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The Power of Traditional Healing at Native American Health Center

Paradigm: Nevertheless taken from annual Water Walk

Weblog Contribution: Janet King, MSW, Native American Health Eye

Traditional healing has been a office of Native American Health Center (NAHC) for a very long time in many unlike forms. In recent times, traditional healers come to clinic sites ii days a month to perform 1-on-one sessions with members, besides as group meetings. All departments at NAHC are invited to prepare up appointments for their members to see the traditional healer.

Traditional healing is very important to our members because of the cultural and spiritual attribute

There have been sessions with all staff (participation is voluntary) as well as doing a circumvolve with Elders, who used to meet on a weekly basis at NAHC, which has now moved to a virtual platform on a monthly basis. Healing takes various forms: listening to the person or group members, exchanging some ideas, giving guidance, prayer and songs. Many written report feeling uplifted afterwards a session and often request subsequent sessions in following months.

Traditional healing is very of import to our members because of the cultural and spiritual aspect. While psychological services are expert for many, some of our members seek out a spiritual pathway to maintain wellness and some do both. Oft times when members are seeing the traditional healer they also have a counselor and many times the advisor attends the healing session as well.

Our traditional healing helps to recover from these losses.

When nosotros do patient satisfaction surveys and focus groups many times the parts of our services that go high marks are our traditional services. In the past nosotros take had naming ceremonies and wiping of the tears ceremonies. These are ceremonies that bring nigh healing and identity. Our ceremonies were outlawed for a long fourth dimension until the 1978 passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Human action. This constabulary has helped to restore the wellness that our ceremonies produce. Naming ceremonies give meaning, identity and purpose to ane's life and wiping of the tears ceremony brings closure to grief and loss. Native Americans accept a lot of unresolved grief from federal policies that took children away to be raised in boarding schools against the will of their communities, land loss, culture loss and broken treaties and promises in exchange for land and resources. Our traditional healing helps to recover from these losses.

We also have events involving traditional healing. We take an annual h2o walk where nosotros again revitalize culture by honoring and respecting water – the source that makes life possible on Earth. Forth with all of the cultural teachings, respecting and treating World elements as relatives ensures that nosotros would care for them just like family members. Our traditional healing brings pregnant and purpose to our lives which combat depression and suicide. Getting together at these events helps to heal the trauma of beingness separated from each other and gives respite from having to operate in the dominant culture which many times has values that are opposite to values in Native American civilization.

Our traditional services are for everybody. Many of our non-Native American members also brand appointments with the traditional healer and many community based organizations participate in our events. Nosotros strengthen our Native American community while making connections and relationships with people from other groups and organizations. An upshot of our traditional component is rebuilding community, strengthening individuals and restoring culture. Earlier colonization Native Americans did not have the high prevalence of sure diseases like we do today because we had a civilisation that produced health. Traditional healing and culture is restoring that health. Traditional healing also aligns with the Trauma Informed Care approach of non asking what is wrong with you but asking what happened to you.

You can learn more about traditional healing at NAHC Hither.