The return from Cherokee Nation,
Published November 16, 2006
Chris Della Rocco,
Greensburg Daily
News
The Decatur County Drug Free Coalition was excited about a first-time event
which occurred over the weekend.
After school on Friday, a group of high school students went to Cherokee Nation
in Oklahoma. Two students from Greensburg, two from South and one from North as
well as three adults went as part of the first-ever Social Norm Program in
Decatur County.
“The trip went really, really well and we did a lot of things,” said Tonia
Richards, Drug Free director. “The students participated in Cherokee traditions
and learned their history and culture. The teens really got to know each other
and build a relationship.”
Local students Ben Copple, Mollye Leas, Kirsten Baltus, Trevor Kirtman, and
Meredith Tarplee met with their pen pals and visited their all-Indian High
School, Sequoyah High, and learned about their culture and discussed issues
their teenagers face.
“We found out the students in the Cherokee Nation face some of the same issues
our students deal with here,” Richards said.
Drugs such as methamphetamine were topics along with underage drinking. Two
issues teenagers face in Decatur County as well.
“The trip was great,” said Greensburg High School Freshman Ben Copple. “We
learned about their culture and how their school system is set up. I learned
they live pretty much the same way we do here, but a little different. We wove
baskets, beaded necklaces and played marbles with the people we were keeping in
contact with.”
While in Tahlequah, OK. the group was introduced to a tour guide who showed them
around for a few days and explained their way of life.
“On Veterans day, they had a parade a lot bigger than ours,” said Copple. “It
was worth going to and I can’t wait to go back in April.”
After the trip in April, the group hopes to sponsor the Cherokee students to
visit Decatur County for a weekend during the summer of 2007.
The trip was made possible with grants through the Governor’s Commission for a
Drug Free Indiana and the Drug Free Committee of Decatur County. The group of
students are a part of the Social Norm campaign in Decatur County aimed at
helping teens become aware of the consequences of underage drinking, smoking and
using drugs.
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