June 2nd

     Before today I knew a little bit about the history and lifestyle. I had no idea about what all this meant and the hard work that went in to it. A lot of things stood out to me at the museum there was so much history and amazing things. One thing that stood out to me was the medicine shop. There was a little sign that talked about the man who ran the shop and lived there. It said he spent all of his time taking care of others that when he died the man who conducted his funeral had to furnish a suit for him. This stood out to me because I think this shows how selfless and caring the culture is. All of the manual labor and hard work they did is also impressive, it really opens up ones eyes to the things we have now and reminds you of how thankful we all should be. I think the time, effort, selflessness, and the fact that everyone is family regardless of blood or not seems unique. I also noticed that on a lot of signs about the materials the people who donated said they were sad to part with it but glad it would be on display for us to see its value. One sign about a clock said it was the hardest thing that she had to part with but was glad it was going to the museum. This shows how much they value the things they have and I think we could all learn from them. My highlight take from this was to value the little things because they will end up meaning the most to you in the end.

June 1st

June 1st

     Today we set out on our adventure I am excited for the days to come to learn many new things not only about children but about people who have a different culture then my own. Not only do we get to learn about the Cherokee Indians but also about my fellow classmates as well. Since I only know a little bit about about this culture I have some apprehensions about how they will react to us and I want to make sure to be respectful and learn as much as possible. As we have seen from our previous research that many of the families live in poverty and in isolated areas. They take pride in what they have but still have very limited resources, stay true to there cultural traditions and have very strong will power to accomplish what they set out to do. I think that it is amazing that even in times of struggle and what little the Native Americans have they still value family and traditions that they have kept with them for many generations. They take care of each other, make do with what they have and keep there traditions and culture alive. As of right now I do not think I have many bias  going in but once we learn more  I think it might be possible to see how some of there customs could be strange. Going forward I always want to keep an open mind, value and respect what other people find important in there lives.