Families and Culture

From being submersed this culture and learning more about family practices I have learned that raising a child does not just fall on the parents. The cultural approach involves everyone including the grandparents and close friends. They all take care of each other day-to-day and in times of need. I believe I have stated this before, but when it comes to the Native American culture, and the area in general, the elders are held to the highest respect. Even when we first arrived here to meet with the nursing educator at the hospital she made a point to tell us this. To the Cherokee culture it is imperative to care for their elder ancestors because that is the expectation, also because of the vast knowledge they have to pass on about the history and practices of their tribes. The older generation is what connects the younger generation to their history, and their history is very important to every young person. Family types here in this culture vary by situation. There are some traditional nuclear families but more commonly it is seen that children are raised by single parents, or grandparents. A lot of this can be due to children being separated from parents due to an addiction or domestic abuse. Within the population the support systems vary between family and friends. There are also many programs available through the healthcare system here in Cherokee that provide access to therapy for children and adults. A lot of what we discussed recently was based on resilience, which is a strong trait of the Native American population in Cherokee. Their history is filled with so many hardships, and through all that they consistently pursue higher resources and more advanced practices to improve the overall health of their community. Historically, much of the older generation of Native Americans have had their values and beliefs stripped away from them from the persistence of the "white government" that has left them with "historical grief and trauma" that has left emotional scars that have lasted for generations. Based off of some of personal stories we have been told while here, the generation who are now in their teen and younger years are beginning to change and have a lot of pride in the history of the Cherokee culture and are bringing it back to life. The most admirable parts of this culture are their desire to holistically care for every individual of all ages and also their resilience in maintaining as much of their historical culture as possible throughout generations of mistreatment.