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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