Shaman and the Medicine Men
Changing Understanding of Indian Healing
Native Americans use a variety of terms to describe their healers. This complex and ever-evolving art is an integral part of native society.
The complex world of Native American medicinal practices is made more complicated when one considers the differences in the interpretation of sickness. This interpretation is based on a variety of regional and spiritual concerns. The key to understanding and effectively treating illness within indigenous communities is the medicine man—referred to as the shaman in some communities. Contrary to the gender-specific title, the medicine man is a post of veneration that can be held by a man or a woman. Additionally, there are a variety of medicine specialists within native society, much like there are a variety of doctors and practitioners of the medical “sciences” in contemporary society. The vastness of this ancient and ever changing art of healing is a clear indicator of just how integral it is to native society.
Although the term shaman has often been applied to one practicing the medicinal arts within an indigenous community, this is a general term that is actually used to describe all manner of special individuals within that community. A shaman has the ability to commune with the spirit world and reach through the ephemera that separates these two realms. Shamans can be healers, counselors, and religious leaders in equal measure. There are shamans who specialize in one aspect of the community’s physical or spiritual well-being while there are also those who handle all concerns. Again, this is determined by the individual tribe and its belief system. Much like contemporary society has its various “doctors,” whether medical or simply academic, native culture has numerous shamans and medicine men.
In his study of native tribes of the western plains, the 19th century American artist and ersatz cultural historian George Catlin observed that there is more than one medicine man in an Indian community. His journals provide one of the more comprehensive studies of Native American cultural practices and struggle to transcend the bias of his generation in order to present an objective study. Catlin described how anyone who practices a specialized art—in his case, painting portraits—can be practicing a certain “medicine.” Contemporary historians have been moving away from general terms that describe native healers and religious officials. Terms such as shaman and medicine man have been assigned to describe all types of ceremonial positions within native society. It was not until native historians began transcribing the oral traditions of their cultures and presenting them to the academic world that a shift nomenclature ascribed these practitioners began.
Another key component to the health and well being of the tribe is the interpretation of dreams—viewed by Catlin and other historians as its own unique “medicine.” As with all other aspects of healing, there are unique ceremonies and rituals associated with the interpretation of dreams. Additionally, like other practitioners of specialized medicines, the “dreamers” can be male or female. The Plains Indians held these specialized practitioners in high esteem—as dreams were often believed to be indicative of the future. Among the Lakota Sioux there are herbalists; men and women who specialize is creating medicines out of plants in the surrounding community. As with other medicinal arts, there are ceremonies associated with the specific herbs that are applied to the alleviation of the illness in question.
When one takes into consideration the sheer vastness of Native American medicinal practices, and how closely they are intertwined with spirituality, it is easy to understand how some seek simple terminology to classify the field. However, it is important to understand that Native American cultural traits evolved and changed with the ebb and flow of history and the numerous environmental factors affecting the tribes. In order for the objective look at these different traits to be possible, one should avoid generalizations.
David M Jones and Brian L Molyneaux, Mythology of the American Nations. (London: Hermes House, 2006).
Gilbert Legay, Atlas of Indians. (Hauppage: Barron’s Educational Services, Inc., 1995)
Peter Matthiessen, ed., George Catlin: North American Indians. (New York: Penguin Group, 1989).
Mark St. Pierre and Tilda Long Soldier, Walking in the Sacred Manner: Healers, Dreamers, and Pipe Carriers—Medicine Women of the Plains. (New York: Simon and Schuster,1995).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. New York: 2000).
