During Fall Break, 10 students and three faculty members participated in a mission trip and cultural immersion experience to the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Cherokee/Robbinsville North Carolina. Students learned about Native American Health Care by visiting the Cherokee Indian Hospital and hearing how the tribe incorporates values, customs and sacred spaces in the newly built hospital. Students visited a sacred mound and learned from various elders, including a Native American Registered Nurse about culturally competent care in rural Appalachia. Led by the Tribal Office, the group walked and drove on the physical location of The Trail of Tears, while learning of this historic tragedy. Recreationally, students hiked to a platform on the Appalachian Trail and were astonished at the unprecedented beauty of the surrounding area.
