Arriving in Cherokee, the environment is much different than what a person may expect of a Native American city. There are many shops, restaurants, and activities to attract tourists. It would be interesting to see how residents of Cherokee live, as many of the less popular places seem somewhat rundown and partially neglected. During our tour at the Cherokee Indian Hospital and visit to a museum, we were able to learn more about the history of the Cherokee. Our guide at the hospital, Beth, was amazing in explaining parts of the history. The most interesting part to me was that the hospital was owned by the federal government until 2002 when the Cherokee were able to buy it back. Along with this, most of the care provided within the hospital was free to "enrolled" Cherokee members (those individuals that have at least 1/16 Cherokee blood and are registered with the tribe from birth). We were also able to learn the story about how the earth eas formed, according to the Cherokee.
Another thing the hospital did as described by Beth was emphasize nature during the healing process and "bringing nature tot he patient". When constructing the hospital, she mentioned how they created a great deal of natural lighting and had multiple symbols of different forms of nature, such as a "river" on the floor flowing through the hospital, or symbols of wind on the walls. The patient rooms seemed large compared to what I have seen at Methodist and also included large windows looking out into the mountains. This was described as being helpful to allow family in the healing process for patients. Some patient rooms even had a family room attached, where family members would be able to stay comfortable overnight. This seems to demonstrate that the family as a whole is valued a great deal during hospital stays.
When talking with Beth Greene (Human resource director at the hospital - our tour guide), she mentioned that all enrolled members receive a "per capita" check, which essentially sounded like a monetary payout resulting from the casino revenues. For those members under 18 years old, this money was put into a fund and invested. She mentioned that members gained access to these funds (which was approximately $100,000) when they turn 18 years old. She also mentioned that, unfortunately, some members will use that money for unhealthy habits, such as substance abuse. Another topic brought up was that of religion. Beth mentioned that some individuals will refuse the per capita payout due to the source of the money and gambling going against the beliefs of a religion.
Overall, I would be curious to learn more about what traditions the Cherokee have to help include children in the Cherokee heritage. Much of what we learned today seemed more of a passive style of learning for children to learn about the culture as they age.
Another thing the hospital did as described by Beth was emphasize nature during the healing process and "bringing nature tot he patient". When constructing the hospital, she mentioned how they created a great deal of natural lighting and had multiple symbols of different forms of nature, such as a "river" on the floor flowing through the hospital, or symbols of wind on the walls. The patient rooms seemed large compared to what I have seen at Methodist and also included large windows looking out into the mountains. This was described as being helpful to allow family in the healing process for patients. Some patient rooms even had a family room attached, where family members would be able to stay comfortable overnight. This seems to demonstrate that the family as a whole is valued a great deal during hospital stays.
When talking with Beth Greene (Human resource director at the hospital - our tour guide), she mentioned that all enrolled members receive a "per capita" check, which essentially sounded like a monetary payout resulting from the casino revenues. For those members under 18 years old, this money was put into a fund and invested. She mentioned that members gained access to these funds (which was approximately $100,000) when they turn 18 years old. She also mentioned that, unfortunately, some members will use that money for unhealthy habits, such as substance abuse. Another topic brought up was that of religion. Beth mentioned that some individuals will refuse the per capita payout due to the source of the money and gambling going against the beliefs of a religion.
Overall, I would be curious to learn more about what traditions the Cherokee have to help include children in the Cherokee heritage. Much of what we learned today seemed more of a passive style of learning for children to learn about the culture as they age.
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