fighting for their rights and for people to understand them

Bridget Marrine

I would say that the definition of my year, at least so far, is culture. I’m living and working on the Navajo reservation, so I guess that’s a little obvious. I am literally submerged into a completely different culture and every day I am surrounded by people with a much different ethnic, religious, and cultural background than my own. Yes, a big part of that is the Navajo culture, but there is much more than that too.

Cow with mop on head roaming

Firstly, there is the culture of living in the country. I am originally from New York. Not the city, but relatively close to. I grew up in a suburban area and made frequent trips into the city. I went to school at the University of Scranton which is located in a fairly urban area. So I guess the initial and for me hardest cultural shock was just the physical location of where I now live and work. This is COUNTRY folks. I mean, I probably pass about 5-10 free range cows on my way to work every day. There are usually sheep and goats on my road and even in my back yard. We have four working radio stations: one plays Navajo chanting, two play country music, and one plays all different music. About once a week my coworkers have a discussion about butchering their livestock. I actually was a little surprised by what we have in town, but it still is pretty limited to a grocery store, McDonalds, and Denny’s. This took a bit of getting used to for me, but I’m starting to learn to love it. You know, I’m also surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Every day on my way home from work I drive right into the most gorgeous sunset which is completely unblocked by buildings or anything of the sort. I’m learning a little about crops, farming; I’m learning how to sew and use a sewing machine, and I’m learning a lot about cooking from scratch. It’s a different way of living, and I am definitely learning a ton.

There of course is the actual culture of the Navajo- their beliefs and their stories, which I must say that I absolutely love. Most of my coworkers are Navajo and they all have been so wonderful about telling me their stories and answering my questions. It is challenging, since all of my students are Navajo too, I have to adhere to their cultural norms and I don’t always know what they are. Such as animals that are taboo, or how death and dead ones are not really talked about. These things I’ve had to learn, and learn fast. Everyone at my school has been great about filling me in, and I know they know I’m not familiar with it all, so they give me a little leeway- but I don’t want to offend them or make them uncomfortable. Now that I have been here for a few months, though, I feel much more comfortable and feel I know a lot more. There is still a ton to learn, but I love doing it. There even are a few of their beliefs and values that I agree with or have adapted as my own. This was part of my draw to this placement and I love learning about this part of the culture.

Paintings done by students through the flying colors program

The last culture that really stands out is the culture of Developmental Disability. I am working at a special ed school as an Occupational Therapist and it has really enforced my belief that the developmentally disabled really have a culture of their own. My students disabilities range from physical needs to mental needs, and quite often daily tasks can’t be completed in the same way you or I would do them. But, quite honestly, as an OT I couldn’t ask for a better learning environment for myself. The school does such an amazing job of adapting the environment so that the students are able to complete these tasks, and not feel abnormal or strange. My absolute favorite thing I have been blessed to be a part of this year is a program called flying colors. It is an adaptive painting program which allows some of our lower functioning students to be able to express themselves artistically. Students choose the size of their canvas, the paint brush, the colored paint, etc and tell a “tracker” where to paint with the use of a laser- either hand held or attached to their head by a headband for students with physical needs. I am one of two trackers right now at the school, and I just love it. I think a lot of people out there would look at the students we have in this program, and throughout the whole school really, and think that there is nothing there. That because these students can’t communicate to us in the way we are use to that they are dumb or they don’t know what’s going on. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. These students create beautiful amazing artwork. Some of which have even won awards. Obviously, this population has been a passion of mine before this year. I studied Occupational Therapy in school for 5 years and was passionate about the rights of disabled persons long before that as well. But, after spending day in and day out with my students, I have learned just how much I love working with this population and just how passionate I am about fighting for their rights and for people to understand them. I am so happy and feel so blessed to be at this school and working with this population.

Bridget Marrine - St. Michaels Association for Special Education - St. Michaels, AZ