Cultural Autobiography

Running head: CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Cultural Autobiography
February 11, 2010

Cultural Autobiography

I can still remember getting up early on Sunday and all seven of us driving to church in
our station wagon. Me and my brothers and sister were brought up as Christians and attended a
United Methodist Church. My parents instilled good values into me and my siblings from an
early age. There was no swearing, arguing, or fighting allowed at any time within our family. If
any of this occurred, we know that there would be a punishment to follow. It is these good and
wholesome Christian values that I believe I have passed down to my children. I try and talk
through many of my childrens life trials with stories of my own tribulations growing up. Being a
middle child, growing up on a farm, and having many bizarre growing up stories, I can make
them realize that all of their rough times do not compare to a tough childhood.
I grew up in a blue collar Native American family in a small Michigan town with a
population of 2600. My Dad worked at a conveyor manufacturing plant in Grand Rapids and my
mother taught at a preschool that was run out of the church we attended. I have two older twin
brothers, a younger brother, and a younger sister. We lived on a farm and raised horses, cows,
goats, sheep, a pig, and chickens. Growing up on the farm taught us to be responsible, as we had
to care for the animals by feeding and bathing them and cleaning the animals pens and corals. In
the fall and winter months we needed to gather, cut, and split wood to be used in our woodburning stove. Our house had a fuel oil furnace, but our parents would heat with as much wood
as they could to help in saving money. Our parents were very good at managing their money and
I am proud to say that I have received that trait and have also passed it onto my children. No one
in our family is frivolous with money and we all have excellent money management skills.
Along with the house being heated by a wood stove, my parents also grew a pretty healthy
garden every year to save money. We grew tomatoes, green peppers, beans, peas, corn, carrots,
potatoes, and watermelon.

Cultural Autobiography

For two weeks every summer we would spend time on the reservation in Mount Pleasant.
The women would sit around and talk about their children and how things were going on the
reservation. The men would play horseshoes and talk about how the different employment
opportunities were affecting their lives. We as kids got to just run around and be kids. It was a
fun time on the reservation because we did not have to worry about what was on television or
who had the better video game system. It was all about treating one another with respect and
playing with the things that the earth provided you to play with. Growing up, because we were
not on the reservation, we did not speak the language of the tribe. I remember my grandparents
talking to my parents and we could not understand what was being said. In turn, my father had to
translate to my grandparents when we wanted to communicate with them. My grandparents are
still alive and still reside on the reservation. I believe they stay there is because of the language
barrier and also because they receive so much money from the Soaring Eagle Casino. Those
Indians that stay on the reservation get fifteen percent more share than those from the tribe that
live elsewhere.
I am proud to be a descendant of the Native American heritage and culture. I believe the
stern discipline and the teaching of respect have made me what I am today. I was both made fun
of while growing up and praised for being Indian. I had the opportunity to take a couple of my
friends to the reservation and they had so much fun enjoying everything that went on there.
When they would return and tell everyone how much they had that people changed the way they
looked at me and my brothers and sister.
As I finished high school and started going to college, I found the love of my life and
married quickly. While obtaining employment as a general laborer to support my new

Cultural Autobiography

partnership, I found it more difficult to keep my commitment to my furthered education. After

one and a half years of attending a small college, I discontinued my education and started
working as much as I could.
Throughout my professional career, I have held mostly management positions. First, I
started as a line worker. I then became a line leader, which eventually led to an assistant
supervisory position. I became the supervisor of night shift and held that position for five years,
before moving back to day shift to run the companys newly developed quality system. I ran the
companys quality department for an additional three years before leaving the company for a
better opportunity. The next company I worked for was much larger and offered me a higher
salary and much more room for advancement. After working for that company for seven years,
they made me a vice president and offered me a percentage of the business. I continued working
with that company until we sold out to a larger firm in 2003.
In 2003, I was hired by a large company and was given the title of Director of Quality. I
was also given a share of the company to allow the company to publicize that it was a minorityowned company. This is very beneficial for obtaining contracts with the large OEMs. Because
of the diverse workforce, and employing so many Hispanic speaking individuals, I took two
years of Spanish at a local community college to better my communication with the employees.
This has proven to be very beneficial for the company when it comes to employee training. I
think I am the only Spanish speaking Native American that still does not know how to speak my
own peoples language.
I believe that growing up as a Native American in a small town of mostly white
Americans taught me how to tolerate prejudice and how to handle situations of racial tension.

Cultural Autobiography
With the diversity in todays workplace, I have learned to lead efforts to build unity amongst all
employees and the different divers groups.
This sociology course has provided me with more of a foundation to build unity within
certain social groups, and in turn, will provide for better employee teambuilding and better
employee morale. The American workforce will always be a diverse workforce and everyone
must learn to not only adjust to it, but work towards making it level across the board.