NATIVE AMERICAN MEDICINE AND LITERATURE

Native American Tribes

Cherokee- North and South Carolina Navajo- Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah Choctaw- Southern Mississippi Sioux- North and South Dakota Chippewa- Michigan Apache- New Mexico, Arizona, Western Texas Blackfeet- Northwestern Montana Iroquois- Northeastern United States Pueblo- Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah

Medical Beliefs

Supporting a healthy lifestyle Understanding and respecting the

repercussions of disease causing behavior

The spiritual principles that restore balance

These core beliefs are shared by all tribes but techniques vary from tribe to tribe

Many beliefs are kept secret and only passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation, therefore most literature on Native American medicine is from current accounts

Native American Medical Practices

Native American healers have a number of herbal remedies involved in their practice

In scientific terms healers are masters of phytotherapy and pharmacognosy

A common herb that Native Americans used is ginseng which is popular today in our foods, used for everyday stress

Analgesic herbs used to help relieve pain and aid in the function of the digestive tract(herbal teas)

Peyote Rituals

Peyote is a vision producing(hallucinogen) extract from cacti in the Southwest that has effects lasting up to 40 hours

It is said to promote self healing and self realizations that help people live a healthier life

Ancient Native American Shamans used peyote and would fall into a trance for days at a time and have a healing vision which would mark the end of the ritual

It is still used in rituals today by the organizations like Native American Churches of North America

Fools Crow

A contemporary American fiction novel by James Welch

Set in Montana centering around White Man’s Dog(later to be Fools Crow), a Blackfoot Native American

This novel takes place just after the civil war

White Man’s Dog and his tribe are struggle with whether they should fight the white man or give in to assimilation

Historical references include the Trail of Tears, Marias Massacre of 1870, and smallpox

Fools Crow

The book features a major healing ritual called the Sun Dance Ceremony held by the medicine man(or woman) of the tribe. This actually inducts White Man’s Dog as a Medicine Man himself, and receives the name Fools Crow

One of the major themes of the book are the dreams that are told throughout. Dreams are believed to be part of the healing process in Native American Medicine

The book also focuses on the decisions that are made by several characters and the understanding of the consequences of those decisions

Coyote HealingNative healers believe that healing must begin with the spiritHealing the spirit is necessary to heal the bodyIdea that our spiritual faith helps us recover from illness

Coyote Healing

The Native American healers expect miracles, unlike modern medicine, where miraculous recoveries are discarded as abnormal cases

“miracle” patients have everything to teach us about healing and survival

Survivors found purpose and meaning in their life-threatening illnesses

Peaceful acceptance was key to healing

Finding faith and hope even when a cure seems impossible

Narrative Medicine

Native American healers expect miracles and prepare in all ways possible for them to occur.

Believed in the power of the “story” and the effectiveness of telling stories and listening.

Narrative medicine encourages empathy and promotes understanding between clinician and patient.

Believed that the healers gained the most knowledge from talking to the patient and getting their stories.

Narrative Medicine

Modern medicine and technology does not allow for this to happen; it is much more impersonal.

Today, doctors rush to get a patient on a medication, whereas the Native Americans believed that the process of telling and listening uncovers disharmonies that perpetuate disease and reveals new modes for treatment and recovery.

Lewis Mehl Madrona

Author of the Coyote trilogy Comes from an indigenous

background His work discusses healing

practices from many different Native American traditions.

Writes about the use of imagery and narrative in healing.

His research collaborations aims to use psychology, nutrition, and healing circles to improve health conditions.

Lewis Mehl Madrona

Says that through the understanding of the power of story and healing, transformation is possible.

One of the purposes of his works is to integrate aboriginal origins and culture to the medical practice.

Writes about how narrative organizes experience and guides the healing process.

Relationship to Class Readings

The Yellow Wallpaper the doctors only concerned about her

physical appearance and didn’t see anything wrong

Left her alone, even though she kept saying she was sick

Hearing her side of the story could have helped her recover from her illness, by finding the right treatment

Relationship to Class Readings

The Purloined Letter police took a scientific approach to

looking for the letter Dupin thinks outside the box and finds

the letter much like doctors follow standard

procedures and sometimes misdiagnose, while Native Americans listen to the sick about how they are feeling and then treat, often helping them

Works Cited

Mehl-Madrona, Lewis. Coyote Healing: Miracles in Native Medicine. Rochester, Vt.: Bear &,

2003. Print. Mehl-Madrona, Lewis. "Lewis Mehl-Madrona:

Traditional Native American Medicine - Treatment of Chronic Illness." The Healing Center On-Line. Web. 02 Mar. 2010. <http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/mmtraditionalpaper.htm#otherpages>.

Mehl-Madrona, Lewis. Narrative Medicine: the Use of History and Story in the Healing

Process. Rochester, Vt.: Bear &, 2007. Print.