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"As individuals, we need to become balanced to heal.  We have to learn to become us. 
Sharing and talking in groups helps us to be well." 
—Dr. Rita Blumenstein, Traditional Healer, Tribal Doctor,
Medicinal Flora of Alaska Natives, page 3, 1999.
 

Dr. Rita's Healing Touch:  Honoring Alaska's First Certified Tribal Doctor
February 18, 2006
As part of my interest in Alaska Native traditional healing, I attended an annual gathering in February 2006, "Honoring Our Wisdom Keepers," in Anchorage, Alaska to recognize and honor the achievements of traditional healer and tribal doctor Rita Pitka Blumenstein. Auntie Rita, as many call her, is  from Tununak, a Yup'ik Eskimo village located on Nelson Island along the Bering Sea coast of Southwest Alaska.  Rita is of Yup¹ik, Athabascan, Aleut, and Russian heritage.

Rita is petite in stature but with a lion¹s heart. She is credited for always smiling, and instilling a positive feeling with all who come into contact with her. I was eager to hear what she had to say, and hoped for a chance meeting. In the western world, Rita is the first certified tribal doctor in Alaska, but in the way of her people, she has always be a healer. While Rita can not explain the source of her healing gifts, she acknowledges that the gift is one to share, and not to keep. So, this she does, formally at Southcentral Foundation¹s Traditional Healing Program at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, and informally whenever her gifts are required during her "off-hours."

Rita, or Dr. Blumenstein, has extensive traditional knowledge about medicinal plants, energy-based healing, and culturally-based counseling.  She is credited as one healer who is fostering the resurgence of traditional healing again in Alaska and beyond. When asked how she teaches people to become traditional healers at this gathering, she replied in her soft, soothing voice, "I teach them to become themselves."  She has said that her best piece of therapy is that each of us needs to learn who we are.  She describes that her energy works "only when I touch people."

The day-long gathering ended with a final thank-you to Rita. She stood embracing each attendee in a long thank-you train, as people filed along, one-by-one, to share their gratitude.  As my turn approached, I considered what words I could say that she hadn¹t already heard numerous times that day.

Then my moment came. "Rita," I said, "I am a soon-to-be graduating medical student from Alaska. Your teachings and healings reach far beyond those you physically touch. I just want to thank you for all your shared gifts. My hope is to one day be half as good at healing people as you. Quyana, Rita," I said, which is the Yup'ik word for thank you.  She cupped my face tightly in her hands, and looked me square in the eyes. "You will," she said with a warm smile, "you will," then she kissed both cheeks and finished with a tight hug as if she had known me forever. Her touch really had powerful energy, and for me in particular, it was truly motivating. I left that gathering feeling completely invigorated to become the person, a physician, that I was meant to be and to begin  making a difference in the lives of the people who will soon trust me with their care here at home in Alaska.