Download Traditional Vs Modern Medicine

“If you talk to a man in a language he
understands, that goes to his head. If
you talk to him in his language, that
goes to his heart”- Nelson Mandela
Language Loss
• During the assimilationist period there was
forced loss of language as a deculturation
experience
• As a result of this process there are many
sleeping and endangered native languages
• In 1990 NALA (Native American Languages Act)
– Meant to “preserve, protect, and promote the rights
and freedoms of Native Americans to use, practice
and develop Native American languages” (Warhol 3)
Language and Cultural Identity
• Language helps form a sense of community
• Language is important for the transmission and
understanding of creation stories.
• Native language acquisition allows speakers a
unique worldview and perspective
• An example of a different perspective could be
the relation of time. In many native languages
time is expressed by stringing events together in
relation to each other rather than in relation to
now (Hinton 66)
Active Language Projects
• AICLS- Advocates for Indigenous California
Language Survival
– Language is Life Conference
– Master-Apprentice Program
• Kumeyaay Community College
– Offers a Kumeyaay Language Certification Program
• WLRP- Wampanoag Language Reclamation
Project
– Started in 1993 by Jessie Little Doe
– No speakers of the language for over 7 generations
– Recreated the language using old scribes, letters, a bible and
cross referencing other languages in the same family
We Still Live Here (2010)
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
• The Kumeyaay used many of the
local plants to aid in easing the pain
and discomfort from many of the ills
that befell the members of their tribe.
The use of these plants was not only
for medicinal purposes but were an
important part of the local Kumeyaay
and Cahuillia tribal cultures. They
were incorporate both physical and
spiritual healing.
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
• Plants were placed upon the
earth by the Creator to serve
man. This was not intended to
be a one-way relationship.
Plants, like any life form, were
to be treated with respect.
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
• Good stewardship of resources was
practiced when collecting these
plants. The ritual in collecting of the
plants was strictly followed so to
protect the ready supply. They
seldom stripped bare an area of the
plants that they were gathering, but
carefully left a part of the plant
behind. Thus ensuring a continuing
supply of these plants.
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
California Sagebrush
White Sage
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
Sycamore
Scrub Oak
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
• Examples of how modern medicine
originally dismissed Native American
cures. Such as, “the savage Indians
and the Negroes contributed little or
nothing of value to any branch of
medicine, and from them we receive a
mass of superstition and ignorance that
reinforce and strengthened what we had
brought from Europe, a heritage that
still plagues us
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
• This racist view of racial inferiority has
now been debunked as we discover
that medications, such as ipecac,
cochineal, liquidamber, datura and
many others were widely used by
many Native American cultures.
These treatments are found to be
very successful and with less side
effects.
Medicines and Remedies
of the Kumeyaay
• The medical community is becoming
acquainted with alternative remedies
and see that these cutting edge
treatments for such ailments as gout,
osteoarthritis, high blood pressure,
type 2 diabetes and cholesterol.
They have found these treatments to
be very successful and with less side
effects.
Chumash Tule Boat
• This represents the very common boat for
aquatic mobilization and hunting for Indian
tribes. The design is very basic and the
materials used are not very resistant to
harmful weather conditions and long term
sustainability.
Chumash Tomol
• The Chumash created the oceangoing plank canoe, or more
formally known as the Tomol. The tomol is a much more
complex and sturdier design that would enable the chumash
to further expand their culture and ability to explore new
realms of seafaring ventures, and conquer larger means
pelagic fishing capabilities. With the use of the tomol, the
chumash effectively expanded their coastal trade system,
social network dynamics, and overall well being and
prevalence along the central coast.
Chumash Tomol
• Materials used for the tomol:
Redwood trees(driftwood obtained from
the coastal shores)
Milkweed(Used to help bind all of the
various planks of crafted redwood)
Yop: Help with water retention and
added to the strength of the boat
(combination of asphaltum and pine
pitch)
Chumash Tomol
The inevitable force of white colonialization
and infiltration of the Chumash's native
lands created too much competition for the
fishing industry, thus hindering the economic
success of the tribe. Other influences
brought from white settlers spread diseases
amongst the Chumash tribes. This led to
virtual depopulation of their tribe.
Chumash Tomol
• Once the Chumash tribe decentralized
and practically died out amongst their
native regions, the tomol ceased to exist
as well. The culture of the chumash in
modern day society is still able to be
preserved despite this tragic scenario.
Chumash Tomol
• Chumash communities were able to
collaborative in a collective effort to reconstruct
the antiquity of the tomol, and make journeys to
different islands and coastal dwellings to reenact
the similar travels of their ancestors. This
overall helped instill a sense of pride amongst
the Chumash community, and commemorate the
traditional way of life for the Chumash.
Traditional vs Modern
Medicine
Overview of Indian Health
• American Indians and Alaska Natives
compared to average American
– 3X times more likely to die from
diabetes
– Have a life expectancy of about five less
years than other Americans
– Have suicide rates twice that of general
population
Overview of Indian Health
• American Indians and Alaska Natives
compared to average American
– 3X times more likely to die from diabetes
– Have a life expectancy of about five less
years than other Americans
– Have suicide rates twice that of general
population
– http://www.ihs.gov/ihs_stats/files/Trends%20P
art%204-General%20Mort.pdf
Fusion of Traditional and Modern
Medicine
• Dr. Maresca-Mohawk Indian
• Tolt Community Clinic operated by the Snoqualmie
Tribe
• Plants divided into four categories -- one for birth
and pregnancy, another to treat children, a third for
adults and the last for elders.
“the organic garden is intended to promote an
appreciation for the role of herbal medicine in
contemporary health care and help advance
the tribes mission to provide holistic health
care services to the broader patients”
Fusion of Traditional and
Modern Medicine
• Dr. Walt Hollow-Assiniboine-Sioux tribes
– First Native American graduate from UW
school of medicine
– Collaborated with UW to help found
• Center of Excellence and Indian Health Pathway
– https://catalyst.uw.edu/workspace/dacosta/96
51/48519
Western Medicine’s use of Traditional
Healing
• Western medicine has integrated Native
American Healing as a form of CAM
(Complimentary and Alternative Medicine)
– By definition: “CAM practices are not part of
conventional medicine because there is
insufficient proof that they are safe and
effective” (National Health Statistics Report)
– American Cancer Society
– UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
How Western Medicine Acknowledges
Native Healing?
• Listed as a form of cancer therapy
– “Native American therapy treats side effects
and symptoms”
– “Native American healing should be used
with, not in place of, standard cancer
therapy.”
– http://cancer.ucsd.edu/treatments/cam/therapi
es/Pages/native-american-healing.aspx
How does CAM work?
• Use therapies the hospital provides or talk with doctor about
CAM treatments to find therapy elsewhere
• The Moores Center does not offer Native Healing at the
center
– Holds weekly workshops of gentle yoga, controlled breathing,
meditation and visualization/imagery
– Gives overview of Native Healing with links for additional
information and research
– http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/compl
ementaryandalternativemedicine/guidelines-for-usingcomplementary-and-alternative-methods
Discrepancy between healers and
physicians
• Study from American Medical Association
– Sample of 150 patients from Indian Health
Service Clinic in Milwaukee, Wisc.
• 38% see a healer
– 61.4% of patients rate advice of healer over physician
– Only 14.8% of patients seeing healers tell their
physicians
Training, Attitudes, Accessibility
Survey of Physicians at Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, MN, USA
• 233 physicians responding to the survey
– 76% had never referred a patient to a CAM
practitioner
– 44% stated that they would refer a patient if a
CAM practitioner were available at their
institution.
– 57% of physicians thought that incorporating
CAM therapies would have a positive effect
on patient satisfaction
– 48% believed that offering CAM would attract
more patients.
Issues of Appropriation
• American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
– “Inflammation and Native American medicine:
the role of botanicals”