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© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
SOCH111
www.endeavour.edu.au
Native American Medicine
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
Session Aim
By the end of this session, students will be able
to:
o Describe the historical and cultural context of North
American Native Medicine
o Describe the historical and cultural context of Native
Medicine in Central and South America
o Define North, Central and South American worldviews
o Describe Native American Medicine practices
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
History – North America
o 12, 000 yrs ago North America and Asia were connected
o Migrations appears to have occurred around 9,500 BC
o 1,000 BC – shift towards horticulture and domestication
o Maize grown in Mexico since 5,000 BC, appeared in N.
America about 1,200 BC
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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European Exploration of the
Americas
o 1492 – Columbus sailed from Spain to the Americas
o 1497 – First English explorer
o 1604 – Nova Scotia found by the French
o 1531 & 1532 – Spanish expedition Mexico and Peru
o 1718 – French settled New Orleans
o 17th Century – English settlements began to establish
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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Indigenous Peoples of the
Americas
Two broad groupings
o American Indians
• Northern America (US and Canada)
• Middle America (Mexico and Central America)
• South America
o Arctic
• Alaska and arctic Canada
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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North American Nation Regions
South East
o Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole
o Area predominately agricultural with chiefdoms and
hereditary classes
o Grew corn, beans, squash, tobacco
o Hunted deer and fished
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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North American Nation Regions
The Plains
o Sioux, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Comanche, Arapoho and
Kiowa
o Had similar material items such as tepee, tailored leather
clothing, headdresses and other battle regalia, and
drums
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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North American Nation Regions
Southwest
o Pueblo Indians (Zuni and Hopi), Yumans, Pima, Papago,
Navajo and Apache
o Agricultural products: corn, beans, squash, cotton, wild
game and fishing
• Pueblo – apartment-like cliff dwellings, dances and dolls, fine
pottery, textiles and sand paintings
• Navajo – complex clan systems, healing rituals, fine textiles and
jewellery.
• Apache, Yumans, Pima and Papago focused on expression
culture through oral traditions(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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North American Nation Regions
The Great Basin
o Mono, Paiute, Bannock, Shoshone, Ute, Gosiute,
Washoe
o Mobile kin-based bands
o Agriculture & Products: seeds, small game, bison,
basketry, nets, rock art and grinding stones
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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North American Nation Regions
California
o Hupa, Yurok, Pomo, Yuki, Wintun, Maidu, Yana
o Derived method of leaching toxins from acorn pulp to
make flour
o Known for basketry and ritualised trade fairs
o (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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North American Nation Regions
Northwest coast
o Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Kwakiutl, Bella Coola, Chinook
o Abundant and reliable supplies of salmon, sea
mammals, fish, variety of plants
o Known for fine wood and stone carvings, large
watercraft, memorial/totem poles and basketry
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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TotemismA system of belief in
which humans are said
to have a relationship
with a spirit-being
Usually an animal
The totem serves as a
symbol
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015
Image: Sciencedaily.com
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
North American Nation Regions
The Plateau
o Salishan, Flathead, Nez Perce, Yakama, Kutenal, Modoc
and Klamath
o Excelled in material innovation and adapting other
technologies for their own purposes
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2015)
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The Arctic
o The Arctic Circle – Alaska and Canada
o Eskimo (Inuit and Yupik/Yupiit), and Aleut
o Harsh winters, long summer hours
o Formed bands based on kinship and marriage
Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2015
Image: Sunnyskiespreschool.com
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Inuit
o Spirituality is grounded in the belief that anua (soul) exist
in all people and animals
o Families, individuals and bands follow a complex system
of taboos to assure that animals continue to make
themselves available to hunters
o Rituals and ceremonies are performed before and after
hunting to assure hunting success
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Inuit
o The Angakut is the spiritual leader of the band
o He interprets the causses of sickness or lack of hunting
success
o Enters trance through drumming and chanting
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Native American Healing Practices
Health and wellbeing:
• Linked to spirituality
• Requires a close connection to the earth and living in
harmony with nature/environment
• Recovering wholeness
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The Red Path
o Path to harmony and wholeness in nature
o Characterised by cultural values
o Healers follow the Red Path/Road
o It is the path of good
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Sioux Lakota Virtues
o Humility - Unsiiciyapi
o Perseverance -
Wowacintanka
o Respect - Wawoohola
o Honour - Wayuonihan
o Love - Cantognake
o Sacrifice – Icicupi
o Truth - Wowicake
o Compassion –
Wausilapi
o Bravery - Woohitike
o Fortitude -
Cantewasake
o Generosity -
Canteyuke
o Wisdom - Woksape
(Marshall III, 2001)
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Native American Healing Practices
Bio-psycho-social-spiritual approach to health
o Herbs
o Manipulative therapies
o Ceremonies
o Music
o Prayer
o Story-telling and legends
(Koithan & Farrell, 2010)
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Native American Healing Practices
Ceremony
o Symbolic healing rituals
o Involve the patient, family and community in the healing
process
o May last for days or weeks
o Through participation in songs, prayer, music and dance
(Koithan & Farrell, 2010)
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Symbolism & Ceremony
o Ceremonies incorporate symbolism, icons and ritualistic
objects
o Used to restore harmony necessary for health
o Provides powerful healing synergy
(Koithan & Farrell, 2010)
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Music – The Drum
o Sacred significance
o Drumming stimulates physiological responses that have
mystical implications within spiritual traditions
(Rybak & Decker-Fitts, 2009)
(Image whirlingrainbow.com)
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Sacred Dance
“The sun descends upon the trees. The heat is hypnotic…
It is as if I am asleep.
Then the drums break, the voices of the singers gather
To the beat, the rattles shake all around
– mine among them.
I stand and move again, slowly, toward the center of the
universe in time,
In time, more and more closely in time.”
~ N. Scott Momaday, 1975 ~
(In Kracht, 1994)
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Dance
o Dance can elevate one into altered states of
consciousness to achieve spiritual experience
o May be joined by ancestors or facilitate shape-shifting
o Can facilitate key rites or ceremony
• Sioux – Sundance
• Apache – Dance of Gahan (mountain spirit)
• Kiowa – Gourd Dance
(Image: Encyclopaedia Britannica)
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Sacred Pipe
o In Latoka Sioux tradition, the sacred pipe and
instructions was brought by White Buffalo Calf Woman
o Integral part of Lakota spiritual and cultural life
o Each part of the pipe holds significance
o Symbolic of the fundamental relationship between all
things
o Used as a means to carry prayers upward to the Creator
or Great Mystery (Wakantanka)
(Image: marciadrian.com)
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Smudging
o Used as a means of purification
o Involves the passing of smoke over individuals (including
healers) and throughout environments
• Cedar and Sage – dispel negative energies
• Sweetgrass – attracts positive energy
o Can facilitate healing as beneficial energy is drawn in,
and non-beneficial energy is drawn away
o Can be incorporated into other ceremonies
(Rybak & Decker-Fitts, 2009)
(Image: pintrist.com)
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Story-telling & Legend
o Oral traditions convey information from one generation to
the next
o Stories contribute to healing, offering faith and tradition
o They are lessons that can be applied to daily life, and a
connection to the past, where the way of life remains
through the storyteller
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Medicine Wheel - Cangleska
o Circular with a balanced cross of 2 intersecting lines that
create 4 sections
o Represents the circle of life, with the intersecting lines
representing the roads in life
o Red Road is good road
o Black Road is the bad road
o 4 sacred colours (Red, yellow, black, white)
(Marshall III, 2001)
Image: Warriornation.ning.com
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Activity 1.1
Is Native American Healing a form of Complementary
Medicine?
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Central America
• A region in Middle America from central Mexico to
Honduras and Nicaragua
• Olmec, Maya, Aztec.
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Central American CulturesPERIOD TIME CULTURES AND CULTURAL CENTRES
Palaeoindian 10,000-3500 BC Stone age Amerindian cultures of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize
Archaic 3500-1800 BC Neolithic agricultural settlements of Tehuacán
Formative BC 2000-250 AD Monte Alto culture; Unknown cultures of La Blanca and Ujuxste
Early PreclassicBC 2000-1000
Olmec Tenochtitlan; Central Mexico cultures; Oaxaca; Mayas
Cerros, Nakbe
Middle Preclassic BC 1000-400 Olmec, Oaxaca, Maya
Late PreclassicBC 400-200 AD
Maya; Central Mexico Teotihuacan, Epi-Olmec: Gulf Coast, Western
Mexico
Classic 200-900 AD Classic Maya Centres: Teotihuacan, Zapotec
Early Classic 200-600 AD Maya; Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Palenque, Teuchtitlan
Late Classic600-900 AD
Maya; Teuchtitlan
Terminal Classic 800-900/1000 AD Maya; Uxmal
Postclassic 900-1519 AD Aztec, Mixtec, Tarascans, Totonac
Early Postclassic 900-1200 AD Cholula, Tula
Late Postclassic 1200- 1519 AD Tenochtitlan
Post-Conquest Until 1697 AD Central Peten
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The Maya
Flourished from ≈1,000 BC to 1,000 AD in Mesoamerica
The only native American culture to have a fully developed
written language
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Maya Religion
• Science and religion were the same
• Philosophy was that astronomy and mathematics were
priestly inventions
• Theologians were also scribes, mathematicians,
astronomers and philosophers
• Religion was part of daily life
• Life and death is cyclical
• Everything has a soul
• Polythiest
• Kinih Ahous (Sun God)
• Ah-Kinob - Healer
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
Maya MedicineIx Chel – Mayan
Moon goddess and
goddess of medicine
and healing in her
three manifestations
Chak Chel, the Old
Moon Goddess,
called the Midwife of
Creation
Ix Chel in her main
form as Mother
Goddess and Weaver
who set the Universe
in motion
Young Moon
Goddess, shown with
her totem animal the
rabbit
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Maya Medicine
• Highly complex mixture of shamanistic, empirical and
scientific practices administered by specialist healers
• Disease is a manifestation of imbalance
• Healers sought to balance the flow of life-force
• 6 Principles of Mayan Healing
(Bley, 2011)
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Maya Medicine – 1st Principle
o Ch’ulel (life-force) is everywhere and permeates
everything
o From mountains, rivers, plants, houses, people
o Ch’ulel is spiritually divine and binds everyone and
everything together
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Maya Medicine Principles
2nd Principle -
o There is no separation between the body and soul
3rd Principle –
o Recognition of natural cycles and veneration of plants
4th Principle –
o Healing is comprehensive and integrative approach with
everybody
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Maya Medicine Principles
5th Principle –
o Blood determines origin of illness and course of
treatment
6th Principle –
o Hot and cold
• Hot Symptom – fever, diarrhoea, vomiting
• Hot food – garlic, onion, peppers, ginger
• Cold Symptom – cramps, constipation, paralysis
• Cold food – cheese(Bley, 2011)
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Curandero
Curanderismo is a form of Native American healing
Includes:
o Prayer, herbal medicine, healing rituals, spiritualism,
massage, and psychic healing.
o It is a system of traditional beliefs that are common
amongst Hispanic-American communities
(American Cancer Society, 2015)
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The Aztecs
o The Aztecs were located in South Central region of present-day
Mexico.
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Astrological Calendar
o Extended over solar year of 365 days
• Divided into 18 months of 28 days
• Plus 5 unlucky days
Astrological Religious Calendar – Tonalamatl
• 260 days, 13 months
• Each month is ruled by a god
(Guerra, 1966)
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Aztec Religion
o Believed in the afterlife
o Heaven consisted of:
• Tonatiuh – heaven in the sun (reserved for heroes)
• Tlalocan – heaven on earth (abode of rest)
• Mictlan – underworld (reached by dead after a
dangerous journey)
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Aztec Religion
o The world was created by a God under dual principle
• Tonacatecutli (male principle) – Tonacacihuatl (female principle)
o Toci (or Teteoinam) – Mother goddess
o Huitzilopocchtli – God of war
o Tlaloc – God of agriculture
o Quetzalcoat – Wisdom
o Mictlantecutli - Death
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Ticiotl (Medical Art)
o Believed to have been developed by 4 wise men
o Profound religious elements
o Sickness could be punishment by gods
• Eg. Tlaloc (god of waters) responsible for rheumatic aliments,
gout, dampness and cold syndromes
o Expert herbalists
(Guerra, 1966)
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Tlazolteotl – Goddess of Medicine
Men & Midwives
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The IncasLocated in the Andes mountains
(Peru, Ecuador, and Chile)
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Inca Religion
o Religion dominated every aspect of the Inca
o Connected to the forces of nature and the success of farming
o Polytheistic
o Viracocha – Creator god
o Inti – Sun god (source of warmth, light and healthy crops)
o Mama-Quilla – Moon goddess
o Illapa – Thunder god (brought rains)
o Pacha-Mama – Earth goddess
o Mama-Cocha – Sea goddess
Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library, 2005
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
Inca Medicine
o Sophisticated understanding of herbal medicinal
properties
• Bark of a tree produced quinine – used to treat cramps and chills
• Coca used for pain
• Hunters dipped arrows in curare to paralyse muscles of prey
o Neurosurgery – trepanation
Early Civilizations in the Americas Reference Library, 2005
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
Herbs - Acai
Euterpe oleracea
Native to Central and South
America
Amazonian palm berry
Indications: anti-oxidant with
demonstrated anti-cancer and
anti-inflammatory properties
Available: juices, powders,
tablets, capsules
(National Institutes of Health, 2011)
(Images: wiki.com; Superfoods.org)
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
Bromelain
Ananas comosus L.
Native to Central and South
America
Pineapple extract
Indications: relieving symptoms
of acute nasal congestion and
sinus inflammation, helps to
remove dead skin from burns
(topical). May be helpful for
osteoarthritis and muscle aches
Available: powder, cream, tablet
and capsule
(National Institutes of Health, 2011)
(Image: Wikipedia.org)
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
Cat’s Claw – una
de gato
Native to Central and South
America
Woody vine
Indications: osteoarthritis and
rheumatoid arthritis, stimulates
immune system
Available: Inner bark is used to
make liquid extracts, tinctures,
capsules and topical
applications
(Source: National Institutes of Health, 2011)
(Images: amazonrainforestnews.com; youtube.com;
hodgewatch.com)
Uncaria tomentose, Uncaria guianensis
© Endeavour College of Natural Health endeavour.edu.au
Integrating Native American
Healing
o Native Americans frequently combine allopathic and
Traditional healing practices
o Spirituality needs to be incorporated in health promotion
and wellness
~Mitakuye oyasin -We are all related~
(Koithan & Farrell, 2010)
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References
American Cancer Society (2015). Retrieved
fromhttp://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/comple
mentaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/curanderis
mo
Bley, B (2011). The Ancient Maya and Their City of Tulum. iUniverse.
Francisco Guerra (1966). AZTEC MEDICINE. Medical History, 10, pp 315-338
doi:10.1017/ S0025727300011455
National Institutes of Health (2011). Herbs at a glance.