Day 2: 6/11/18

My first impression of the physical environment in Cherokee is how beautiful the mountains are. To be completely honest, I did not know that they were called the Smoky Mountains because of the fog on the mountains. It gives the environment an eerie and almost mystical feel, and I can see why the Cherokee people love this area. I did not know what exactly I was expecting the buildings and houses to look like on the reservation, but I am not very surprised that many of the buildings were built in a Native American style. The people in Cherokee have been very welcoming and nice at every place we have gone so far, and I am excited to interact with the local population more in the coming days.

Something that I find very interesting about this culture's history is their religion and beliefs. I want to learn more about what traditional Cherokee beliefs are still widely believed, and how this all plays into Christianity which is the most popular religion in this area. There are definitely some values and beliefs that are similar to my own, and then there are some that are different. Their Christian beliefs are similar to my own, and respect is of the upmost importance to them as it is to me too.

The Cherokee culture heritage is everywhere in this community. In the play Unto These Hills, there were children who played parts in the play. This play shows six nights a week, so many children are involved in this production. I also noticed that there were Cherokee children in the audience of this production. There are schools that only speak Cherokee and teach the Cherokee way of life. Parents can send their children to these schools in order to keep the language and culture alive. On the reservation there are signs in Cherokee everywhere, and I even saw a few books written completely in Cherokee. We also visited the traditional Cherokee Indian village, and I can definitely see a school having a field trip to this village possibly multiple times throughout a child's school years. I would say there are outside influences throughout the reservation as well, such as the fast food restaurants and some of the stores. 

Some common threads in this community that are similar to my community are the stores and the restaurants. The churches looked similar to the churches in my community. Farming seems to be a big industry here, and it is a big industry in my community as well.