Advanced nursing care and general health care for American Indians and Alaskan Natives is a challenging but exciting proposition for healthcare practitioners in the United States. These populations’ distinctive historical backgrounds, cultural diversity, and traditional understanding should lead not only to applying holistic and culturally appropriate ways of health service delivery but also to a tailor-made healthcare model. This conversation highlights yet underscores the pathologies, the ancestral treatment, and the traits of the medicine men/women among native Americans.
Causes of Illness
American Indians and Alaskan Natives believed that the cause of disease was a lack of harmony between individuals, community representatives, the natural environment, and the spiritual world. For many Indigenous peoples, health is the state of balance and harmony in the person’s relationships with others and the environment (Ritter & Graham, nd). Lessening to tribal laws or principles results in adverse outcomes such as sickness, disability, long-term bad luck, etc. (OMH, 2018). As such, the point of view helps demonstrate the central role of the spiritual and environmental balance in the localization of disease and, last but not least – its instant treatment.
Healing Plants and Herbs
Indigenous healing processes among the Aboriginals in Canada are deeply connected with the surrounding plant life and are a crucial part of their tradition of purifying spirit and restoring balance. Sage, in particular, is used to defend against unclean forces and provides healing to ailments caused by digestive, respiratory, and skin problems. Like cedar, another efficiently utilized plant known for its relatively mild medicinal value, cedar is mixed with sage and sweetgrass in breakings of kind. These preparations talk about the emphasis placed on the soul, mind, and body, which shows the curing system’s wholeness. (National Cancer Institute, 2016).
Medicine Men and Their Approach to Healing
The shamans, or traditional doctors, take on a unique place in the medicine of the American Indians and Alaska. They usually lead by example, using their communication and listening skills and exhibiting their knowledge of traditional/spiritual healing practices. They are the ones who celebrate by undertaking sessions and ceremonies, including the use of sacred plants for their practice and rituals performed to regain the harmony and balance that is obtained in life. Students will be able to understand the holistic approach, which tries to address the person as a whole rather than focusing on symptoms or diseases alone (OMH, 2018). Through this philosophy, it is understood “that powers beyond are needed for the harmony of the person as well as that of the world” and the community’s well-being.
Conclusion
The healthcare givers who are aware of the cultural differences, religious and traditional life of the American Indian and Alaskan Native people should be, hence, elementary professionals. To these people, health and disease have a duality and fusion, and they consider healing to be a combination of elements, including spirits, the environment, and the community. Nurses, health professionals, doctors, and others must be extremely sensitive to these traditional beliefs when providing care. In these instances, they must try to combine modern medical treatments with cultural sensitivities. Through considerate and embracing care, the professionals in the health sector will be capable of dealing with these populations and addressing their spiritual and physical health concerns.
References
Ritter, L., & Graham, D. H. (n.d.). Chapter 7: American Indian and Alaskan Native Populations. In Multicultural Health. Cognella, Inc.
National Cancer Institute. (2016, October 3). Addressing Cancer Disparities Among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLRCh8tWwzY
OMH. (2018). Heart Disease and American Indians/Alaska Natives | Office of Minority Health. Minorityhealth.hhs.gov. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/heart-disease-and-american-indiansalaska-natives
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