Native American Medicine
"Native American medicine is based on widely held beliefs about healthy living, the repercussions of disease-producing behavior, and the spiritual principles that restore balance." -Ken "Bear Hawk" Cohen (Chrisman 1).
The beliefs that Cohen is referring to are shared by all North and South Native American tribes, however, the methods of diagnosis as well as the treatments vary significantly. This is mainly due to the fact that Native American medicine is based upon a spiritual view of life. A healthy person is someone who has a sense of purpose and follows the guidance of the Great Spirit who represented the central religious figure for most tribes (Chrisman 2). It is believed that someone is unhealthy because they have done something morally wrong, or not within their culture's boundaries of what is deemed acceptable. If the tribe member did do something wrong, often they would not receive medical treatment because it was believed that they were learning a lesson as a direct result of their actions. However, many times when an illness could not be accounted for the patient would receive medical attention. Native American medicine was administered through two primary sources, ritual procedures and rational therapy (Vogel ix). These two sources provided working combinations that were able to cure many illnesses for several reasons.
The medical practice of rational therapy was generally practiced first. It is referred to as rational therapy because actual substances, such as parts of plants and herbs, were used and often resulted in medical success. Many people do not realize how many contributions the Native Americans made in the field of medicine. They experimente...
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...y due to the advances in scientific medicine, the introduction of medical insurance, free services, and the general availability of the medical care today. Also, many tribes have had to relocate to land where their valuable resources of plants and herbs may not be present. When a tribe member is ill, often he will visit a clinic on the reservation rather than the shaman. While at the clinic variations of the Native American remedies are used. The white man adapted the native practices to administer them through the clinics and hospitals. The medicine that we practice today is a combination of Native healing practices and modern science. The vast contributions made by our Native Americans must not be overseen or forgotten. The indigenous peoples of the Americas set up the basic grounds of experimentation and administration of multiple pharmaceuticals used today.
The Navajo creation story explains that medicine was brought to the people by an ancient owl. This owl sent down a magic bundle containing the powers of healing to the new world. For thousands of years Navajo people have used this knowledge to heal and live in harmony with each other. As a product of two worlds, Dr. Lori Alvord was one of the first people to combine modern medicine with Navajo beliefs by overcoming cultural differences.
With so many unrealistic events in the story, it is obvious that the author is far from reality. In real life, Jazz would have some kind of record. Even though it would be for petty break-ins and contamination of crime scenes, he would receive actual consequences for it. So many books relate to I Hunt Killers by all of the fictional parts, but that is what makes it a book and not real life. There can be something learned from the differences in real life and a fictional book about crime. Though there are true facts stated throughout books, there are too many untrue instances that turn the facts into some crazy made up event.
Native Americans have a long history of using native plants, berries, herbs, and trees for a wide variety of medicinal purposes. Native Americans have been using these methods for thousands of years.
Illness was treated in many ways but the main goal was to achieve a sense of balance and harmony.(p82). Applications of herbs and roots, spiritual intervention, and community wide ritual and ceremonies were all therapeutic practices.(p71). “It was the healer who held the keys to the supernatural and natural worlds and who interpreted signs, diagnosed disease and provided medicines from the grassland, woodland, and parkland pharmacopoeia.”(p18). The healers knowledge of herbs and roots and ways to administer and diagnose had been passed down from generation to generation.(p85). Healers stood as an advantage for the Aboriginal people. “Trust and a personal relationships would naturally build between the patient and the healer.”(p77). This must have ...
American Indians have had health disparities as result of unmet needs and historical traumatic experiences that have lasted over 500 hundred years.1(p99) Since first contact American Indians have been exposed to infectious disease and death2(p19), more importantly, a legacy of genocide, legislated forcible removal, reservation, termination, allotment, and assimilation3. This catastrophic history had led to generational historical traumas and contributes to the worst health in the United States.2 American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) represent 0.9 percent of the United States population4(p3) or 1.9 million AI/AN of 566 federally recognized tribes/nations.5 American Indians/Alaska Natives have significantly higher mortality rates of intentional and unintentional injuries, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease than other American.6
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, most Americans are concerned with their private insurance or the benefits with Medicaid or CHIP. However, there is another population that was left out of the new bill almost entirely: undocumented immigrants. There is an ongoing debate as to whether illegal immigrants should be eligible for public health care benefits presented in ACA. The two viewpoints are obvious: to give illegal immigrants health insurance and allow them to reap the benefits of a public healthcare system or to not. However, the issue is not so simple. There is a large group of people whose lives will forever be affected by the decision made on the issue.
Since the arrival of Columbus in 1492, American Indians have been in a continuous struggle with diseases. It may not be small pox anymore, but illnesses are still haunting the native population. According to statistics, Native Americans have much higher rates of disease than the overall population. This includes a higher death rate from alcoholism, tuberculosis, and diabetes than any other racial or ethnic group. Recent studies by Indian health experts show that diabetes among Indian youth ages 15-19 has increased 54% since 1996 and 40% of Indian children are overweight. Even though diabetes rates vary considerably among the Native American population, deaths caused from diabetes are 230 percent greater than the United States population as a whole. Diabetes is an increasing crisis among the Native American population.
Alcoholism is identified by severe dependence or addiction and cumulative patterns of characteristic behaviors. An alcoholic’s frequent intoxication is obvious and destructive; interfering with the ability to socialize and work. These behavior patterns may lead to loss of work and relationships (Merck, 1999). Strong evidence suggests that alcoholism runs in families (Schuckit, 2009). According to a study published by Schuckit (1999) monozygotic twins were at a significantly higher risk of alcoholism if one twin was an alcoholic. Ehlers, Lind, and Wilhelmsen (2008) conducted a study to investigate the influence a single opioid receptor on alcohol dependence rates among Native Americans. Ehlers, et al. (2008) noted that people with lower risk of becoming an alcoholic were more sensitive to the effects of alcohol, while people at higher risk for alcoholism were less sensitive to the effects. The research team also discussed the firewater myth that is common among current Native American culture, which postulates a constitutional predisposition to alcoholism as a result of an innate altered response to alcohol (Ehlers, et al., 2008).
Aleut traditional medicine before the 1800s was treated in various spiritual and practical ways, after the 1800s many of these methods of healing were lost. Aleutians most healing medicine came from medicine women/men and shamans. Shamans were the aboriginal specialists in dealing with the supernatural. They cured the sick and were requested in cases of difficult childbirth (Ransom 348). Shamans were link to the spiritual world, and because they had this link to this world they were able to determine the illness and treat it accordingly. As with many Aleut traditions, shamans and medicine men/women vanished with contact with Russians and European nations.
Appalachian culture covers thirteen states in Northern America. It is beneficial to medical staff to be familiar with this culture’s beliefs in order to successfully treat their patients. Without knowledge and education of their social status, environment, nutrition, beliefs, and unhealthy habits, the medical staff can fail in treatment and can misdiagnose their patients.
America needs comprehensive health care reform, and immigrants should be a part of the movement. But many American citizens might ask that pertinent question: why should they cover the expense for illegal immigrants to access health care? The answer is plain and simple: until congress passes immigration laws that work, people are going to migrant here illegally. And to deny migrants access to affordable health care, Americans are not only denying them their human right, they are also putting individual and national health at risk. I believe that this country – which has the medical advancements and the facilities to ensure the health of its citizens – should reach out to its non-citizens, legal and illegal, until it passes laws that improve conditions, increase pay and thus prevent disease more effectively-- or until undocumented workers are prevented from residing here altogether.
The philosophy and practice is composed of many different systems of traditional medicine, which are all influenced by prevailing conditions, environment, and geographic area within, where it first evolved into WHO (2005). Although it is a common
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
Certain religious groups reject westernized medicine, like the Amish. Yet, for the most part most religions allow their medicinal practices to work in tandem with westernized medicine. For example, First Nations people tend to have a very holistic view when it comes to their surroundings and medicine. Aboriginal traditional approaches to health and wellness include the use of sacred herbs like sage or tobacco and traditional healers/medicine (pg. 5, Singh, 2009). However, they will not reject help from professionally trained doctors and medical staff. Much like other religions, First Nations put a strong emphasis on family/community. Consensus or decision-making is fairly common for them. A practitioner or medical staff member must remember to respect ceremonial objects such as tobacco or traditional blankets, include immediate family members when making a treatment decision, and to accommodate spiritual practices. Normally, organ donation is accepted UNLESS the organ is being removed from someone who is not deceased. First Nations’ believe that their bo...
Physical piracy-the copying and illegal sale of hard-copy CDs, videotapes, and DVDs-costs the music industry over $4 billion a year worldwide and the movie industry more than $3.5 billion. These numbers do not factor in the growing (and difficult to measure) problem of Internet piracy, in which music and movies are transferred to digital format and copies are made of the resulting computer file. Journalist Charles C. Mann explains why Internet piracy has the potential to be vastly more damaging to copyright industr...