Rare gifts
The myths and legends of indigenous healers and the medicine ways of tribal societies around the world have been fodder for the popular imagination and the myth makers of Madison Avenue for a very long time. Unfortunately, both either ignore or belie a greater truth and treasure
The prayers and labors of Native healers and the traditions and knowledge they carry and preserve are rare gifts indeed. Much as a practitioner of the western medical tradition must make a commitment of many years, involving college, medical school and residency before they are permitted to call themselves Medical Doctors, so too Native Healers must make a lifelong commitment to their calling. Unlike medical doctors, there is no insurance company which to bill for their efforts.
While the western tradition of medicine has accomplished major and beneficial advances in the last couple of hundred years, the weak point of the western tradition is its reliance on synthetic compounds and the side effects they produce. It is worth remembering here that the so-called opioid crisis began with a doctor’s prescription.
The Native Healer faces an entirely different set of challenges. There is no drug company sales rep taking the Native Healer out to a three-martini lunch or paying an honorarium to attend a “conference” on the French riviera or the Virgin Islands. No, the Native Healer must spend years learning what plant provides medicine for which disorder and in what quantities. Also, what processes or prayers are required to activate the medicine and/or prevent side effects. This is more calling than career as there is no pot of gold at the end of this residency.
Over the last couple of decades there has been an increasing respect for older medicine traditions under the catchall label of Alternative Medicine. It is encouraging to see at least some recognition for the efforts and knowledge of Native Healers. The problem is that as Alternative Medicine has gained acceptance within the broader society, sometimes attracting major companies to nibble around the edges, it still more a labor of love than a way to make a living.
Another issue facing both Native Healers and those in need of their services is a matter of access. They generally don’t advertise, and it is often difficult for people who do not live in a Native community to know whom they can trust and whom they cannot. It is important though, for those of us who value the healers and the traditions they carry, to support their work by sharing with the public the ones who we know to be genuine and effective.
It is for this reason that I pen this column, I do not as a general rule advocate for commercial interests in this column, but I do in this case because if we do not support the work of our Native Healers, we will not have any.
Cindy Quay is a Healer of the Menominee People whose skill and effectiveness I can personally attest to. She has treated both myself and my wife for conditions which western medicine offered only synthetic narcotics whose side effects we found unacceptable. I would not recommend her if I did not personally know and trust her work and commitment to the old traditions. She can be reached at https://cindissacredgarden-com.3dcartstores.com/