Improving the dire health problems faced by many Native American
communities is central to their cultural, political, and economic well
being. However, it is still too often the case that both theoretical
studies and applied programs fail to account for Native American
perspectives on the range of factors that actually contribute to these
problems in the first place. The authors in Medicine Ways examine the
ways people from a multitude of indigenous communities think about and
practice health care within historical and socio-cultural contexts.
Cultural and physical survival are inseparable for Native Americans.
Chapters explore biomedically-identified diseases, such as cancer and
diabetes, as well as Native-identified problems, including historical
and contemporary experiences such as forced evacuation, assimilation,
boarding school, poverty and a slew of federal and state policies and
initiatives. They also explore applied solutions that are based in
community prerogatives and worldviews, whether they be indigenous,
Christian, biomedical, or some combination of all three. Medicine Ways
is an important volume for scholars and students in Native American
studies, medical anthropology, and sociology as well as for health
practitioners and professionals working in and for tribes. Visit the
UCLA American Indian Studies Center web site
