June 5th

June 5, 2019

Captain’s Log

The idea of family is an essential part of the Cherokee culture, with that being said, when an unfortunate situation arises that involves the separation from a child from their parents the tribe tries very hard to keep the child with family.  Here in North Carolina it is illegal for a Cherokee child to be adopted by a non-Cherokee family.  The unfortunate drug and alcohol abuse circumstances here have put a lot of children being raised by grandparents, great grandparents, or even great-great grandparents.  The individuals that have a lot of respect in this culture are the elders and to be an elder you have to have reached the age of 62 and a half years old.  This applies especially if the person is a female because this is a matriarchal society.  I observed in primary care that a lot of the children that were being seen were there with their grandparents or even great grandparents.  The children here in Cherokee are born at Mission Hospital because there is not an OB unit at Cherokee Hospital.  This is quite a drive for people because it is over an hour away.  The prenatal care can be given at Cherokee Hospital as long as the mother is considered to be a low risk.  The children and the families that have resilience in the community of Cherokee have a strong support system that includes the hospital care offered, the tribe, their own family system, and the ability to come back from tragedies or short comings.  A lot of the people here that are affected by drugs and alcohol are divided from their support system and therefore have less resilience than other people in the Cherokee community.  I enjoyed the tour that we had of the Snowbird Treatment Facility today and I think that it is a great asset to the community members that struggle with drugs and alcohol.  The facility is completely paid for, for the registered members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee.  The facility is secluded because they really want the patients there to be able to focus on their recovery and have the distractions of life get in their way.