Monday

My first impression of the environment in Cherokee is way different than I had originally expected. I thought that he mountains and the scenery throughout the land is beautiful. Driving down the road or even looking out over the mountains and seeing a beautiful fogof smoke is breath taking. I feel like the most interesting thing that I have learned about the cultures history was a few things at the museum, such as the ‘water beetle.’ I thought that it was amazing that the hospital was able to use that symbolization in the build of the new hospital. Another thing that I had found interesting about their culture is the support that they have toward one another. In this day and age, I feel that it is not something that I see very often. The values and beliefs that are similar to my own is treating elderly people with the upmost respect. I don’t know if it is because my grandparents have always been such a large influence in my life, or if I was just raised to have respect for my elders. One difference that I have seen that may be different from my own culture would be the discipline with the children. Even though I do not have children of my own, I feel like the culture I am from is a little stricter. The cultures heritage is way more integrated toward the children in the community when comparing to the children where I am from. Where I am from we may have learned about our history and culture through school and church programs, depending on the upbringing. However, the children that are part of the Cherokee culture. For example, we were able to see the children actually acting out their history and culture in the ‘Unto These Hills’ reenactment. Their families and ancestors influence their children’s cultural heritage so that their beliefs are passed down through generations. Some common threads in this community that I feel are similar to my own community that I have noticed here would be the fact that there is a lot of history about Native Americans about ten minutes from my house at a state park called Starve Rock. Through the past centuries, Woodland, Hopewellian, and Mississippi Indian cultures have really flourished around that area. I remember going on field trips and visiting Starve Rock and hearing about all of the tribes as a child.