Tribal Healing Rituals Essay

In Michael Pollan’s article “The Trip Treatment”, Pollan mentions how magic mushrooms first came to the attention of Western medicine as a hallucinogen with “therapeutic potential” (39). They were introduced to R. Gordon Wasson, vice president of J.P. Morgan, by an indigenous “curandera”, or while in southern Mexico (39). This reminds me my own forms my remedios passed down to me. In Pollan’s article, patients explore the spiritual use of psychedelics, like psilocybin, and claim to have had “among the top five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives” (40). Having two forms of healing that I practice, I enjoy how my traditional Mexican healing involves a spiritual aspect as well as a health aspect. However instead of magic mushrooms, I have a cultural use of sage burning to cleanse and purify my soul of negative energy. Burning sage in spaces also helps clear the negative energy present. Along with enjoying the natural aspect of burning such, much like magic mushrooms containing psilocybin, they both “produce persisting positive change in attitudes, moods, and

A majority of Native American tribes have their own traditions about health and illness. These traditions are not based on todays modern sciences. Instead, they derive from the tribe’s beliefs on harmony. “Healing occurs when someone is restored to harmony and connected to universal powers.” (NLM) To what extent are native cultures entitled to ownership of native medical practices and curatives?  Should they be financially reimbursed or are they ethically entitled to refuse to share native knowledge?

Many traditional Native medicines and healing practices were discouraged with the advent of Western medicine, but now there is a movement to return to traditional ways (Zubek, 1994, p. 1924). Modern Western medicine treats the symptoms to cure a diseased state when the body is out of homeostasis. Native American healing traditions do this as well with herbs and plants suited to the purpose. These Native healing traditions also include sacred rituals, chants, and purification rites to help bring the spirit and mind of the afflicted back into balance. In effect, treating the whole person, not only the disease. A blending of these two healing practices could bring about better prognoses for today's patients. The purpose of this paper is

Native American traditional medicine and spiritual healing rituals go back for thousands of years, these traditions often focus on different variations of alternative medicine. This knowledge is passed on throughout generations, many of the tribes learn that by mixing natural plants such as herbs and roots they can make remedies with healing properties. It is believed that being healthy is when people reach a state of harmony not only spiritually, mentally but physically. To be able to overcome the forces that cause illness people must “operate in the context of relationship to four constructs —namely, spirituality (Creator, Mother Earth, Great Father); community (family, clan, tribe/nation); environment (daily life, nature, balance); and self (inner passions and peace, thoughts, and values)” (Portman & Garret, 2006, p.453). In this research paper I am going to show evidence of the tremendous influence that Native American medicine and spiritual healing have over modern medicine in the course of healing

Ritual healing involves “health, emotion, identity, religion, self, suffering, modernity, and colonial situation”, according to Thomas Csordas, who spent a lot of time on the Indian lands with anthropologists studying the Navajo and their daily lives. There is one ceremonial healing practice that was studied in depth by Thomas Csordas and that is the Night Way Ceremony.

On the other hand, the healing powers that sorcerers possess are respected in other communities. Witch doctors, although not real witches, are trusted to concoct remedies to protect others against witchcraft. Furthermore, Shamans are believed to be endowed with the power to both cure and kill. The Shaman has the ability to go into a trance to interact with the spirit world on behalf of the community. Although there are varying opinions on the practicing of witchcraft, it still continues today whether it is accepted or not.

The healing rituals in the Navajo tribes included the spiritual healing rituals, which are a type of medicine or cure, which is believed to be being assisted by the spirits (Vogel 338). The Native Americans believed so much in these rituals especially the Navajo were the most community that believed in the capacity of this spiritual ritual healing. These healing influenced by the medium, which was the medicine, operate whom known as Shaman who would perform these rituals and will be able to heal a sick person. This paper will focus mainly on the beliefs, ceremonies and ritual events that were believed by the Navajo one of the Native Indians to treat their patients. It also argues ways and methods the Navajo used for their

The United States is home to five hundred and seventy-eight federally recognized indigenous tribes and twenty-one of those tribes reside in Arizona. In fact, Arizona State Tempe campus is located on the ancestral homelands of the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) people. Native American healing is a unique system that varies from tribe to tribe but most share similar characteristics of treatment. Native American healing goes back thousands of years before the European settlers migrated to North America. The indigenous people at the time were familiar with plants, herbs, smoke, prayers, and chants to treat illnesses. It is believed that the indigenous population may have known more about the plants and herbs than today which kept illness and disease away. Native Americans believe in being in harmony with oneself, mother earth, and father sky. Native American healing takes a holistic approach which focuses on the body, mind, emotion and spirit during treatment. According to National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), “Native American (NA) traditional healing is identified as a whole medical system that encompasses a range of holistic treatments used by indigenous healers for a multitude of acute and chronic conditions or to promote health and wellbeing.”2 When the Europeans migrated to North America they brought new diseases such as smallpox which devastated the indigenous population. Millions of the indigenous

pipe bowl is made of stone or clay, because the Earth and all things Earthen are

The Shaman is defined by a person who can mediate between the natural and supernatural world, can foretell the future, and most importantly, can ‘magically’ cure illnesses and injuries. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was known throughout the Native American culture as this Shaman, or medicine man. He used illogical means to cure the Native American illnesses that ended up saving his life. “We did our healing by making the sign of the cross on the sick persons, breathing on them, saying the Lord’s prayer and a Hail Mary” (124). The surviving Spaniards used these methods in order to survive, but they did not know what they were doing. A typical Shaman uses metaphysical means of healing, which is exactly what the Spaniards did in order to stay alive.

Native American medicine is a holistic approach that emphasizes the treatment of body, mind, and spirit. Because Native Americans believe that the health of an individual is inextricably linked to the people and objects surrounding that person, their healing practices promote harmony among everyone in a community--and with the physical environment and the spiritual world as well.

Certainly, this treatment does utilize nurses and trained psychologist and counselors as part of the “western” tradition of psychological healing, which does show some many comparable methodologies that are utilized in psychiatric treatments. However, the cultural focus of interventionist counseling strategies involving the philosophy of the medicine wheel provide a culture-specific focus on the needs of the indigenous patient. In many cases, the processing of aboriginal substance abusers provides a way to return to the roots of their own culture in the healing

Another characteristic of an indigenous religion deals with the emphasis placed on the spiritual specialists. The general consensus is that anyone can have personal or direct access to spirits or that which is unseen, yet felt (democratized shamanism). There is no special requirement in most indigenous systems that stipulate ‘who’ can commune or interact with spirits, however, as a general rule, many feel that it is best to leave interactions with spirits to those that have been taught or trained through ritual or purification of some sort. Most indigenous religions are not written down, but based on oral

Aboriginals view healing as a journey which a person embarks on to help them reconnect or feed their soul and spirits. Their spiritual and strong connection to their surrounding lands is a key part of their healing journey (Douglas, 2013). In Canada, when an individual is sick we prescribe them with antibiotics or medication to fight the illness. This is our current way of “healing”. Today, we are seeing a push from many Aboriginals to combine traditional and modern medicine into their healing process (Douglas, 2013). To my surprise, some of our current medical practices today steam from our Indigenous roots, such as acupuncture, herbal medicines and naturopathy. Presently, there are more Indigenous communities in Canada who participate in combining traditional healing practices into their healing journey. This

In the book “Spirit Healing Native American Magic & Medicine” by Mary Dean Atwood she claims how ritual helps all the negativity get blocked out. “Ritual quiets the mind, making it accessible for spiritual acts, and a quiet mind blocks out negativity and wasted energy. Spiritual songs and prayers give power to the person performing them” (Pg. 114). Helping people overpower their negative thought to live a natural healthy live and a live with no stress.to be in harmony with themselves and be incapable to feel happy of themselves. Instead of buying stress reliving pills that have multitude effects. Jessica talks about how stress is a key factor. “Stress in an important cause of many health problems and it considerably weakens the immune system.