Medicine People

Medicine People


Healing practices of First Nations people encompass the healing beliefs of a therapeutic approach that combines spirituality, ceremony, herbalism, nutrition and the family, in treating a wide range of physical and emotional ailments. First Nations medicine uses a holistic approach that emphasizes the treatment of body, mind and spirit (University of Alberta 2004, 1–131). To First Nations, the term medicine is not restricted to herbal or chemical remedies for illness, although it can, of course, include these things. Medicine traditionally includes spiritual energy and enlightenment. The medicine people of traditional societies were powerful people who communicated with the spirit world. They used their knowledge and powers to benefit the community and strengthen spiritual balance. In traditional First Nations societies, medicine people had the job of restoring a person’s balance—physically, emotionally and spiritually (Kainai Board of Education et al 2005, 89). Modern medicine people are trained over the years as healers. The healer is a link to the spiritual world and is held in very high regard. The healer may prescribe herbal remedies to relieve symptoms of an ailment. Purification rituals may be used to cleanse the body (University of Alberta 2004, 1–131).