Saturday July 15

FREEDOM, well sort of

Today we got to experience a bit more laid back environment and see things. We were even able to sleep in, SCORE! During my week here at Cherokee I experienced generosity from others more times than I can count. Be in the "Southern Hospitality" way of living, or just the nature of the Cherokee, it was like anything back home. When our teacher was waiting in line to put air in the tire, the women ahead pulled forward and offered to help her. Not sure if she read the plate and could tell we weren't from around there, or just noticed how confused out teacher seemed, but I have never been offered help airing up my tires back home.
One thing I got to do to improve the health of others was bringing the donations to the church. Though I was only able to go to one of the two churches wee donated to, I still felt that this had such an impact. Getting to see the children's faces light up when they were told they were getting paper and pencil cases for the school year was amazing. This is why I got into nursing, to be there to help others in all situations, to the best of my abilities.
The most obvious way this culture is able to keep their heritage for future generations is by having their set school that only teaches in their language. That will help to keep the culture alive! A way that they are able to get healthier would be to continue to get educated, especially on your own conditions but also on compliance. If you know what you should be doing to take care of yourself but you don't, nothing will change. I love how the hospital has complementary therapies offered, since Native Americans are not know for their acceptance to modern medicine, as many prefer natural remedies passed on from ancestors. This is so important because their culture is unique, and it should be kept alive to keep their ancestors alive in thought and memory. Kituwah Academy, a school opened up dedicated to teaching the Cherokee native language for Pre-K through 5th grade students. I 2004, only 420 elders fluently spoke the native language, and the need for an immersion program was created (New Cherokee. n.d.)
Something I did outside my own comfort zone this week was to just observe. Being that it is my second nature to help others, but knowing this was an observation only clinical, I found it stressing that when a patient's family asked to receive help getting their mother back into her bed from her chair, I was forced to locate a Certified Nursing Assistant to assist her, as I was legally not able to do so. This just tore my heart to pieces, as I wanted nothing more than to help. But learning their culture was important, and knowing nothing of the patient I could have caused harm or offense by not knowing how to take care of this patient.
Compared to my first day here, I feel that I have grown not only as a person but with my classmates. We all grew closer (and survived an entire week together!) I was able to learn more about a population that had only be barely touched on in my Populations lecture rotation. Getting to see first hand that not all Native American avoid eye contact, but elders definitely do, showed me not to just assume. Thinking all the way back to the beginning of my nursing clinicals, it is important to ask patients if there is anything that I may need to know about them or their religion, beliefs, or culture to be able to provide them with the greatest care possible.

Reference

New Cherokee School Opens. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2017, from https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/new-cherokee-school-opens