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Running head: CULTURAL IMMERSIONS

Cultural Immersion
Yolanda Johnson
10/27/2013
Georgia State University

CULTURAL IMMERSIONS
Overview
One of my cultural Immersions was the visit to the Indian Pow Wow Festival in Stone
Mountain Park, which is held annually to celebrate various Indian Tribes and provide the
community with knowledgeable insight to their historic culture and sacred rituals. The festival
covers a wide range of cultural insights from tactics in battle to methods used to prepare meals
for villages. Clothing, shelter, and food preparations were done with extreme diligence and
resourcefulness of the environment, such as animal skins, pumpkin stews, and clay pots were all
considerable elements used for survival through harsh winters and nutrients to maintain a healthy
lifestyle. Along with attending the festival, my family was also very intrigued as well to now
become aware of the tenacious abilities the Indians had to have in order to survive through such
extreme living conditions.
Perceptions and Stereotypes
My most current perceptions and stereotypes towards Indians prior to my attendance at
the festival was driven by my lack of understanding because I originally assumed Indians were
savages that had learned to become civilized people from the influence of British and European
traditions. I had these perceptions as a child because Indians were portrayed through the media
and cartoon shows I watched as a child as weird and different because of their closeness with
nature and the attire they wore. A savage is a harsh word to use, but when I think about my true
views towards Indians as a child, it is the best word to articulate my prior understandings.
Consequently, my views were heavily distorted and backwards because the Indians provided a
significant amount of useful knowledge to the British and the Europeans, which are considered
civilized attributes and as individuals with high levels of intellect, Indians were dexterous by
nature and adapted through their environmental understandings, that ranged from varies land
cultivating strategies and comprehensive survival techniques, along with ways to preserve food,
and home remedies to nurse the sick, Indians resourcefulness are still significant and are
currently useful today. The media plays a huge role in the degradation of Indians because of the
lack of respect and humility thats exemplifies their true cultural significance is never displayed.
Therefore, as a adult, my appreciation and outlook towards their culture is highly respectable and
appreciative because as a young African American woman, I understand the impact oppression
can have on individuals viewed as different and how these various affects would influence me to
be a more empathetic a social worker to address key factors that may contribute to negative
outcomes for this particular group.
Cultural Immersion Experience
My cultural immersion experience was very educational. I learned a couple of new
ways to cook great meals outdoors for my family if we ever decided to go camping. Everything
used by the Indians were handmade and inclusive. The festival visit made me appreciative of the
small things I have now that I may not have considered prior, like something as small as utensils,

CULTURAL IMMERSIONS
or as useful as electricity, and comprehensive as mobility. During my interview with one of the
Native American women, I became aware of one key factor that may have lead to societal beliefs
in Native Americans being mentally impaired or different because the young woman I
interviewed expressed to me that her culture is very isolated, therefore, the knowledge people
gather about Indians, most likely does not come directly from Indians, only various
interpretations, thus their cultural understanding is limited and driven by unreliable sources.
Other notions she addressed were various misconceptions of Native Americans that usually
suggests all Natives are spiritual and wise, are lazy, and alcoholics. As a whole society defines
laziness by ones inability to succeed in education, goals, and work ethic but if we use the
ethnocentric definition to define them, we would see they are far from lazy and are extremely
productive. Further into the interview, she explained that all natives are not spiritual and it would
be inaccurate to say that all natives are close to a common spirituality.
Continued Cultural Work
I would like to help this group of individuals several ways thats reflective on a micro
mezzo and macro level, but in order to be productive in doing so, I must further my education
and become more culturally competent of this particular groups way of life. Natives have a
lifestyle that heavily blends into their culture and traditional ways. I would like to engage with
Natives more from a clinical level because their culture is proficient in various physical, and
mental self therapies, thats shared amongst themselves and therefore, I would like to get a better
understanding of how they handle stressors from physical and emotional disappointments. I am
also intrigued by their humbleness and tenacious spirit. Ultimately, I would like to
comprehensively learn from this particular group of individuals on various levels to possibly
help them as well as others.