Cultural Autobiography

Cultural Autobiography By Summer Benson

Start by describing the cultural aspects of your family background (attitudes, beliefs and values).

My mom was adopted at the age of 9 but was given up at birth. So she grew up her first 9 years bouncing from foster home to group homes. And my dad is Algonquin Native American, but I did not meet him until I was 15 years old. With that being said, I don’t really know my culture background and sure wasn’t raised with one. I had a single mom that would not take welfare, instead she worked 2 or 3 jobs at a time to support my sister and I. We did have great grandparents that adopted my mom, and without them my life would of been a lot more difficult growing up. They were both school teachers, and my mom was their only child. The most culture upbringing we had with them was probably church. My grandma was and to this day, a true Christian to the core. We grew up staying with my grandparents most of the time outside of school nights. I went to church every Sunday, and attended and helped with all holiday functions and anything else that we could. During the summer, we went to VBS for 3 weeks in Priest Lake, Idaho. We prayed before every meal and followed the Christian calendar. Such as Palm Sunday, and so on. My fondest memories were Easter morning sunrise service in Spokane. We’d wake up at 3:30 AM, and be at this overlook point before sunrise. At that time the minister would have the special sermon. I know this isn’t exactly what this assignment was about, but other then religion, I have no other culture upbringing.

Include the significant moments or events in your life that have factored in your cultural development and discuss how these characteristics have influenced who and where you are today.

This is a hard assignment for me, due to the lack of family I have. It would be easier for me to include significant moments, where lacking any cultural upbringing influenced who I am today. Like I said before, my mom had me at 17, and she was a ward to the state of WA. Since she was not 18 when I was born, the social worker and the courts mandated that I was to be my mom’s sister and put into foster care. My mom was turning 18, only 3 months after I was born. My mom fought the courts and the state of WA and was awarded emancipation and a baby daughter, me. My dad had taken off early on in the pregnancy, so it was my mom and me. She still says that all she ever wanted was a family of her own. And with me, she finally had that. About 2 years later my mom met the man I grew up believing was my biological father. When I was 3, my mom had my little sister. This was when my first experience of culture, race or becoming aware that people aren't the same. I am medium skin tone, where my dad is dark skinned, native american. So of course my baby sister came into the world with tons of black hair and dark as could be. When my mom brought my sister home from the hospital, I started crying, saying, “Take her back! I don't want a black one!” In my eyes, at the age of 4, I still remember how confused I was about the differences between my sister and I. I did not find out that he wasn't my biological father until I was 12 years old. And that was the first of many heartaches to come. Well, after I found out I really had lost my identity. Who was my dad? What did he look like? All the normal questions filled my head for about 3 years. I met my dad right around my 15th birthday. It’s a very long story, but for the most part, it went well. A few weeks after meeting him, I went on a camping trip with my dad and half brother that is only a year younger than me. This is when I finally was introduced to my culture. My dad is 100% Algonquin Native American. His great-grandfather was the chief of the Algonquin tribe in Ottawa, Canada. I learned as much as I possibly could that weekend about my dads heritage. I was and still am very proud to be native american. The part that bums me out though, all through grade school and middle school, there was a program for native american kids. They got to do so many awesome things. They had special field trips, lunches, group meets and got to learn about their culture in a separate class. I envied them so much. Plus, my little sister is Black Foot Native, even though she wasn't in the programs, I knew she was Native. Anyways, my dad and I talk a couple times a year. He lives in Tacoma, but is a heavy alcoholic. I have looked up tons of history, facts and any information possible on the Algonquin tribe. Someday, I plan on visiting the reservation in Ottawa, Canada. Then I can walk around and see exactly what my culture is all about.

Which of the cultural syndromes in the article "Culture & Conflict" from Week 2 of the course readings apply to you? Have these changed over your life?

Again, this is a hard question, I do not know the answer. I can say that I, myself relate to the diffuse-specific syndrome. (e.g., Just because I do not like your report says nothing about liking you; Foe & Chemers, 1967.)

Finish by naming and discussing the significant cultural symbols in your life and what they represent.

I am in love with wolves and dreamcatchers. To me, from my understanding of my culture, wolves are spiritual animals. And dreamcatchers are very important to the Algonquin tribe. I collect dreamcatchers and love the history and story behind their purpose. It is fascinating.

Inclusion of quotes and/or references from course readings (specifically cultural syndromes from Week 2) are required to earn full credit on this assignment.