Essay On Native American Healing

The practice of healing is a relevant matter that can involve purely spiritual, purely physical, or both means of treatment. It can differ according to a cultural group’s norms and rituals. Obviously, theories of spiritual energy cannot be authenticated by the scientific method, and thus are typically dismissed as non-empirical beliefs by the scientific community, which is a straw man fallacy. Yet, at times, even doctors have no other explanation than to use the term “miracle,” whether believers in a non-physical essence or not. The outlook one takes on their illness has been known to either worsen or help their condition. Therefore, healing has connections with spirituality and science in the sense that true healing is only complete if
mind, body, and spirit are all well. As apparent in Lame Deer Seeker of Visions, Native Americans, when sick, were healed by a “medicine man” (Deer and Erdoes 159).
White society considers this terminology to represent a type of clinical doctor who might prescribe one with the necessary drugs to improve or at least slow the effects of an illness. Native American medicine beliefs and practices differ greatly from the culturally defined western model of healing using pharmaceutical, surgical, and conventional medicine (Goelz). In comparison, the Native American interpretation of medicine man, or wicasa wakan, is much deeper and more complex. For example, it covers four specific types of healers. The pejuta wicasa is the man of herbs, the yuwipi is the man who uses the power of the rawhide and stones to find a cure, the waayatan is the man of vision, and the wapiya is what one might call a witch doctor. Reality is, each type has different forms of healing, but none merely use physical medications. Unlike white society, Native Americans are immensely connected to nature and their own state of minds. In Lame Deer Seeker of Visions, John (Fire) Lame Deer states, “He does not cure with the herbs alone; he must also have the wakan power to heal.” Among various American Indian groups, the wakan is considered a great spiritual power of supernatural origin belonging to some natural objects. This knowledge assists in the proper diagnosis and therefore treatment of a patient because indigenous cultures hold no
estrangement between healing and a connection to the sacred (Deer and Erdoes 159-160). Some healing systems combine several beliefs or concepts. Throughout history, people have used plants for both food and medicine. Herbal medicine is effective when used properly because herbs contain organic chemicals with healing properties used to treat illness and disease throughout the entire body. These dietary substances have been used in Native American culture for generations, and they are now popularizing in the United States with people of all ethnicities (Goelz). Many people believe these products labeled "natural" are always safe and good for them. This is not necessarily true. Herbal medicines do not have to go through the testing that drugs do. In fact, particular herbs can instigate serious detriment, hence the “Medicine, Good and Bad” chapter in Lame Deer Seeker of Visions (Deer and Erdoes 159). Religious and spiritual concerns remain particularly prominent during times of illness, suffering, and death.
Spiritually is not necessarily religion, but simply a sense of connection to something or someone of higher divinity. In regards to spirituality, scientific researchers continue to explore a variety of scientific hypotheses concerning the remote effects of customs like prayer in the healing process (Dossey). In fact, persuasive evidence indicates that individuals who remain on a spiritual walk of some sort often live much longer than individuals who do not. Obtained over the course of the past few decades, the bulk of existing proof is more than enough to establish the reality, rather than myth, of a healing effect. Specific cases have been published in books, articles, and other reliable sources. Examples found demonstrate the utter efficiency of spiritual healing in a range of bodily conditions from mild to terminal
(Hodges). Unexpectedly, a survey of family physicians concluded that ninety-nine percent of people in this career strongly believe that spiritual faith can heal and seventy-five percent believe in the necessity and power of prayer for a patient to recover. Furthermore, a national study of American physicians discovered that approximately fifty-nine percent personally pray for their patients, forty-two percent encourage their patients to pray for healing, and fifty-five percent claim to have seen miraculous recoveries in at least one patient. Consequently, the Joint Commission came into existence, and it requires all health institutions in the United States to have a process in place to accommodate the spiritual interests of every incoming patient (Dossey). The acceptance of a role for spirituality alongside fundamental science in modern medicine is, no doubt, underway. To dismiss spirituality in healing is scientifically invalid because spiritual concerns can improve patient satisfaction and overall health (Springer). A strong faith can assist one in coping with issues and illnesses they experience in life and enable the impact of those problems to be, or at least appear to be, less substantial (Dossey). Even as intellectual human beings, we have relatively limited knowledge concerning the phenomenon and actual manner of healing (Hodges). Having a tripartite view of human nature, I firmly believe that the spirit, soul, and body of an individual are intricately interconnected. Therefore, healing has associations with spirituality and science in the sense that genuine healing is only ample if mind, body, and spirit are each healthy. William James, an American philosopher and psychologist, made a significant observation: "I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed belief that certain kinds of phenomena are impossible" (Dossey).