Running head: Seminole People Phenomenological Community

Phenomenological Community of the People of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
Shannyn Lincoln, Alice Dodoo Raji, Bayo Olaoye, and Andrea Pilkay
Grand Canyon University: NRS-427V Concepts in Community and Public Health
May 18, 2012

Phenomenological Community of the People of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
The phenomenological community of the people of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a community rich in culture and tradition that has been passed through teachings from generation to generation. The community is located in eastern Oklahoma and includes the members of the Seminole Nation as well as other tribes that live in the area and members of other races that have married into the families of the community members. The purpose of this assessment is to describe the community and provide an analysis of this community and their needs.
Description of Boundaries
The People
The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is a federally recognized Seminole tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest of the three federally recognized Seminole organizations. Its members are descendants of the majority of the Seminole in Florida in the 1830s, which were forcibly removed to Oklahoma. Native Americans make up 22% of the population of Seminole County (nso-nsn.gov). According to the Seminole Nation Tribal Enrollment Office the Seminole County service population is 5,315 Tribal citizens. The total enrollment of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is approximately 17,000 members. According to 2000 U.S. Census data the Native American (one race only) population is 4,328 and the Native American (one race or combination with other race) population is 5,485 for Seminole County.
Geopolitical and Phenomenological features
The Seminole Tribal Jurisdiction Area is located in south-central Oklahoma, approximately 45 miles east of Oklahoma City, and it includes most of Seminole County (nso-nsn.gov). Today, the tribe owns 372 acres of federal trust land and approximately 53 acres of fee simple land. An additional 35,443 allotted acres supplement the tribal land base (nso-nsn.gov). The county is a checkerboard of tribal trust property, Indian allotments, restricted Indian lands, and dependent Indian communities.

The phenomenological feature of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is based on there their religion and social groups. Within the Seminole Nation, Christianity and traditional beliefs are both widely embraced. The Baptist and Methodist faiths are the most popular Christian sects. Traditionally believing Seminoles frequently participate in the stomp dance, green corn ceremonies, traditional fasts, and other ancient rituals. Although English is the predominant language in Oklahoma, many of the Christian hymns are still sung in the traditional Muskogee language. (Jack M. Schultz, 1999) Contemporary Seminole society remains geographically dispersed throughout Seminole County and Oklahoma.
Social Interaction
Most of the community members are related to each other by blood or marriage. Members have family and close friends with whom they interact daily at schools, work places, churches, ceremonial grounds, sports fields and in each other’s homes. Most of their children go to public schools that are predominantly Native American in population. The children participate in sports activities such as basketball, softball, and baseball leagues. (S. Lincoln, May 11, 2012) There are also after school and youth summer programs that focus on preventing and protecting kids from delinquency, drug abuse, bullying, and unhealthy behaviors. It educates the children to broaden their knowledge, motivate and promote good study habits, commitment to complete high school, build self-esteem, and develop leadership skills for a productive self-sustaining life and healthy lifestyles (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, 2012). The programs also teach the children traditional cultural activities and language. Parents are actively involved in all these programs. They have a cultural resources department dedicated to preservation, revitalization and promotion of Seminole culture which includes the promotion of linguistic and literacy fluency that aims at providing every Seminole child the means to become a speaker of Seminole language (Muscogee) as a first language within the home or as a fluent second-language speaker. (Seminole Nation Of Oklahoma, 2012)
There is a movie theater in the community which members patronize; members also get together to have cook outs with one another. They also go to bars to play pool or darts; some go to casinos. (S. Lincoln, May 11, 2012) Most holidays are spent with family members; however, there is one major social event, the Seminole Nation days which is held annually every third week in September to celebrate tribal heritage and culture. It includes free concert, art contest, 5k race, stomp dance, carnivals, princess pageant, cultural events, parade, sports competitions, and little Olympics for the kids. There are also food, art, and craft vendors. A free traditional wild onion dinner is also provided (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, 2012).
According to the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (2012), some members observe pre-Christian ceremonial practices and for these people, life revolves around activities at the ceremonial grounds. In modern times, these are religious centers where ceremonial (traditional) dances, dinners, and stickball games take place mainly during weekends throughout the spring, summer, and early fall months. The “ceremonial cycle” involves four or five dances throughout the “dance season”; this includes Green Corn (Big fast) ─ the most important dance. Others are the Ribbon, Buffalo, and Feather dances. During Green Corn, members participate in activities such as dancing, fasting, medicine taking, and scratching of the body believed to alleviate spiritual and medical ailments, and strengthen the individual. During the ceremony, strained relationships are to be reconciled and the wrongs that occurred during the previous year are to be forgiven. Night time songs include songs that recognize tribal ancestors, spiritual entities, historical events, thanksgiving and well-wishing or prayers for the coming year.
There are about 20 active churches within the community including Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian denominations. Church is held on every Sunday but church meetings are held every 4th Sunday. The meetings are all-day service. Sermons are conducted both in English and Muscogee language. Traditional Seminole church hymns are sung during service.
Common Goals and Interests
The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (2012) also indicates that the common interests and goals of the community are to promote safe environment, physical, economic, and social well-being of community members. Common services include child care, Indian child welfare, and emergency tribal assistance. The response to a questionnaire by a community member (May 11, 2012) revealed that community members stick together and support each other, especially, during times of need. Other facilities and services include environmental protection, cultural and language preservation, safe housing, good roads, accessible transportation, healthcare centers and health programs, education, and nutrition. There is public transportation which is available to all residents and run on a set schedule. There are also handicap-accessible vans that serve elderly and handicap riders (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, 2012).
Barriers and Challenges
Some of the challenges include poverty, lack of resources, and dealing with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart diseases. The community members also deal with racism from outside people frequently, but not all outsiders have prejudices against the community. (S. Lincoln, May 11, 2012)
Assessment of the Community
Gordon’s eleven functional health patterns were utilized to assess the community. The eleven patterns are Value/Beliefs, Health Perception Management, Nutrition/Metabolic, Elimination (Environmental Concerns), Activity/Exercise, Sleep/Rest, Cognitive/Perceptual, Self-Perception/Self Comfort, Role/Relationship, Sexuality/Reproductive, and Coping/Stress. The community values their community, family, and culture. The health perception management of the community is to follow modern preventive medicine practices as well as traditional healing methods. According to the assessment the nutrition/metabolic pattern shows an adequate food supply with unacceptable dietary content. The elimination pattern of the community focuses on environmental concerns. The community is clean for the most part but they run the risk of polluting their air and environment with improper trash disposal in some areas. As far as activity/exercise is concerned, the community is active during league sports and fitness classes but is trying to overcome a sedentary history. The sleep/rest pattern is what is considered to be normal 8 hours of sleep for most of the members. The cognitive/perceptual pattern of the community is that most members value the education of their children, but adults do not complete school beyond a high school level themselves. The primary language is English with Muscogee being spoken by some. The self-perception/self-comfort pattern displays and age range from birth to the elderly. Their history is an oral one, passed from generation to generation. The self-esteem is taught at home and through community programs. The role/relationship patterns of the community are positive interaction patterns with one another. They are made vulnerable due to lack of transportation and prideful actions that make them not take advantage of free clinic programs. This can impact their health negatively if they do not receive the routine care the members need for the health problems such as diabetes and obesity that is such a problem for this community. The sexuality/reproductive pattern is that common-law marriages are the norm with marriage occurring long after the beginning of the relationship. There are some teen pregnancies noted also. The coping/stress pattern is of some concern. Due to low income and lack of education the population is prone to substance abuse, but the community has addressed this concern with self-help programs and educating the children.
The attached assessment shows the community has an actual diagnosis of Spiritual Well-Being as evidenced by: Strong cultural background that is being actively preserved by the community and tribal government. The assessment also shows a Risk for Spiritual Distress as evidenced by: low-income levels, and alcohol/methamphetamine abuse of community members. A potential nursing diagnosis represented by the assessment is Readiness for Enhanced Nutritional Metabolic Pattern as evidenced by: High rate of diabetes and obesity, community participation in programs targeted to promote activity, enhance knowledge about diabetes and improve dietary habits.
The recommendations for this community would be to maintain their spiritual well-being so that they have a stable ground on which to address their other issues that need work as well as build upon their strengths. Preserving the custom and culture of the community, as well as educating them on the importance of health, will allow them to see the importance of health and education and may lead to an end in the substance abuse, lack of education, low income, and health related illnesses.
Conclusion
The Seminole community is strong in culture and tradition. They are a close knit community that has a strong spiritual health. The environmental health is positive. The air and water are clean, plumbing is available, and the cooling and heating are adequate. The emotional health of the community is at risk due to many factors. Low income, substance abuse and lack of advanced education are factors that put the community at risk for emotional distress. This can lead to ineffective coping and spiritual distress as well. There are programs of assistance in place for these problems. The physical health of the community is in need of the greatest assistance. It is apparent to the community members that there is a problem with diabetes and obesity. According to the American Diabetes Association (2012) a total of 25.8 million children and adults have Diabetes. This is 8.3% of the population. About one in 400 children and adolescents, have Diabetes. 25.6 million People over the age of 20 years have Diabetes. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) more than 1/3 of U.S. adults are obese. Thirty-six states including Oklahoma have 25% or more of the population that have problems with obesity. The potential of this community for decreasing these health disparities is immense. The community members are actively involved in decreasing this problem and take the opportunity to learn more about putting an end to these complications. The overall perception of this community from a nursing standpoint is positive. They have problems that they recognize and address with appropriate methods aimed at decreasing the greatest problems of the community such as substance abuse and health related illnesses.

References
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Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Obesity facts Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

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