Sunday, July 17, 2011

Gila River, Arizona

The first part of this is a delayed post from early June.

One Saturday we got to go to a local Health Fair hosted in a Community Center in District 1. I was excited because I've been spending a lot of time in the school, and was eager to meet more of the community. We met up with a Public Health Nurse for that district and rode over with her, where we then got to help set up a small booth about sun protection and healthcare services. There were several fliers and papers, and also a station for checking blood pressure and blood sugar. Slowly the rows of tables partially filled with other booths, and the rest of the gym filled with community members. They slowly trickled down the row of booths, stopping at each one at least long enough to pick up information. They got a lot of good information, as well as activity books, a water pouch, and lots of pens. We wandered through the row once it had thinned out a little bit and go to see for ourselves what the other booths were. They had one for the Adult Caring House, and the Telecommunications on the reservation, and one for a local program called GENESIS, which is a diabetes prevention program.
Once everyone was settled, there was a short speech by an Elder, who upon finishing, asked all the young people to come forward and serve the Elders the dinner that the Fair was providing. With the guide from our nurse, we then collected meal tickets and orders, and then delivered the box dinner to the appropriate person. I thought that practice was so respectful! Allowing the elders to remain seated, resting and relaxing, while acknowledging their importance to the community.
During dinner there was a presentation, and then I got to hear for the first time, some one talking about the "white man." Jaimie and I were probably one of maybe five white people in the room. I hadn't really noticed that until the speaker made this comment. It was very interesting to hear their perspective on everything. History books are totally skewed, and I know that I don't always remember that.
After dinner they broke up into break out sessions, and I was able to attend a session about local plants and their medicinal properties. That was really interesting because you got to hear how information got passed down from person to person, and the different traditions between family, even though they are all part of the same tribe. After that there was a community dance, so we packed up our booth and left.
More recently, we got to go to another Health Fair in District 6. However, this Health Fair was more 'fair' than 'health.' When we got there, a softball tournament was in full swing (as planned), kids were playing on the playground, and lunch was just about to be served. The 'Health' portion of the fair consisted of a couple of tables next to a sidewalk to pass out information. The rest of the fair included inflatables, a mechanical bull, more vendors of food, and contests, finishing up with fireworks. There was a lot of physical activity and a lot of fun, but a very different experience than I had been expecting. It guess it just goes to show that I should never make assumptions, and that health isn't just about sitting around and talking. Activity is part of it too.
All in all it was a great experience, and I'm glad that we got to see both of them and what they can do for the community.

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