![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2025\/02\/1-768x576.jpg\")
Students on the Cothran Center\u2019s trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, had a fireside chat with Shelby Parker \u201914, Furman\u2019s first known Cherokee student. Photo provided.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cIn a liberal arts education, we expose students to a variety of subjects so they learn new ways of thinking and problem-solving,\u201d said Danielle Vinson<\/a>, professor of politics and international affairs. Vinson and religion professor Helen Lee Turner<\/a> joined Rollins and Whitney Brown<\/a>, the program coordinator for alumni and community initiatives as leaders on the trip.<\/p>\n \u201cExposing them to Indigenous culture and history is another way to expand our perspectives,\u201d Vinson said. \u201cIt has the potential to teach us things our own culture has lost sight of.\u201d<\/p>\n Cherokee Tribal Courts Judge Barbara \u201cSunshine\u201d Parker gave the group an example of how the Cherokee Nation shapes its justice system to meet community needs, like providing restorative justice programs for juveniles and people struggling with substance abuse.<\/p>\n The Cothran Center\u2019s trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, featured a short hike at Oconaluftee Visitor Center before a discussion with Judge Barbara \u201cSunshine\u201d Parker. Photo provided.<\/p><\/div>\n For sustainability science major Nabila Wilson \u201927, this trip was a chance to expand on what she learned about Native American cultures in Turner\u2019s \u201cReligion in America\u201d class.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause the Cherokee people are sovereign, they have a lot of power to shape their justice system,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI\u2019m really interested in policy, so this made me want to know more about the Cherokee justice system and how other tribes are using this freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2025\/02\/9-576x768.jpg\")