SOCH111 – History of Healing
www.endeavour.edu.au
Session 7
Traditional Medicine in the
Americas
Department of Social
Sciences
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 2
Session Aims
o To describe the historical and cultural context
of North American Native Medicine
o To describe the historical and cultural context
of Native Medicine in Central and South
America
o To define North, Central and South American
worldviews
o To describe Native American Medicine
practices
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 3
The Americas
By CIA, original
political map
from Perry-
Castañeda
Library Map
Collection;
University of
Texas Library
Online - Public
Domain,
https://common
s.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?cu
rid=1839902
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 4
Ancient Americaso 12,000 years ago North
America and Asia were
connected
o Migrations appear to have
occurred around 9,500 BCE
o 1,000 BCE – shift toward
horticulture and
domestication
o Maize grown in Mexico
since 5,000 BCE, appeared
in N. America about 1,200
BCE
By Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/i
ndex.php?curid=348910
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 5
European Exploration of the
Americaso 1492 – Columbus sailed from
Spain to the Americas
o 1497 – first English explorer
o 1604 – Nova Scotia found by
the French
o 1531 & 1532 – Spanish
expedition to Mexico and Peru
o 17th Century – English began
to establish settlements
o 1718 – French settled New
OrleansBy Sebastiano del Piombo - Metropolitan
Museum of Art, online collection, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curi
d=27554267
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 6
Indigenous Peoples of the
Americas
Two broad groupings:
o Arctic
• Alaska and arctic
Canada
o American Indians
• Northern America (US
and Canada)
• Middle America (Mexico
and Central America)
• South AmericaBy not indicated - http://www.old-
picture.com/mathew-brady-studio/Indians-
Group-of.htm Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.ph
p?curid=1650818
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 7
The Arctic
o The Arctic Circle –
Alaska and Canada
o Eskimo (Inuit and
Yupik/Yupiit) and Aleut
o Harsh winters, long
summer hours
o Formed bands based
on kinship and
marriage By Edward S. Curtis - from Inupiat Family from Noatak,
Alaska, 1929 Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=249
53870
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 8
Inuit
o Spirituality is grounded in the belief that anua
(soul) exists in all people and animals
o Families, individuals and bands follow a
complex system of taboos to assure that
animals continue to make themselves available
to hunters
o Rituals and ceremonies are performed before
and after hunting to assure hunting success
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 9
Inuit
o The Angakut is the
spiritual leader of the
band
o He interprets the
causes of sickness or
lack of hunting
success
o Enters trance through
drumming and
chanting
By Nicolas M. Perrault - Own work, CC0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.p
hp?curid=12706731
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 10
North American Nation Regions
South East
o Cherokee, Choctaw,
Chickasaw, Creek,
Seminole
o Area predominately
agricultural with
chiefdoms and hereditary
classes
o Grew corn, beans,
squash, tobacco
o Hunted deer and fished
The Plains
o Sioux, Blackfoot,
Cheyenne,
Comanche, Arapaho
and Kiowa
o Had similar material
items such as tepee,
tailored leather
clothing, headdresses
and other battle
regalia, and drums
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 11
North American Nation Regions
Southwest
o Agricultural products: corn, beans, squash, cotton, wild
game and fishing
o Pueblo (Zuni/Hopi) – apartment-like cliff dwellings, dances
and dolls, fine pottery, textiles and sand paintings
o Navajo – complex clan
systems, healing rituals, fine
textiles and jewellery
o Apache, Yuman, Pima and
Papago focused on
expression culture through
oral traditions
By Lorax - Own work CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=121435
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 12
North American Nation Regions
The Great Basin
o Mono, Paiute,
Bannock, Shoshone,
Ute, Gosiute, Washoe
o Mobile kin-based
bands
o Agriculture & Products:
seeds, small game,
bison, basketry, nets,
rock art and grinding
stones
The Plateau
o Salishan, Flathead, Nez
Perce, Yakama,
Kutenal, Modoc and
Klamath
o Excelled in material
innovation and
adapting other
technologies for their
own purposes
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 13
North American Nation Regions
Northwest coast
o Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian,
Kwakiutl, Bella Coola,
Chinook
o Abundant and reliable
supplies of salmon, sea
mammals, fish, variety of
plants
o Known for fine wood and
stone carvings, large
watercraft, memorial/totem
poles and basketry
California
o Hupa, Yurok, Pomo,
Yuki, Wintun, Maidu,
Yana
o Derived method of
leaching toxins from
acorn pulp to make
flour
o Known for basketry
and ritualised trade
fairs
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 14
Revision Questions
o How did climate and ecosystem play a role in the
indigenous cultures of North America and the
Arctic?
o List some of the similarities and differences
between the regional cultures of Native North
American tribes.
Other food for thought:o Based upon what you know from past lectures,
what do you expect the effects of colonisation were
on indigenous health?
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 15
o A system of belief
in which humans
are said to have a
relationship with a
spirit-being
o Usually an animal
o The totem serves
as a symbol
Totemism
By Paul Downey CC BY 2.0
(http://creativecommons.org/license
s/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 16
Native American Healing Practices
Health and wellbeing:
o Linked to spirituality
o Requires a close
connection to the
earth and living in
harmony with
nature/environment
o Recovering
wholenessBy Snežana Trifunović - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2647911
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 17
The Red Path
o Path to harmony
and wholeness in
nature
o Characterised by
cultural values
o Healers follow the
Red Path/Road
o It is the path of
goodBy Museum Expedition 1908, Museum Collection
Fund - Brooklyn Museum, No restrictions,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid
=34317957
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 18
Lakota Sioux Virtues
o Humility - Unsiiciyapi
o Perseverance -
Wowacintanka
o Respect - Wawoohola
o Honour - Wayuonihan
o Love - Cantognake
o Sacrifice – Icicupi
o Truth - Wowicake
o Compassion –
Wausilapi
o Bravery - Woohitike
o Fortitude -
Cantewasake
o Generosity -
Canteyuke
o Wisdom - Woksape
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 19
Native American Healing Practices
Bio-psycho-social-spiritual
approach to health:
o Herbs
o Manipulative therapies
o Ceremonies
o Music
o Prayer
o Storytelling and legendsBy Edward S. Curtis - Library of
Congress, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/i
ndex.php?curid=7035569
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 20
Native American Healing Practices
Ceremony
o Symbolic healing
rituals
o Involve the patient,
family and community
in the healing process
o May last for days or
weeks
o Through participation
in songs, prayer,
music and dance
By Edward S. Curtis - Library of
Congress[1], Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=8043280
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 21
Symbolism and Ceremony
o Ceremonies
incorporate
symbolism, icons
and ritualistic objects
o Used to restore
harmony necessary
for health
o Provides powerful
healing synergyBy Joseph Henry Sharp - Own work by Ad Meskens.,
Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124
23616
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 22
Music – The Drum
o Sacred
significance
o Drumming
stimulates
physiological
responses that
have mystical
implications within
spiritual traditionsBy Quadell - Self-published work
by Quadell, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w
/index.php?curid=218082
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 23
Sacred Dance
“The sun descends upon the trees. The heat is hypnotic…
It is as if I am asleep.
Then the drums break, the voices of the singers gather
To the beat, the rattles shake all around
– mine among them.
I stand and move again, slowly, toward the center of the
universe in time,
In time, more and more closely in time.”
~ N. Scott Momaday, 1975 ~
(In Kracht, 1994)
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 24
Dance
o Dance can elevate one into
altered states of
consciousness to achieve
spiritual experience
o May be joined by ancestors
or facilitate shape-shifting
o Can facilitate key rites or
ceremony
• Sioux – Sundance
• Apache – Dance of Gahan
(mountain spirit)
• Kiowa – Gourd Dance By Montanabw - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php
?curid=20143641
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 25
Sacred Pipe
o In Lakota Sioux tradition,
the sacred pipe and
instructions was brought by
White Buffalo Calf Woman
o Integral part of Lakota
spiritual and cultural life
o Each part of the pipe holds
significance
o Symbolic of the fundamental relationship between all
things
o Used as a means to carry prayers upward to the Creator
or Great Mystery (Wakantanka)
Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2130608
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 26
Smudging
o Used as a means of
purification
o Involves the passing of
smoke over individuals
(including healers) and
throughout environments
• Cedar and Sage – dispel
negative energies
• Sweetgrass – attracts positive
energy
o Can facilitate healing as beneficial energy is drawn
in, and non-beneficial energy is drawn away
o Can be incorporated into other ceremonies
By Axel Kristinsson from Reykjavík, Iceland
(Western Redcedar) [CC BY 2.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via
Wikimedia Commons
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 27
Storytelling and Legend
o Oral traditions convey
information from one
generation to the next
o Stories contribute to
healing, offering faith and
tradition
o They are lessons that can
be applied to daily life, and
a connection to the past,
where the way of life
remains through the
storytellerBy unknown illustrator - Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index
.php?curid=32748514
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 28
Medicine Wheel - Cangleska
o Circular with a balanced
cross of two intersecting
lines that create four
sections
o Represents the circle of life,
with the intersecting lines
representing the roads in life
o Red Road is the good road
o Black Road is the bad road
o 4 sacred colours (red,
yellow, black, white)
By U.S. Forest Service Photo -
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/bighorn/, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curi
d=3358774
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 29
The Medicine Wheel
Image: cited as used under Creative Commons at
http://ojibweresources.weebly.com/medicine-wheel.html
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 30
Revision Questions
o List four of the components of Native North
American healing practice.
o What is the role of spirituality and community in
their healing philosophy?
Other food for thought:o Is Native American Healing a form of
Complementary Medicine?
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 31
Mexico and Central America
By U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -
CIA The World Factbook - Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=15784084
By Carport - Own work, C BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=986
4019
Central American CulturesPERIOD TIME CULTURES AND CULTURAL CENTRES
Palaeoindian 10,000-3500 BCE Stone age Amerindian cultures of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize
Archaic 3500-1800 BCE Neolithic agricultural settlements of Tehuacán
Formative BC 2000-250 CE Monte Alto culture; Unknown cultures of La Blanca and Ujuxste
Early Preclassic 2000-1000 BCEOlmec Tenochtitlan; Central Mexico cultures; Oaxaca; Mayas
Cerros, Nakbe
Middle Preclassic 1000-400 BCE Olmec, Oaxaca, Maya
Late Preclassic 400 BCE-200 CEMaya; Central Mexico Teotihuacan, Epi-Olmec: Gulf Coast, Western
Mexico
Classic 200-900 CE Classic Maya Centres: Teotihuacan, Zapotec
Early Classic 200-600 CE Maya; Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Palenque, Teuchtitlan
Late Classic 600-900 CE Maya; Teuchtitlan
Terminal Classic 800-900/1000 CE Maya; Uxmal
Postclassic 900-1519 CE Aztec, Mixtec, Tarascans, Totonac
Early Postclassic 900-1200 CE Cholula, Tula
Late Postclassic 1200- 1519 CE Tenochtitlan
Post-Conquest Until 1697 CE Central Peten
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 33
The Maya
o Flourished from ~1,000 BCE to 1,000 CE in
Mesoamerica
o Only Native American culture to have a fully developed
written language
By Daniel Schwen -
Own work, CC BY-
SA 4.0,
https://commons.wiki
media.org/w/index.p
hp?curid=7647000
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 34
Mayan Religion• Science and religion were the same
• Philosophy was that astronomy and
mathematics were priestly inventions
• Theologians were also scribes,
mathematicians, astronomers and
philosophers
• Religion was part of daily life
• Life and death is cyclical
• Everything has a soul
• Polytheistic
• Kinih Ahous (Sun God)
• Ah-Kinob - Healer
By Maudslay -
Cyrus Thomas
(1904) Public
Domain,
https://commons.w
ikimedia.org/w/ind
ex.php?curid=183
54650
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 35
Mayan Medicine
• Highly complex mixture of
shamanistic, empirical and
scientific practices
administered by specialist
healers
• Disease is a manifestation
of imbalance
• Healers sought to balance
the flow of life force
• 6 Principles of Mayan
HealingBy BobMak at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=4197231
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 36
Maya Medicine – 1st Principle
o Ch’ulel (life force) is
everywhere and
permeates everything
o From mountains,
rivers, plants, and
houses, to people
o Ch’ulel is spiritually
divine and binds
everyone and
everything togetherBy Photography by Wikipedia
User:MrX, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=38632806
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 37
Maya Medicine Principles
2nd Principle -
o There is no separation between the body and soul
3rd Principle –
o Recognition of natural cycles and veneration of
plants
4th Principle –
o Healing is comprehensive and integrative
approach with everybody
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 38
Maya Medicine Principles
5th Principle –
o Blood determines origin of illness and course of
treatment
6th Principle –
o Hot and cold
• Hot Symptom – fever, diarrhoea, vomiting
• Hot food – garlic, onion, peppers, ginger
• Cold Symptom – cramps, constipation, paralysis
• Cold food – cheese(Bley, 2011)
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 39
Maya Medicine
o Ix Chel – Mayan Moon Goddess
and goddess of medicine and
healing
o Ix Chel in her main form is Mother
Goddess and Weaver who set the
Universe in motion
o Chak Chel, the Old Moon
Goddess, called the Midwife of
Creation
By Artist unknown - Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17665232
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 40
Curandero/Curandera
o Curanderismo is a form of
Native American healing
o Includes:
• Prayer, herbal medicine,
healing rituals,
spiritualism, massage,
and psychic healing
• It is a system of
traditional beliefs that are
common amongst
Hispanic-American
communities
CC by SA
http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/borderrhetori
cs/images/2/2d/Curandera_by_Ochichi.jpg/revis
ion/latest?cb=20140720185746
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 41
The Aztecso Located in the South Central region of present-day
Mexico.
By
Provincias_tributarias_de_la_
Triple_Alianza_(s._XVI).svg:
YavidaxiuAztec_Empire_(orth
ographic_projection).from the
Atlas del México
prehispánico, special edition
of Arqueología Mexicana,
2000-07-05,
México.Aztec_Empire_(orthog
raphic_projection).svg, CC
BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.or
g/w/index.php?curid=9451425
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 42
Astrological Calendar
o Extended over solar year
of 365 days
• Divided into 18 months of
20 days
• Plus 5 unlucky days
o Religious/Ritual Calendar
• 260 days, 13 months of 20
days
• Each month is ruled by a
god
By Anagoria - Own work, CC BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.p
hp?curid=30763137
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 43
Aztec Religion
o Believed in the afterlife
o Heaven consisted of:
• Tonatiuh – heaven in
the sun (reserved for
heroes)
• Tlalocan – heaven on
earth (abode of rest)
• Mictlan – underworld
(reached by dead
after a dangerous
journey)
Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=839858
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 44
Aztec Religion
o The world was created by
a God under dual principle
• Tonacatecutli (male
principle) – Tonacacihuatl
(female principle)
o Toci (or Teteoinam) –
Mother goddess
o Huitzilopocchtli – God of
war
o Tlaloc – God of agriculture
o Quetzalcoatl – Wisdom
o Mictlantecutli - Death By British_Museum_Huaxtec_1.jpg:
Gryffindorderivative work:
Ophelia.summers (talk) - CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.
php?curid=15254577
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 45
Ticiotl (Medical Art)
o Believed to have been
developed by four wise
men
o Profound religious
elements
o Sickness could be
punishment by gods
• Eg. Tlaloc (god of waters)
responsible for rheumatic
aliments, gout, dampness
and cold syndromes
o Expert herbalistsBy Unknown, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=784341
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 46
Revision Questions
o What are the six principles of Mayan medicine?
o Explore the similarities and differences between
Aztec and Mayan medical thought.
Other food for thought:o The downfall of the Aztec civilisation was epidemic
new illnesses brought by the colonising Spanish—
according to Aztec medical thought, what might
they have believed to be the cause of these
illnesses?
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 47
South America
By Radosław Botev (own work
based on a PD map from
Demis) [CC BY-SA 2.5 pl
(http://creativecommons.org/lic
enses/by-sa/2.5/pl/deed.en)],
via Wikimedia Commons
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 48
The Incas
Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.or
g/w/index.php?curid=30532
By icelight from
Boston, MA,
US - Over
Machu Picchu,
CC BY 2.0,
https://common
s.wikimedia.org
/w/index.php?c
urid=4200556
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 49
Incan Religion
o Religion dominated every aspect of the Incan life
o Connected to the forces of nature and the success
of farming
o Polytheistic
• Viracocha – Creator god
• Inti – Sun god (source of warmth, light and
healthy crops)
• Mama-Quilla – Moon goddess
• Illapa – Thunder god (brought rains)
• Pacha-Mama – Earth goddess
• Mama-Cocha – Sea goddess
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 50
Incan Medicine
o Sophisticated
understanding of herbal
medicinal properties
• Bark of a tree produced
quinine – used to treat
cramps and chills
• Coca used for pain
• Hunters dipped arrows
in curare to paralyse
muscles of prey
o Neurosurgery – trepanation By Rama (talk · contribs) - Self-photographed,
CC BY-SA 2.0 fr,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curi
d=5097169
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 51
Herbs - Acai
o Euterpe oleracea
o Native to Central and
South America
o Amazonian palm berry
o Indications: anti-oxidant
with demonstrated anti-
cancer and anti-
inflammatory properties
o Available: juices,
powders, tablets,
capsulesBy P. S. Sena - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.ph
p?curid=37381224
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 52
Bromelain
o Ananas comosus L.
o Native to Central and South
America
o Pineapple extract
o Indications: relieving symptoms
of acute nasal congestion and
sinus inflammation, helps to
remove dead skin from burns
(topical), may be helpful for
osteoarthritis and muscle aches
o Available: powder, cream, tablet
and capsule
By David Monniaux (Own work) [GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html),
CC-BY-SA-3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by
-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 53
Cat’s Claw – Uña de Gato
o Uncaria tomentosa
o Native to Central and
South America
o Woody vine
o Indications: osteoarthritis
and rheumatoid arthritis,
stimulates immune system
o Available: inner bark is
used to make liquid
extracts, tinctures,
capsules and topical
applicationsBy Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen - List
of Koehler Images, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=255635
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 54
Integrating Native American
Healing
o Native Americans frequently combine allopathic
and traditional healing practices
o Spirituality needs to be incorporated in health
promotion and wellness
~Mitakuye oyasin -We are all related~
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 55
Revision Questions
o How does the philosophy of the Incan people
connect with all of the other Native American
cultures studied in this session?
Other food for thought:o What responsibility does conventional medicine
and pharmacy have to native forms of medicine in
the present day?
© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 56
Referenceso Benson, S & Baker, D (2005), Early civilisations in the Americas reference library,
Detroit.
o Bley B 2011, The Ancient Maya and Their City of Tulum, iUniverse, Bloomington.
o Boston College, Considering curanderismo: the place of traditional Hispanic folk healing in modern medicine, viewed 10 June 2016 <http://www.bc.edu/clubs/mendel/ethos/archives/2008/brown.shtml>.
o Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Native American, viewed 10 June 2016 <http://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American>.
o Guerra, F 1966, ‘Aztec medicine’, Medical History, 10, pp 315-338, viewed 10 June 2016, doi:10.1017/S0025727300011455, <http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8614139&fileId=S0025727300011455>.
o Harner, M 1980, The way of the shaman, Harper, San Francisco.
o Kayne, SB 2010, Traditional medicine: a global perspective, Pharmaceutical Press, London.
o Koithan, M & Farrell C 2010, ‘Indigenous Native American healing traditions’, J Nurse Pract. Jun 1;6(6):477-478.
o Marshall, J III 2001, The Lakota way: stories and lessons for living, Penguin, New York.
o National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Herbs at a glance, viewed 10 June 2016 <https://nccih.nih.gov/health/herbsataglance.htm>.
o Ryback, C & Decker-Fitts, A 2009, ‘Understanding Native American healing practices’, Counseling psychology quarterly, vol.22, no.3, pp 333-342.