Indian Summer

This story is about my experience with the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. For 6 weeks, as part of my last elective in the Community Health Intercultural Nursing Program at the University of Maryland, I made home visits with a Community Health Representative (CHR). Dianne Iron Bird, the CHR with whom I traveled, and a woman who was close to my age and stage of life, was largely responsible for my view of the reservation and for the level of acceptance I had in people's homes. My experience was rich and rewarding. It afforded me the opportunity to participate in a different kind of health care. I used this exercise in story-telling to test my knowledge and understanding of the Lakota's world view. By definition, it is my view of both my world and theirs. Using literal rather than abstract language helped me to see both worlds from a new perspective.