Western vs. Traditional Medicine

Last week, we explored the great disparity in health between U.S. citizens and Native Americans, especially among Native American women [1,2]. Even though Native Americans live within U.S. borders, they are members of their own sovereign nations. As a reminder, for various reasons, many tribes signed treaties with the U.S. exchanging large quantities of land for healthcare, education, and other various guarantees [3]. These are NOT government handouts. These are legal trades between two nations. In addition to greatly reducing the amount of land that tribes have to thrive on and increasing tribal dependency on the U.S., these treaties allowed for the introduction of western medicine via the Indian Health Service (IHS).

This week, we will explore how the cultural role and well-being of Native American women is influenced by the introduction of western medicine in a few case studies. To begin, many Native Americans feel that there is a big difference between Western medicine and traditional medicinal approaches. Dr. Everett Rhoades who was the first Native American to oversee the Indian Health Service says, “Physicians are taught to concentrate on abnormal physiology so much that we’ve nearly forgotten that wellness is more than an absence of illness; in reality, it’s a tangible harmony in yourself.” This statement demonstrates the core belief of many Native American medicinal practices. Traditionally, treating a patient involves more than alleviating his or her symptoms but also the healing of the spirit[4]. The men and women of the tribe who practiced this powerful form of healing were highly regarded.

Rose Mesteth on Native Daughters project website

Rose Mesteth of Oglala Lakota, who reside on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, is a member of a long line of female healers. Her mother and grandmother before her used herbs and plants to treat the sick. According to Rose, it was women who treated the sick with medicinal plants and restored spiritual balance in many tribes. However, with the introduction of Western medicine, native youth in the community are regarding her traditional healing role as less effective. Rose mentioned in an interview, “This healing will eventually die. Most of the younger generations are just not interested in this. They are too close-minded and have been indoctrinated with the idea that ‘the white way is the right way’” [5]. In Rose’s case, she has filled a more influential role in her community via the practice of traditional medicine. However, she stands to lose this influence if Lakota youth lose faith in her practices in favor of Westernized medicine.

Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, Stanford trained, was the first Navajo woman to become a board certified surgeon. She was inspired by the difficulties involved in seeing a doctor on the reservation—long hours, crowded hospitals, long driving distances, etc. Even though her college advisers at the University of New Mexico discouraged from attending medical school and told her “not to get her hopes up,” she succeeded. She still faces the same blatant disrespect and undermining of her decisions as a doctor today and feels that it is because she is a native women practicing in a white male dominated field. However, among the Navajo people, she is now known as an influential and good healer. To the Navajo, being a good surgeon does not necessarily mean you are a good healer. To be a good healer requires one to take mind, body, soul, and environmental influence into account enveloped in the word “hózhó,” which closely translates to “everything in beauty.” Dr. Alvord learned how to incorporate harmony, peace, balance into her practice from her Navajo medicine practicing mentors[5]. As a result of mixing traditional and western medicine rather than completely disregarding her tribe’s beliefs, Dr. Lori Avord is now a well-respected and influential member of her tribe. This is a stark contrast from how she is treated in the realm of western medicine even after earning her medical doctorate.

As you can see from the case studies of Lori and Rose, the influence of women among their respective nations is greatly enhanced via traditional medicine. Whether one practices traditional medicine mostly like Rose or combines its inherent nature with western medicine like Lori, the practice of traditional medicine gives women a place in society. While western medicine can threaten that role in some cases such as via the youth of Rose’s society, it can sometimes be used in harmony and enhance that role such as in Lori’s case. However, even in Lori’s case, her position was more revered among her own nation rather than in the U.S. where western medicine is solely practiced.

Next week, we will explore this perspective from a more statistical perspective. In future weeks, we will also explore other indigenous peoples who are sovereign, such as in Canada, and indigenous populations which fight for sovereignty but are still currently citizens within arbitrarily assigned colonial borders.

Sources:

[1]Promoting Wellness in Native American Communities Through Exercise, Disease Prevention and Traditional Healing. (2013). 42nd Annual Meeting of the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP). Santa Clara, CA.

[2] U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services. National Tribal Budget Recommendations for the Indian Health Service Fiscal Year 2013 Budget. Publication. U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services, 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

[3] Kappler, Charles Joseph. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print. Off., 1904.Digital.library.okstate.edu. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

[4] Crow, Kelly. “The New Medicine Men.” Oklahoma Today 4 Nov. 1999: 50-57.Digital.library.okstate.edu. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.

[5] Pascale, Jordan. “Alternative Methods Still Important to Native Healers.” Cojmc.unl.edu. University of Nebraska Lincoln, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.