John Lowe to Moderate Cherokee Talking Circle
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
MEDIA CONTACT: Gisele Galoustian
561-297-2010, ggaloust@fau.edu
FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
to Host Cherokee Talking Circle
BOCA RATON, FL (May , 2008) – The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University will be hosting a “Cherokee Talking Circle” on Friday, May 16 from 2-3 p.m. in the lobby of the nursing building on the Boca Raton campus at 777 Glades Road. Members of the FAU community will have the opportunity to participate in this talking circle, a form of cultural group interaction used traditionally among Native Americans Indians, to get a glimpse of how this research method is making a difference for at-risk Native American Indian adolescents who are abusing substances.
John Lowe, RN, Ph.D., FAAN, associate professor in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing will be moderating the discussion in collaboration with the Honorable Jim Henson, former Chief of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and community liaison and interventionist for the FAU research project.
Lowe is one of only 13 Native American Indian nurses with a Ph.D. He has been funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse to conduct a research project at the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. Lowe’s work at the Cherokee Nation has been underway since last December. Data generated from this project will contribute to continuing research with Native American Indian adolescents who are abusing substances. Substance abuse by Native American Indians accounts for life-threatening and deadly problems such as accidents, chronic liver disease, homicide and suicide. Because Cherokees represent the second-largest tribe in the U.S., a large percentage of health disparities among Native American Indians, such as substance abuse, can be attributed to the Cherokee people. Researchers on the project are developing and testing a culturally competent, school-based intervention that includes a traditional Cherokee Talking Circle.
Lowe who grew up in a Cherokee farming community in the southeast and in Oklahoma said, “Native Americans have always stressed the importance of cultural ways and traditions as taught by the elders from our ancestors. There is generally a high level of respect and an almost sacred quality to the talking circle.” He adds, “This form of communication provides the participant with a sense of belonging, and being in a group with other people who share similar experiences and being able to talk about those experiences, even if they’re difficult, brings a lot of hope and encouragement.”
A reception will immediately follow the talking circle in the lobby of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.
- FAU -
Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty, FAU hosts ten colleges: College of Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science, the Barry Kaye College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering & Computer Science, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Graduate College, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.