Clinical Day 2 - July 12, 2017

Raising a child in the Native American culture is done by the parents as the first option and if that is not the best case, the child is never pushed out of their Native American Culture, but then raised by their grandparents or aunts and uncles. The women in this culture are very much respected along with the elders. For example, one nurse from Cherokee we got the pleasure of learning from, explained to us that when a Cherokee couple get married the man is the one who transfers to the woman’s clan, which is an aspect of showing their matriarchal respect (Victoria, 2017). The children and elderly population are cared for in a lot of the same ways and have a lot in common in this specific community and in most Native American cultures. To be honest, most of the family units I have observed the past two clinical days have been broken ones or untraditional families, sadly due to the drug epidemic happening in this part of the country that is affecting their younger population so badly. Even thought the blood families are broken, that is not to say that there is a lack of support in this community because that is absolutely not the case. The Cherokee support each other and all kinds that walk through their land; this community feels like one huge family gathering everyday that I’m here. Generations of Native Americans have been through hardships that people like myself couldn’t even imagine having to go through and because of that over the years they have developed resilience. Children who witness their parents or grandparents show perseverance and resilience through hard times will grow up to have that quality as well and be able to deal better with stressful situations and have a higher tolerance level of stress and negativity that will allow them to bounce back rather than make the wrong decision.

(Victoria, 2017).