ᏚᏳᎪᏛ (Du-Yuk-Dv): A Model Program Utilizing Cherokee Culture as the Path to Healing and Reawakening of Cherokee Identity

Abstract

The model program purposed in this dissertation serves as a cultural alternative to “treatment-as-usual” for Cherokee peoples. American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities have long endured the detrimental effects stemming from European colonization. Centuries of systemic genocidal practices aimed at AIAN communities have resulted in the intergenerational transmission of historical trauma and the loss of cultural knowledge. Inspired by Gone and Calf Looking’s (2015) work with the Blackfeet nation to establish a cultural alternative to treatment, the proposed model program functions similarly to provide Cherokee peoples the opportunity to heal by way of their traditional culture, the theft of which created a “soul wound” that continues to be passed on to future generations. The model program proposed is exclusively comprised of Cherokee oral traditions, cultural values, and Cherokee language, which function as a means of enculturation for Cherokee peoples, thereby operating as a preventative and protective factor against the harmful effects associated with the intergenerational transmission of historical trauma for Cherokee peoples. The model program provides a template for the utilization of indigenous cultural traditions to promote the health and wellbeing of the community from which the traditions originate. Two reviewers, both Cherokee professionals employed in health-care related fields serving Cherokee populations, were selected to review the proposed model program and provide recommendations for future development.