June 3rd, 2019:
Today can be summed up with one word, wow. I could leave it
at that but I guess I will go into more detail on what went on today. Today we
left the cabin at 0730 and traveled to Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority where
we toured the whole hospital and learned some background on the hospital. Then
we went to the Museum of Cherokee Indian where we learned about the history of the
Indian culture. After that we ate lunch at a cute little place called Front Porch
Cakery and Deli. It was very good food and I highly recommend stopping there if
you are ever in the area! After that we went to Ocanaluftee Indian Village and
we learned all about how they used to/still live their everyday lives. We got
to see a few dances performed while we were there as well. We ended our day in
Cherokee by going tubing and it was a blast (well for some of us)!
My first impression of the environment in Cherokee after
exploring and really getting to learn about the culture was that it is much
different than my culture. The way they do things is incredible and very eye
opening. I enjoyed every aspect of learning today about this culture’s history.
If I had to pick the most interesting thing I think it would be how hard they fought
to keep their culture alive and that a non-Cherokee man also fought for them to
have their reservations remain. The Cherokee struggled and fought hard to keep
their culture alive and had they not done that, I would not be here learning
about it and visiting their area, everything would be different.
I think that the Cherokee have values and beliefs that are
similar and different to mine which is one thing that makes this such an
amazing learning experience. Something that is similar is the respect the elder
people receive in the community. I was always raised to respect the elder, look
up to them, and help them when they need it. This is how the Cherokee feel
about their elder people as well. One thing that is totally different is that Cherokee
Native Americans find it disrespectful and rude if you make eye contact while
talking and we find it disrespectful and rude if you do not make eye contact
while talking. I got to see this first hand in the villages today when
questions were being asked or the lady was talking. She would look away or look
down when talking to you.
While walking through the villages our tour guide happened
to be a young female who could still be considered a child. She is about to be
a senior in high school so she was a perfect person to observe and talk to
about the cultures heritage being integrated into young people of the
community. She discussed how there are classes offered in school and during
summer time that teach young adults and children how to speak Cherokee, bead designs,
make everyday things out of clay, use yarn or animal fur to make belts, and how
to make baskets out of wood. Things like these is how they are keeping the
culture alive and integrating them into young adults and children. We also
discussed at the hospital that there is a school in Cherokee that children can
attend, but everybody in the family must sign a contract stating that they will
speak in only Cherokee during everyday life and school. This program will help
keep the cultures language alive.
Walking around everything that was explored today made me
realize that some beliefs and values may be different than ours, but we are similar
in our community in many ways. One way is that there are a lot of local, family
owned businesses that are run in Cherokee and we have a lot of those in my
community. At the end of the day, we may all have different values and beliefs,
but “we are all human and want the same thing: respect and to be heard” (Kayla
Holland).
I can’t wait to use all the knowledge I learned today and expand
on it each day while I am here and use it when I am in the community to further
understand the Cherokee culture.
Tomorrow is another FULL day and I will
have so much to share with you tomorrow night!
