272 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 196 



at the hospital, and he takes all the children to him. The three 

 youngest children are not well. Goats' milk has been prescribed for 

 one, but obtaining it is out of the question because of its cost. 



Jack, a Generalized Indian, spent several weeks in the Public 

 Health Hospital and was then sent to a Veterans' Administration 

 hospital. He left there on a weekend pass and would not return. 

 Later he was readmitted to the Public Health Hospital. His mother 

 said Jack left the VA hospital because he thought they were going 

 to operate on him. Jack commented in an interview that none of 

 the physicians know what they are doing, but he maintained that 

 Indian doctors know even less. 



Usually as children, some of those in the second category have 

 used Indian doctors in the past. If they use them now, they do so 

 sub rosa, although they may admit knowing who one or two of the 

 Indian doctors are. One older informant said, "Anybody would be 

 a fool to go to one of them." When reminded by his wife that he 

 had gone to one once, he replied, 



Aw hell, I was so damn drunk I didn't know what I was doing ... it would have 

 gotten better anyway. I fell off a damn mule and my leg swelled up and kept 

 bothering me. So I got a jug of whiskey and went over to her place and said I 

 wanted my leg doctored. She went over to the stove and warmed her hands and 

 rubbed them on my knee. Then she took a scratcher with snake rattles on 

 it — snake teeth too I reckon — and scratched my leg 'til the damn thing bled. 

 She told me it would get better in four days . . . got well after a while, but not 

 in four days . . . damn foolishness! 



Among many in this category, the sanitary conditions of the home 

 are such that frequent iUness is to be expected. Usually these 

 people follow the orders issued by the physicians. The diabetics 

 among them are cautious about their diet, and many of them achieve 

 a desired loss of weight. 



CATEGORY 3. PATIENTS OF PRIVATE PHYSICIANS 



The final category is comprised of people who use private health 

 services almost exclusively. Among this group, which is made up 

 primarily of the Cherokee Middle Class, are a few Rural Whites and 

 a few Generalized Indians. Their reasons for relying on private 

 medical care are varied and complex. Several of these people are 

 Civil Service employees. They maintain that, in this capacity, they 

 are not eligible for care provided by the Public Health hospital. 

 However, many inquu'ies yielded no definitive statements on such a 

 policy, although there is a sign in the waiting room of the hospital 

 which states that medical care is available for indigent Indians only. 



