The Past and Present Caddo Indians in Modern Medical Setting - Research Paper Example

These natives also claim the whole lower red river around the countryside of Louisiana, eastern Texas and Southern Arkansas as their original territory. They are representatives of a confederacy of several divisions, which include families of Wichita, Kichai, Pawnee and Arikara (“Texas Indians: South Eastern and Gulf Cultures”, n.d.). The Caddos’ successful agricultural economy produced crops like maize, beans, watermelons, pumpkins, figs, tobacco and squash (“Texas Indians: South Eastern and Gulf Cultures”, n.d.).

They were cultivators of the soil. They made use of their environment to produce staple food. One distinct quality they developed due to constant hard word is the absence of idleness in their way of life. If they could not work on their farms, they did handiwork; they made clothing, bows, arrows and spears, which they used in hunting and as protection. Even the women contribute to work by making mats out of reeds and pots and bowls out of clay. The Caddos always had something to do, and those who did not work were punished (Glover, 1935).

As mentioned before, the Caddos had an established system which keeps their community in harmony. Caddo families are traced through their maternal line rather than the paternal. They have a system of governance wherein the “caddi” inherits the position to be the headman of the community. They also have a religion in which “xinesi” inherits the position of spiritual leadership. He is the one who heads meditation and has direct communication to the god of Caddos (“Texas Indians: South Eastern and Gulf Cultures”, n.d.).

The Caddos of the present generation continue to uphold their unique culture and traditions through teachings and educating others. They have regular gatherings to celebrate Caddo songs and dances, to tell ancestral stories, and to teach the children how to make traditional clothing (Godfrey & Martin, 2011). Caddos make informal visits to Arkansas as tourists and formal visits in events when they are invited to speak or share about their culture. Some of these Caddos have mixed emotions regarding the current state of modern society and feel dismay about grounds being vandalized, appreciation of the researches made about their history, and gratitude to the government for providing laws that protect their past and their present community (“Caddo Nation CHR”, 2012).

The Caddos are part of the social responsibility of medical practitioners. Provision of excellent medical services to them is a subject worth studying. The aforementioned facts about the history and current state of the Caddo community are very important in rendering medical services to a Caddo. One factor to be taken into consideration is the communication method through which one can clearly explain certain operations and processes that would be peculiar to a Caddo, like those related to the intake and usage of modern medicines and machines.

There are two existing native languages of Caddos, namely “Hasinai” and “Hainai”. About 25 people speak the language today and they are mostly elders from Texas Oklahoma. The Caddo Indians teach their children their ancient language, and there are organizations that exist for the goal of reviving and preserving the said language. But in present, the majority of their people already know how to speak English. Given