Native American
Medicine
Native American
Medicine
The gathered information passed
down from Grandmother to medicine man or
woman over thousands of years by the many
North American tribes is now called
collectively "Native American
Medicine."
Some of the practices and
remedies are from specific tribes, but
more often these are all gathered
together and the origin of a specific
treatment has been lost among the
ages.
As well it should be, perhaps,
for the tribes of North America all
believed one thing in common, that we are
all at one with every other living thing
in the sky and earth, and the elements
are here for us to draw on their strength
and cure disease, if only we would stand
still long enough to listen.
We are talking about medical
practices over 40,000 years old.
Traditions, cures, dances and remedies
handed down through orally within a
family and tribe.
It is an interesting fact that
the Native American Medicine tradition
was going on around the same time as TCM
( Traditional Chinese Medicine) on the
other side of the world, and that both
these traditions of practicing medicine
are similar to Ayurveda ( medicine from
India), in yet another part of the
world.
All are based on the same
beliefs-that your lifestyle and natural
setting be taken into consideration
before a specific type of treatment is
recommended.
Balance is the goal when
achieving perfect health and emotional
spirit.
The subtle differences in the
practice of such Native American Medicine
are that cures and herbs are specific to
the regions and the types of indigenous
plants that are used.
These plants are believed to
have their own spirits and therefore
their individual intelligence, so that
the plants are often consulted as to how
best to help the patient.
The plants are asked for
permission to harvest them, and then
gratitude is shown after the harvest, a
practice which also can be found in
ancient Celtic cultures.
In Wales, pieces of copper or
other metal were buried near the plant or
under the tree from which the bark, root,
or leaves had been harvested, in North
American Medicine; tobacco is often used
as an offering of gratitude.
After these medicinal plants are
harvested, they are applied in
conjunction with chants, prayers, and
dances to increase their power and to ask
the spirits to help with the healing
process.
A purification procedure is used
before and after the healing session;
smudging is to burn an herb and let the
smoke wash over you and the room in which
the treatment will be/was
preformed.
Healers smudge between each
session to purify and cleanse them and to
release ant energy they might have
gathered from the sick
patient.
Sage and cedar drive away the
negative energy, like the energy released
with the pain from a sick person, or the
negative energy the healer has picked up
as a result of taking the pain from the
patient and into them.
Far from the cooking spice, sage
grows wild in many dry parts of North
America, especially in the Southwest, but
it can be found as far north as Eastern
Washington State.
Cedars has great healing and
soothing powers, but if you burn it, make
sure all of the smoke has dissipated
before you enter the room, it is also
poisonous.
Sweet grass invites positive and
happy spirits to join the healing circle,
and they like something sweet to be
placed in a corner of the room to snack
on during the session.
They love singing accompanied by
the sound of drums and
rattles.
The session will likely include
some acupressure (uses the fingertips
rather than needles), massage, and/or
therapeutic touch.
The laying on of the healer's
hands is very calming and is used to
soothe the patient as well as define
where the pain is radiating
from.
Pain radiates heat, and the
seasoned healer can feel this coming off
the patient in much the same way a mother
puts her hand on a sick child's forehead
to feel for fever.
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