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| Turtle Island and Tree of Life, by DarkArtistic Iroquois creation story |
When I met Elva the first thing she impressed upon me was an absolute dedication to helping her community heal. Early on Elva corrected me when I called her a "healer," saying that she is merely a "helper" and that the only one who can heal is the person in need, through the will of the Creator. As we got to know one another Elva shared more as she gained trust in me, opening doors to me that I never knew existed. This time at Juddah's Place built an essential foundation for me to understanding our unique perspective, as Indigenous peoples, one which incorporates not only mind, body, and emotion in relation to health. I came face to face with spirit during my time at Juddah's, learning that Indigenous perspectives, specifically Haudenosaunee, of health are inseparable from spirit. I also learned that there is a gaping wound in the relationship between Western and Traditional medicine- one that Juddah's means to heal in their own unique way.
As I joined the class late (I didn't know it was being offered) I started 4 weeks after it began. I've been doing a bunch of catch up readingI've read Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill's (2003) Traditional Medicine in Contemporary Contexts before, for other classes, as well as for my own research. Each time I read it I understand a little more. It is the perfect reading to begin this course. Dr. Martin-Hill provides an overview of Traditional Medicine on Turtle Island, situating the concept of "Indigenous knowledge" as a framework to address the effects colonization has had on Indigenous epistemologies, which have been marginalized, essentialized, reduced, and appropriated since contact (p. 3.) Martin-Hill's paper has been a keystone in the work of developing an understanding of what Traditional Indigenous medicine is in relation to the present-day post-colonial construct of the West. I appreciate that she draws attention to the complex task that defining "traditional medicine" has been, mostly because it's hard to translate an "Indigenous" concept that varies from nation to nation and language to language. For example, she makes a point to note that the term "traditional" is in and of itself a colonized construct introduced to Indigenous peoples by the British, who used this word to establish a separateness from their own form of healing, which was assumed to be more effective (p. 7.)
The privileging of Western over Indigenous epistemologies is solidified throughout the paper, something that is probably the biggest theme I experienced in working within the Western healthcare system. One thing I experienced that hammered home how much work is still needed in this regard still sits inside me today: the Makayla Sault case. I remember the entire New Credit and Six Nations community reverberating with fear, judgment, animosity, defensiveness, and sadness as our healing ways were put on trial. It made me think that the "progress" made through the Aboriginal Healing Strategy, National Aboriginal Health Organization, and resulting Aboriginal programming through Aboriginal Health Access Centres and other Indigenous-specific, community-driven organizations were proverbial bones being thrown at Indigenous peoples- that when the rubber hit the road in Canadian healthcare, that Indigenous healing resulted to little more than superstitious hoodoo than the resilient, time-tested, complex, and vibrant ways of knowing that kept our people healthy for millenia prior to contact.
One of the biggest fears Elva had working in a more "official" capacity at Juddah's, one that keeps Juddah's mostly funded through private donation and fee-for-service payments, is a mistrust of appropriation of intellectual property. Whether it's through research or chart documentation, the mistrust is intense. Elva reflected Martin-Hill's (2003) assertion that elders have been apprehensive to share traditional knowledge out of a fear of having their healing methods controlled by colonizers (p. 28.) This is a very real fear as once you enter agreements with Candian government, you agree to oversight. This doesn't contribute to our goal of self-determination. It's also a catch-22: if OHIP or the LHIN can't regulate services, they won't fund them, which puts the oness on the patient for providing the funding. Elva has spoken of her conflicted feelings of being paid for something she (as well as her community) feels is her responsibility to her people saying, "deer meat and cloth don't put gas in my car when I need to drive to Oneida," meaning that she is expected to provide these services without any real reciprocity. Martin-Hill (2003) points this contradiction out stating, "traditional medicine as a sacred activity... cannot be bought or sold and the modern need for traditional healers to have stable incomes to support their families" (p. 29.)
The reading for week 2 sets up the class to understand the foundation of why Indigenous peoples' health and well-being is unique. Herring & Waldram (2006) provide a brief overview of Indigenous peoples pre-and post contact, explaining the complexities that contribute to the current conditions of Indigenous people’s health & well being- namely, the effects of colonization through the dimensions of biology, culture, and legal status (p. 3.) One of the pervasive threads that runs through most of the research on Indigenous disparities in health is tied to residential school. Herring & Waldram confirm this as well stating, "residential school syndrome remains a legacy of these institutions" (p. 16.)
The National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH) (2012) expands on this, concluding in their review of Indigenous health in Canada that, due to the "social, cultural, and political" factors of colonization, "It is clear from these &ndings that Aboriginal people generally have poorer health than the general Canadian population has" (p. 29.)
Martin Cooke’s (2007) examination and comparison of the shifts in the Human Development Index of Indigenous peoples versus non-Indigenous peoples found that there is indeed a large disparity between indices of human development (life expectancy, education, and income) in the colonized Western countries of Canada, US, NZ, AU. He concluded that while these nations generally have levels of human development, when Indigenous HDI data was extracted, the disparities became clearly “inconsistent,” indicating more work is needed to improve the health and well being of all peoples, including Indigenous peoples. (Cooke et al, 2007, 1-11.)
Week 3 brings us from understanding the foundation of how colinization has affected Indigenous epistemologies and health to touching upon the Indigenous worldview. Steckley & Cummins (2008) bridges the epistemological violence through an example of how our knowledge was suppressed. The potlach ceremony of the Northwest coast was banned from 1884-1951 (p. 178.) I appreciated Rice's (2005) question about what it means to be bi-cultural. I often feel guilty about my own lack of knowledge about my Indigenous identity, but also acknowledge that I was brought up in a world where the dominant ideology won out. Rice supports this stating "a bi-cultural person will most likely be brought up with one predominant culture" (p. 2.) I've always been a non-linear thinker, connected to the land, and revere spirit in everything. Reading Rice's first chapter continues to affirm that my ancestral links to concept such as dualism, cyclical time, and sacred spaces are real and valid (pp. 3-11.) I think about this a lot as I entertain the notion of having children with a non-native man as well. Reading books like Rice's, taking courses like this one, and working with and for my Indigenous community are all ways I'm bringing a balanced perspective to my and my family's lives. I look forward to what this course brings. I have to start somewhere.
Sources:
Cooke, M., Mitrou, F., Lawrence, D., Guimond, E., & Beavon, D. (2007). Indigenous well-being in four countries: an application of the UNDP's human development index to Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. BMC international health and human rights, 7(1), 1.
Herring, A., Waldram, J., & Young, T.K. (2006). An Overview of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Chapter 1, In Herring, A., Waldram, J., & Young, T.K. (2006) pages 3-23. Aboriginal peoples in Canada: Historical, cultural and epidemiological perspectives, 2nd Edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
National Aboriginal Health Organization. (2003). Traditional Medicine in Contemporary Contexts. Available at: http://www.naho.ca/english/pdf/research_tradition.pdf
National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (2012). The State of Knowledge of Aboriginal Health: A Review of Aboriginal Public Health in Canada. Prince George, BC: Author. Chapter 1, Key Health Issues pages 9-30. Available at: http://www.nccah-ccnsa.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/52/SOK_report_EN_web.pdf
Rice, B., Oakes, J.E., & Riewe, R.R. (2005). Seeing the world with Aboriginal eyes. A Four Directional Perspective on Human and Non-Human Values, Cultures and Relationships on Turtle Island.
Steckley, J. L., & Cummins, B. D. (2008). Religious colonialism. Chapter 17, In Steckley, J. L., & Cummins, B. D. (2008) pages 172-179. Full circle Canada’s First Nations. Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.
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