The notion that cancer is a white man’s disease is rooted in a past in which millions of Native Americans perished to diseases that were carried to the shores of Turtle Island by Europeans. These were diseases that Native Americans had never encountered before and that their medicinal pharmacology had no defense against. “There were an estimated 18 million Native Americans living north of Mexico at the beginning of the European invasion. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, American Indians were remarkably free of serious diseases. People did not often die from diseases. As the European explorers and colonists began to arrive, this changed and the consequences were disastrous for Native American people. The death tolls from the newly introduced European diseases often reached 80-90 percent. Entire groups of people vanished on the tidal wave of disease...The diseases brought to this continent by the Europeans included bubonic plague, chicken pox, pneumonic plague, cholera, diphtheria, influenza, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, typhus, tuberculosis, and whooping cough… Overall, hundreds of thousands of Indians died of European diseases during the first two centuries following contact. In terms of death tolls, smallpox killed the greatest number of Indians, followed by measles, influenza, and bubonic plague.”[1] These were, of course, infectious diseases. Chronic diseases – heart disease, diabetes, and cancer – developed during the reservation era. Given the history of white man diseases, i.e., infectious diseases, it is perhaps no surprise that chronic diseases are often considered to be a part of that history. The history of infectious diseases is recalled in our oral history. In an oral narrative recorded by William Warren: “Our forefathers, many string of lives ago, lived on the shores of the Great Salt Water in the east. Here it was, that while congregated in a great town, and while they were suffering the ravages of sickness and death, that the Great Spirit, at the intercession of Man-ab-o-sho, the great common uncle of the An-ish-in-aub-ag, granted them this rite wherewith life is restored and prolonged. Our forefathers moved from the shores of the great water, and proceeded westward.”[2] The devastating effects of infectious diseases on Northeastern Anishinaabe people is exampled by the Abenaki. "The Abenaki had previous knowledge of Europeans. It is speculated that the Abenaki had seen or heard rumors about the Vikings who landed in 1000 CE on the Eastern coast of North America. However, it was not until the arrival of the French and English at the beginning of the 17th century that diseases took their toll on this native population. One of the first outbreaks of smallpox in North America was recorded to have occurred among the Abenaki peoples residing in modern-day New England. This “massive outbreak of either smallpox or the plague (historians are still divided) raged among the tribes from 1616 to 1619.” This epidemic left whole villages abandoned, as Indians “fled their homes” leaving many areas filled with corpses. Primarily, large numbers of natives migrated from their homelands and villages because they did not want to remain in an area where death was so prevalent. Some areas were believed to have “more than 75 percent” of the population annihilated from European disease."[3] The foregoing underlines an important facet of historical trauma. Disease played a significant role in colonialization. Colonialization is one of the impacts of historical trauma. Disease becomes a stressor. As such, diseases become “white men diseases.” This is understandable when one looks at the devastating consequences of Old World diseases on Native populations. It’s also understandable why some Native people would consider cancer as a white man’s disease. The difference, of course, is that cancer is a chronic disease. And a chronic disease is not the same as an infectious disease. The Roots of Cancer Although some view it as a man-made disease, cancer is ancient. Cancer is so ancient that we have to look back to the time of dinosaurs to understand the antiquity of the disease. The most well-known case of cancer in dinosaurs is the hadrosaurs, or 'duck-billed dinosaurs.' A scientific team “found 29 tumours in bones from 97 individuals of this herbivorous group from the Cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago.”[1] Of course, there is no way of knowing how hadrosaurs contacted cancer. It was postulated that “they ate conifers, which are high in carcinogenic chemicals. The structure of their bones also suggests they were warm-blooded, which might have increased their cancer risk.”[4] Another intriguing find was the discovery of a 72-million-old Gorgosaur fossil with what is believed to be a fossilized brain tumor. Gorgosaurus were a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod. “The golf-ball-sized brain tumor appears as a spongy mass inside the skull cavity of a 72-million-year-old Gorgosaurus fossil, now on display at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis in Indiana. The probable tumor would have affected the animal's balance and caused other damage, explaining the many crippling wounds and fractures recorded in her skeleton.”[5] The earliest human cancer was “an aggressive type of cancer called osteosarcoma in a foot bone belonging to a human relative who died in Swartkrans Cave between 1.6 and 1.8 million years ago.”[6] Previously, the oldest record of cancer in humans was a Neanderthal living 120,000 years ago that had a bone cancer that is common today. Then there are the Egyptian mummies. The oldest case of cancer in ancient Egypt was found in a 2250-year-old mummy. The man was found to have contracted prostate cancer. However, he wasn’t the first. The earliest diagnosis of prostate cancer came from the 2700-year-old skeleton of a Scythian king in Russia. In addition, Egyptians kept records of cancer in medical records. “Evidence consists of hieroglyphic inscriptions along with papyri writings noting both benign and malignant tumors.”[7] By 400 B.C., Hippocrates would give a name to this mysterious, dreadful disease. He called it karkinos (cancer), the Greek word for crab. During the time of Hippocrates, cancer was on the rise. He and others were seeing visible forms of the disease - breast and uterine, mouth, skin cancer. Hippocrates had no way of knowing that he gave an apt name to the disease. Under a microscope, which didn’t exist in ancient Greece, cancer has the shape and form of a crab or spider. History of Cancer among Native Populations Cancer was a relatively rare disease among Native Americans in the early 19th century. In American Indian Medicine, Virgil J. Vogel wrote: “A summary of the opinions of recent students of aboriginal health and healing indicates…neurological and psychic disturbances, heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and cancer were rare.” A Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language, R.R. Bishop Baraga, 1853, listed two words for cancer: manadapinewin emowemagak(the bad eating sickness, that is, cancer, the cancerous disease) and nind amog (I am cancerous, I have a cancer). The Baraga definition retained the root word amo in its purest and most implicit form as a definition for cancer – amog: eat somebody. What is most notable about the two definitions for cancer is the fact that cancer was recognized 160 years ago in Anishinaabe country. Although cancer was relatively rare, it was nevertheless recognized as a disease among the Anishinaabe populace in the Lake Superior region. A 1912 study found only 29 cases of cancer among an American Indian population of 115,455 (total population – 199,184) that were surveyed on 63 reservations.[8] A total of 66 reservations, tribal agencies, and schools were surveyed in a period largely comprising the late 1800s. Forty-four locations reported no incidences of cancer. Sixteen areas reported cancer incidences. Those that reported cancer incidences averaged one case in a period of a few years to eighteen years. The area with the largest number of cancer incidences was White Earth with a total of nine cases. My reservation, Red Lake, reported no cancer incidences over a six-year period. In “Chippewa Preoccupation with Health," Robert E. Ritzenthaler included the State of Wisconsin record of deaths of Native Americans covering a period from 1931 to 1941. He was mainly focused on Native deaths from T.B. and pneumonia. Causes of death included cancer incidence. Given the figures on the two charts, cancer incidence was extremely low among the Native American populace from the late 1800s to the early 1940s. One could say that cancer was virtually non-existent among Native Americans. "As late as 1950, cancer still was not an important health issue.”[9] White Man’s Disease The rise in cancer incidence has risen in the last 40 years. The areas most affected have been the Northern Plains, Great Lakes, Northeastern, and Alaskan tribal regions. Within the last 30 years, cancer has become the third leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives of all ages and is the second leading cause of death among American Indians older than 45 years of age. Cancer has become the leading cause of death for Alaska Native women and is the second leading cause of death among American Indian women.[10] Cancer incidence among Southwestern tribes remains comparatively low but is increasing. Among Native Americans, cancer is viewed as a relatively new disease and many tribal languages do not have a word for "cancer." Some tribes have developed words for cancer to enable elders to understand the nature of the disease. One of the most common translations for cancer is "the disease that eats the body." The disease is usually referred to as a worm, bug, or spider. In the early 2000s, the Nihithowuk (Woodland Cree) developed a term for cancer - Munchoosuk. Munchoosuk refers to a white maggot eating inside a person. Rose Alene Roberts writes: “The munchoosuk concept works well for describing the treatment process for those individuals that cannot speak English. For example, ‘they are going to cut the munchoosuk out’, or ‘they are going to shine a bright light on the munchoosuk to burn them out’, or ‘they are going to inject medicine into the munchoosuk to kill them.’”[11] First Nation Anishinaabeg (Canada) also developed terms for cancer. Matajoosh or Manitoch is translated as “worm eating at your insides.” In Salteaux and Plains Ojibwe dialects Manijooshiwaapine means “bug eating disease.” In Lake Superior Ojibwe dialect, cancer is called Asabikeshii. Asabikeshii means “spider.” Used as a term for cancer, Asabikeshii refers to ‘a spider that eats or crawls inside you.” On the other hand, the Navajo translation of cancer is descriptive: Ats’íís bitl’ óól dah díníísééh áádóó ba’ át’e’ hólǫ́ yileeh, doo bééhózingóó dínísééh. Hats’íís biyi’di lahgo hazhó’ ó hats’íís nooséél dóó hasht’e náá’nííl yę́ę t’óó bitahjigóó dinisééh. Bee hats’íís nizhónígo háádoo’nííl yę́ę doo hazhó’ó naalnishda sílíí ’. Cells in the body that grow uncontrollably, undisciplined growth. One’s body, inside it, at one point, well, one’s body growing again, and, becoming well again, just, merely growing/abnormal. By means of it, one’s body, good/well, normal growth, but, not, well, works, it became.[12] The belief that cancer is a white man’s disease is largely confined to more isolated Native communities where cancer is a relatively new disease. In one study, “the target population consisted of adults in an Ojibway reserve community in Eastern Manitoba with a population of 4,000 to 5,000 people. A number of the people who constitute the population are bilingual (i.e., Ojibway and English language), but do adhere to "the old ways.” The Ojibway group (for the study) consisted of patients with various types of cancer, caregiver relatives and healers. “A further rationale for not talking about cancer was elaborated upon by this respondent. She noted " . . . it makes it very real. Yes . . . If I don't talk about it, then it's out there, maybe it's not mine, it's not, you know, it isn't." The idea of it being "out there" is related to the belief among these respondents in this community, that cancer is a disease of the white-man and is seldom found among First Nation people. “This deflecting of ownership to another source "out there," as noted earlier, was in keeping with a similar position taken by many other respondents on the subject of cancer: it was "white man's disease." Moreover, not accepting personal ownership of this disease was further explained to actually include the perception of a possible tacit immunity to cancer. This was well illustrated in the following incident: “I recall one elder saying, well . . . he was smoking and he said, well, Native people don't get cancer so I’ll smoke all I want because we just don’t get it. It's not our disease. It's white man's disease. “The disease was perceived to be lethal: it was "killing our people." As well, it was seen by many as alien to the Ojibway people. The statement: "it's a foreign disease to our people" was presented as a typical response to queries related to knowledge of the disease. One respondent explains that she "read a lot about the disease" following her sister's death from it and concluded that : “The likelihood of it (cancer) occurring is not there because it's not something that is prevalent in the Aboriginal community, it's not. It never has been. I don’t think. It's just in recent years that it has become more and more prevalent. “Many other respondents concurred with this opinion. Therefore, the implication was that taking about it made it part of the reality of their world. Hence, the less one talked about it, heard anything about it or claimed ownership of it as part of a common life experience, the less potential it had for becoming entrenched in the psyche of the community as a bonafide threat. Closing off discourse on the subject therefore had the potential to minimize the threat of personal vulnerability to it.”[13] The Manitoba study underlines the general perceptions and attitudes found in many tribal communities in which cancer incidence is low albeit rising. The notion that cancer is a white man’s disease can lead to a sense of denial of ownership and hinder efforts to treat the disease. One of the most common responses of traditional healers is that "cancer is a white man's disease and so it needs Western Medicine to help treat it."[14] Treatment for cancer patients includes traditional medicines, ceremonies, and spirituality. In this regard, Western medicine is considered vital to treating cancer and traditional practices are instituted as an integral part of healing. Nevertheless, the belief that cancer is a white man’s disease persists in the opinion of many traditional healers. Indeed, that belief isn’t far from notion held by some researchers that cancer is a modern, man-made disease caused by environmental factors such as pollution and diet.[15] Interestingly, the 1912 study mentioned beforehand foreshadows the belief that cancer is a man-made disease. “Thus the conclusion is forced on one’s mind, that while every human being may carry within himself the X which may develop into cancer, it is the modern civilization and the conditions created by it, that give rise to the mediate causes which produce the disease.” Further, “conditions caused by alcohol, tobacco, faulty diet, over-exertion, excessive length of the working day, and all other irritations of civilized life which are apt to act as mediate causes…”[16] We know that the effects of civilization, or to use a better word, colonization, resulted in the loss of our homelands and a change of lifestyle on reservations. One of the most significant changes was in our diets. We went from a self-sufficient, healthy diet of wild game, fish, and natural plants to a diet consisting of treaty beef and flour. Treaty beef was often spoiled. Indeed, this is reflected in the Lakota word for the white man, wasichu, which means Fat Taker or “the one who takes the best meat for himself.” Following the treaty era, we became dependent on foods from local or agency stores. In other words, Native Americans became dependent on the industrialized food chain. The impact of such changes weren’t immediate in regard to cancer. But Ritzenthaler’s chart offers some intriguing insights. Of the six cases listed for a period from 1933 to 1940, one half of the cases were cancers involving digestive tract organs. The three individuals who had contracted cancer were in their late 50s-late 60s. They would have been the 2nd generation following the treaty making period. To this extent, they are representative of gastrointestinal cancers which would plague Native Americans in the years to come. My preference is to think of cancer as a modern man disease. Cancer may have had its beginnings in the dawn of time, but the virulent, aggressive forms of cancer that we have today are the result of global industrialization, industrialization that has led to poisonous and deadly toxins in our food, water, and air. In this regard, we are all victims regardless of racial diversity. Cancer knows no boundaries when it comes to race. Rich and poor suffer alike. This is the commonality that we share when it comes to cancer. Placing racial blame only distracts from the problem. Because the problem isn’t who did what to whom; rather, the problem is find the silver bullet that will cure us of this horrendous disease. Works Cited 1. “American Indians and European Disease.” Native American Netroots, http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/325. 2. William W. Warren. “History of the Ojibway Nation.” Ross & Haines, Inc.: Minneapolis, MN, 1974 3. Rivera, Mariel. "The Cultural Implications of European Disease on New World Populations: With Primary Focus on the Abenaki, Powhatan, and Taino Groups." Scholars' Day Review 1 (2013). 4. “Dinosaurs Suffered from Cancer Too.” The Guardian, October 2003, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/oct/23/dinosaurs.science 5. “First Dinosaur Brain Tumor Found, Experts Suggest.” National Geographic, Novemeber 2002, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1124_031124_dinocancer.html 6. “Earliest Human Cancer Found in 1.7-Million-Year-Old Bone.” National Geographic, July 2016 , https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/oldest-human-cancer-disease-origins-tumor-fossil-science/ 7. Rehemtulla, Alnawaz. “Dinosaurs and Ancient Civilizations: Reflections on the Treatment of Cancer.” Neoplasia Press, 2010, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3003131/ 8. Levin, Issac, M.D. “Cancer Among the American Indians and Its Bearing Upon the Ethnological Distribution of the Disease.” Studies in cancer and allied subjects, Volume 2. Columbia University, 1912, https://books.google.com/books?id=ATflAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=Cancer+Among+the+American+Indians+and+Its+Bearing+Upon+the+Ethnological+Distribution+of+the+Disease&source=bl&ots=UFOAhbDZDq&sig=1o2uwUYeX3Ydn7XU_PBEqVCyqhM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjpmZ2ygofSAhUM22MKHX_OAWsQ6AEIJjAC#v=onepage&q=Cancer%20Among%20the%20American%20Indians%20and%20Its%20Bearing%20Upon%20the%20Ethnological%20Distribution%20of%20the%20Disease&f=false 9. Baker, Lois. “Growing Cancer Threat Among Native Americans Receiving Scant Attention.” Lois Baker, News Center, University at Buffalo, 1997, http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/1997/01/3015.html 10. “Native Americans and Cancer.” Native American Cancer Research Corporation. http://natamcancer.org/page12.html 11. Roberts, Alene Rose. Stories About Cancer from the Woodland Cree of Northern Saskatchewan.” University of Saskatchewan, 2005, http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/SSU/TC-SSU-01042006163028.pdf 12. Austin-Garrison, Martha A. Translator, Edward R. Garrison, Ed. “Glossary for Basic Cancer Terminology in the Navajo Language.” Diné College/ Mayo Clinic, 2006, http://www.dinecollege.edu/institutes/cp/cancerglossary.pdf 13. Barkwell, Diana P. “An Ojibway Cultural Perspective on the Illness Cancer and Related Pain.” University of Manitoba, 1999, http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape2/PQDD_0022/NQ51628.pdf 14. Burhansstipanov, Linda. “Traditional Indian Medicine and Native American Cancer Patients.” LitSite Alaska, University of Alaska Anchorage, http://www.litsite.org/index.cfm?section=Narrative-and-Healing&page=Perspectives&viewpost=2&ContentId=968 15. “Scientists suggest that cancer is purely man-made.” Medical Xpress, Science X Network , https://medicalxpress.com/news/2010-10-scientists-cancer-purely-man-made.html 16. Levin. Cancer Among the American Indians. © All Rights Reserved, Robert DesJarlait, 2017
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A few people asked me to respond to the controversy regarding the Pearson Education book, “Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning.” The 2nd Edition, in two volumes, was published in 2014. Each volume features different modules. Module 24 of Volume 2 features Culture and Diversity. The publisher states: “The state-of-the-art concept-based, student-centered introduction to nursing…focused on 30 essential concepts associated with patients' psychosocial and reproductive concerns; with the nurse's professional domain; and with the nurse's roles and responsibilities in the broader healthcare system.” Unfortunately, I can’t access Module 24, but I did find a quiz from the module for student nurses. Based on the questions in the quiz, the module appears to be extensive. Some of the questions include:
Module 24 has been cited in a number of scholarly articles on cultural competency. The articles are well written, information, and help to define cultural competency and diversity in the nursing profession. But then there is the matter of the controversy. In the section titled Focus on Diversity and Culture: Cultural Differences in Response to Pain are entries for Arab/Muslims, Asians, Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, and Native Americans. The section reads: "A client's culture influences their response to, and beliefs about pain.” The Native American entry reads:
Pearson’s attempt to categorize pain per group results in a racial perspective formed on prejudices and stereotyping. Ironically, these are two topics that are defined in Pearson’s module on diversity and culture. As a Native American, am I offended by Pearson’s entry for Native Americans? Yes I am. After battling cancer for four years, I know about pain. After two cancer surgeries and 16 rounds of chemo, I know about pain. The pain I’ve been through has nothing to do with my culture. I don’t have Anishinaabe pain. The pain I’ve felt is because I’m a bimaadiziig (human being). I use traditional medicines and approaches in dealing with my cancer, which is now in remission. Of course, I can only speak for myself. But I’ve never had the drugs used for my surgery or chemo drugs blessed by a “shaman” or, more appropriately, a mashkikiiwinini (medicine man). I’ve always expressed my discomfort and pain verbally. I didn’t hesitate to take my pain medication – OxyContin – that was prescribed to me following my two surgeries. I took them at night so I didn’t have to wake up in pain. And to my recollection, I never said four in rating my pain. My own experiences, and I’m sure many other Native Americans, runs counter to Pearson’s stereotyping of cultural pain. After the cultural pain controversy broke out on Twitter, Pearson issued an apology: “We agree that it is wrong. We have removed it from current electronic and future print editions and apologize for its publication.” Pearson further added: “We hear you. We take full responsibility and are taking steps to correct this problem and ensure this does not happen again.” Call it damage control after the fact. Sort of like ‘accidently’ dropping a bomb on a civilian population and then saying it was a mistake. But mistakes can be costly - especially when they involve racial profiling. © 2017, Robert DesJarlait
Spider Woman, Carl Ray, 1974 When did this journey begin? Did it begin in the time of the Boiling-Sap Moon, Iskigamizige-giizis? When my mashkikiiwininiikwe (doctor) said "Awi-waabam a'aw gekendang gidinaapinewin" (I want you to see a specialist). Or did it begin when I was yet a manidoo, a spirit, who roamed Waawiyekamig, the Universe, and during zhawenindi (moment of love), I was called to the Land of the Living by my mother and father? When did Ji-Awensii (The Beast) find me? Was I found because of a fear deep within, a fear that took shape and form as a gaa-bikoging gegoon (tumor)? Or was I found because of years of neglect and contamination of niiyaw (my body) by bichibowinan (toxins) from smoking and poisonous foods? But it matters little how Ji-Awensii entered. The death I have faced has given me new life. Ji-Awensii has given my life journey clarity and direction. Cherish life. That is the direction of this journey I share with others. So it begins...that which never ended. Post Script: In collecting my cancer writings for possible publication, I came across my first entry that was written on 7/23/2013. It appeared at another cancer site that I maintain - Manijooshiwaapane Babaamaadiziwin (The Cancer Journey). This shouldn't be confused with the Facebook group page that I maintain with the same name. I wrote Maajitaawin less than three weeks after my surgery for colon cancer. At that time my cancer was considered Stage I and chemo wasn't required. I thought I was home free from Ji-Awensi. However, after colon cancer mets to my liver and sixteen rounds of chemo in the third year of my post-cancer life, I am still writing, four years later, about cancer. I chose Carl Ray's "Spider Woman" to represent Ji-Awensi (The Beast). In Ojibwe culture, cancer is called Asabikeshii. Asabikeshii means spider. A cancer tumor has the shape and form of a spider. And like a spider, it weaves a deadly web within our bodies. On September 22-24, I attended the Spirit of Eagles 10th National Conference: Changing Patterns of Cancer in Native Communities – Strength through Tradition and Science. The event was held at Niagara Falls – the homeland of the Haudenosaunee – and hosted by the Mayo Clinic and Roswell Park Cancer Institute. The focus of Spirit of Eagles (SoE) was to increase community-based participatory research opportunities addressing culturally relevant education, training, and research. The long-term goal is to reduce cancer health disparities by maintaining and expanding tribal community networks and coalitions established by the SoE. Morning sessions featured various keynote speakers and afternoon sessions featured breakout sessions that included Tobacco Cessation, Prevention, Cancer Data, Policy, Palliative Care, Community-Led Initiatives, Breast Cancer, Patient Navigation, Use of Media, Survivorship, and Screening. I was a co-presenter with Joy Rivera for the American Indian Cancer Foundation’s breakout session – Culturally Tailored Cancer Screening within American Indian Community Health and Clinic Systems. As I sat and waited for my turn to talk, I thought about what I would talk about. I could have easily dovetailed into Joy’s presentation on screening. I’ve always been aware that had I been screened at the recommended age, I wouldn’t have had to deal with colon cancer. And based on that, I am always encouraging for people to get screened. But as I sat there, I was aware of the medicine bundle I was holding that I had been given at the talking circle for survivors. What was the meaning of this medicine bundle? What were my personal feelings in receiving it? So I decided that I would speak about my immediate experience, one that would relate to tradition and cancer survivorship. I received the medicine bundle from Miguel Flores, who is a member of the Pascua Yaqui and the Tohono O’odham tribal nations. Flores has provided spiritual leadership and traditional medicine for his people for the past 25 years. He was the facilitator for the survivor talking circle. Chairs were arranged in a circle with a simple altar at the center. Flores began the session holding an abalone shell with smoking sage and an eagle feather fan. He offered a prayer to the Four Directions, beginning with the East and then turning to each Direction. Afterward, he fanned and wiped down each participant. The number in the talking circle was small – there were only three of us. But it made the circle more private and open to one’s experiences with cancer. Flores passed his fan to me and I was the first to speak. I didn’t have any problems talking about my survivorship and my feelings and experiences with cancer. I think my talk put the other survivors at ease. They were clearly nervous when they first came into the circle. As it turned out, they would be speaking for the first time, in any forum, about being survivors. My talk lessened their anxiety. While we were talking, Flores took bundles of sage and wrapped them in various colors of ribbon. When we were finished, he stood before each one of us, asked us to hold both hands out, and then placed the bundle in our hands. When he placed the bundle in my hands, he spoke about the cleansing nature of sage. Then he explained my colors. The green ribbon represented the color of the earth and of growth for me as a human being; the red ribbon represented the power of healing, for me and my family; the lavender ribbon represented my cancer and my cancer journey; and the blue ribbon represented water which forms and creates us. I was told that the sage wasn’t to burn and smudge with, but rather to use for prayer. What struck me was the simplicity of the medicine bundle. Rather than sacred items wrapped in fur or cloth, this was a bundle of sage wrapped in ribbons. The sacredness of the sage medicine bundle was the manner it was given and the intent and meaning as to its use. And the talking circle became more than a group speaking about their experiences. The talking circle, through the gift of the medicine bundle, became a ceremony. After I received the medicine bundle, the reason for my presence at the conference became clear. It was to receive this medicine bundle. I’ve always believed that there are reasons why my life journey, my cancer journey, take me to unexpected places. And this was one of them. Of course, I was at the conference as a survivor. Unfortunately, there were very few survivors at the SoE conference. We were the disparity. The medical professionals at the conference focused on numbers and statistics. For the survivors who were there, we were the numbers and statistics. In reality, our numbers are great. Our communities overflow with survivors. We speak with experience. We’ve been through the battle. And for many of us, the battle hasn’t ended because it is a lifelong battle. For some, the journey is fearful. For others, it is one of acceptance and learning to live a new life and cherishing life. Some of us are messengers to help guide those who are new on this journey. With our experiences and speaking about them, we help lessen the fear. And then there are those of us who use traditional approaches to our healing, healing that is spiritual in nature. We don’t need to scientifically explain why traditional healing works. Who can explain the power of the niiyo-mashkikiwan (four medicines) – asemaa (tobacco), mashkodewashk (sage), wiingashk (sweet grass), miinawaa giizhikaandag (cedar). Who can explain the power of the ziibaaska`iganagooday (jingle dress) healing dance. Who can explain the power of the madoodiswan (sweat lodge). Who can explain our converse with the manidoog (spirits) and the bawaajiganan miinawaa waaseyaabindamowinan (dreams and visions) they bring to us. But science seeks answers, even in regard to our traditional medicines. For example, a recent article appeared on the "science" of smudging and medicinal smoke. The article cited a study in theJournal of Ethnopharmacology. According to the study: "Absence of pathogenic bacteria Corynebacterium urealyticum, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens, Enterobacter aerogenes (Klebsiella mobilis), Kocuria rosea, Pseudomonas syringae pv. persicae, Staphylococcus lentus, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. tardicrescens in the open room even after 30 days is indicative of the bactericidal potential of the medicinal smoke treatment. We have demonstrated that using medicinal smoke it is possible to completely eliminate diverse plant and human pathogenic bacteria of the air within confined space.” For traditional practitioners of traditional medicine, such explanations bear no meaning. The aspect of ceremony is left out. The connection between the spiritual essence and the physical essence is voided. And those two aspects are pivotal in a ceremony. Hence, we don’t need to explain those things or know how they work. Rather it is faith in the Unseen World that they work. Most importantly, once you try to explain those things they lose their power. Those are the things I spoke about at the screening breakout session. I also emphasized that survivors need to have a stronger voice at such conferences. Western medicine can eliminate the cancer from our bodies, but it is traditional practices that heal our soul-spirits. And it is the spiritual essence that heals our wounded bodies. Because we are the ceremony. |
Robert Desjarlait
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