Nursing

summarizes the cultural phenomena affecting American Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos. 222 ■ Chapter 9 ■ Current Health Care Problems Today, American Indians are faced with a number of health-related problems and health disparities. Many of the old ways of diagnosing and treating illness have not survived the migrations and changing ways of life of the […]

HEALTH and ILLNESS in the American Indian and Alaska Native Population ■ 221 10. The stem of the yucca plant is used as a laxative. The purple flower of the thistle is used to expel worms. 11. Blanket flower is the diuretic used to provide relief from painful urination. 12. A tea is made from

Traditional Remedies American Indians practice an act of purification in order to maintain their harmony with nature and to cleanse the body and spirit. This is done by to- tal immersion in water in addition to the use of sweatlodges, herbal medi- cines, and special rituals. Purification is seen as the first step in the

• One of the ways to treat people is indirectly. When I go to see people we talk about their corn and their lives and they talk about my corn and my life and then we get down to the reason why I am there. They don’t tell me their physical symptoms. One of the

HEALTH and ILLNESS in the American Indian and Alaska Native Population ■ 219 and the third part is the spiritual aspect of a person. The physical is the tangible, the one we can see and touch and be with all the time. We go through acceptance of our physical being. This is what I have

Hawk Littlejohn, 1941–2000 I had the privilege of working with Hawk Littlejohn, a traditional medicine man, in 1979 at the Boston (Massachusetts) Indian Council. Thomas Crowe wrote in his obituary that Hawk Littlejohn “embraced tradition in the modern world. He was a native of Western North Carolina and a member of the Eastern Band of

Such events as going into a trance can be ascribed to the work of witches. The way to cure a “witched” person is through the use of complicated prayer ceremonies that are attended by friends and relatives, who lend help and express sympathy. The victim of a witch is in no way responsible for being

Navajos recognize the usefulness of blaming witches for ILLNESS and misfortune. Tales abound concerning witchcraft and how the witches work. Not all Navajos believe in witchcraft but, for those who do, it provides a mechanism for laying blame for the overwhelming hardships and anxieties of life. Place Your Order Here!

Traditional Methods of HEALING Traditional HEALERS The traditional HEALER of Native America is the medicine man or woman, and American Indians, by and large, have maintained their faith in him or her over the ages. The medicine men and women are wise in the ways of the land and of nature. They know well the

HEALTH and ILLNESS in the American Indian and Alaska Native Population ■ 215 cover their bodies with red ochre. Members of the Navajo nation believe that “witchcraft exists and that certain humans, known as witches, are able to inter- act with the evil spirits. These people can bring sickness and other unhappiness to the people