Day 3: Hospital Tour and Museum

Upon arriving in Cherokee, my first impression was that it was beautiful. Apart from the natural beauty, it was evident that the Cherokee people take pride in their homeland and work hard on its upkeep. Scattered throughout the town were lots of local shops and eateries, and several tourist souvenir shops. We began our day by taking a tour through the Cherokee Hospital, followed by visiting a local museum.

I found it most interesting that this culture was founded on the basis that women were the leaders of the tribes. Throughout history, and even still today, men were typically the ones who led and who were looked to for advice or decision-making. Thankfully, that has changed significantly over the years with the help of women like the Cherokee paving the way.

The Cherokee people are a group of individuals who rely strongly on their values and beliefs. One value they seem to hold of utmost importance is family. Like the Cherokee, my family has always been one of the most important things in my life. I look to my family in good times and in bad and know I can always count on them to have my back.

Integrating their heritage into the children of their community is also something that is important to the Cherokee people. Over the course of time, they discovered their culture was being lost through the generations, especially when it came to their language. They decided to develop language schools, where children attend school just as they normally would, but the curriculum is more language focused. The parents are also involved in this process, as many of them also do not speak the native language of their ancestors. When signing their children up for the language school, the parents are required to sign a contract, stating they will only speak the Cherokee language, even in their homes.

When I look at this community, I can’t help but to think about how it compares to my hometown. I feel they are similar in the fact that my hometown is also a very tight knit community. Not only does everyone know each other in some way, but whether you speak on a regular basis or not, you know you can always count on our community to rally together in times of need, just as the Cherokee people do.