No.^78]^' ^^^' EASTERN CHEROKEE GROUPS — KUPFERER 255 



have cracks big enough to throw a cat through, and they still won't 

 come down here and get the cardboard." 



Richard and Polly are building a new house on deeded land. The 

 plans include four bedrooms, two baths, and a playroom for the 

 youngest King. Polly is pleased with the plans and is eager to 

 begin furnishing it. "It will be a nice place for the children to bring 

 their college friends to visit." They had intended to send Paul to 

 private school this year, but he had an appendectomy in the fall, 

 so they postponed their plans. Polly said, "It would have been 

 lonesome with both the boys gone and only little PoUy home." The 

 Kings have all their medical and dental attention in either Bryson 

 City or Asheville. Richard went to the hospital on the reservation 

 only once for emergency treatment of a burn. 



Richard buys some produce from the McVeys. "Ed is a hard 

 worker, and we are glad to help him out." Polly takes clothes which 

 her children have outgrown down to them. She says, "I have never 

 seen Martha just sitting." 



The Kings are not "Five-dollar Indians." Some of Polly's forbears 

 contributed money to purchase the present reservation. They say 

 they are proud of their "Indian blood," but they want the Indians 

 to progi'ess. As Richard says, "I've come a long way from my 

 parents who were farmers right here on these bottoms. There is 

 no reason why the rest of the people can't catch up with the times." 



HEALTH AND MEDICAL PRACTICES 



Health and medical practices will be discussed both in terms of 

 preventive and therapeutic health measures. The evaluation will 

 cover four areas of investigation : envu'onmental sanitation and home 

 hygienic practices; Public Health clinic behavior; responses to school 

 health instruction; and behavior prompted by illness. 



ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION AND HOME HYGIENIC PRACTICES 



Even superficial observations indicate marked differences among 

 the Cherokee with respect to sanitary environments and hygienic 

 measures. Types of water sources and toilet facilities, general con- 

 dition of house and grounds, number of occupants per room, and 

 ordinary health precautions have been used as crude indices of these 

 differences in sanitary and hygienic practices. On the basis of my 

 findings, I have identified four categories of families. In category 

 1 are those families whose sanitary and hygienic practices are totally 

 inadequate. In category 2 are those families in which some efforts 

 are made to maintain minimal standards of sanitation and hygiene. 

 Families in category 3 have standards which are adequate. In 



