ALASKA NATIVE TRADITIONAL HEALING

CULTURAL VALUES

In striving to provide the best healing practices--either western, traditional Alaska Native, or alternative therapies--the importance of connecting with a patient by understanding his or her personal and cultural history can not be overlooked. Establishing a trust-based connection between patient and physician, or healer, is more likely to involve the patient in the healing process, improve treatment compliance and efficacy, and possibly motivate the  patient to expand the healing  holistically towards personal health and wellness, and perhaps even to the larger community.

 The beauty of working with relatively small communities, such as those of Alaska’s rural villages, is that small changes have the potential to make a big impact. Imagine, for example, working in an isolated community of 300 where half the adults smoke tobacco. Implementing a culturally appropriate smoking cessation program that produces results would greatly reduce the longterm complications of smoking such as bronchitis, lung cancer, and emphysema within that population. Prevention at all levels through a partnership between traditional healing and western medical practices could be a very effective tool in this setting.

 As an introduction to understand the people of Alaska’s rich and diverse Native cultures, a list of 10 shared values inherent to each is provided below. Each cultural group, however, has its own unique set of values that go beyond this list.

1.  Show respect to others. Each person has a special gift.

2.  See connections.  All things are related.

3.  Honor your elders.  They show you the way to live.

4.  Accept what life brings.  You cannot control many things.

5.  Have patience.  Some things can not be rushed.

6.  Pray for guidance.  Many things are not known.

7.  Live carefully.  What you do will come back to you.

8.  Take care of others.  You can not live without them.

9.  Share what you have.  Giving makes you richer.

10.  Know who you are.  You are a reflection of your family.

More information can be found at the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.