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Monday, August 19, 2019
aboriginal medicine Essay -- essays research papers
     Many of the inequalities in the health of the Aboriginal people can be attributed to the erosion of the Aboriginal culture.(chp.2). Restrictions placed on the cultural practices of the Aboriginal people ultimately led to the abatement of the Aboriginal traditional medicines.(p88). Losing their freedom to practice traditional therapeutics, the Aboriginal people eventually had to adapt to the culturally inappropriate ways of western medicines. The purpose of this paper is to examine the advantages of Aboriginal healing methods for the Aboriginal people, as well as to explain why these traditional methods continued to persist long after western style medicines were introduced. Advantages of Aboriginal Healing Methods for the Aboriginal People      Traditional healing methods were based upon traditional Aboriginal spirituality beliefs.(p18). This spiritual belief system stated that â€Å"people exist within this context as worthy creatures, but no more worthy than any other being. To live secure, healthy lives through acknowledging and respecting the spiritual as well as the physical world, because there is no difference between the two.†(p71). The whole Aboriginal culture was based around these beliefs. Everyone in the community was treated as equal with acknowledgment and respect. Therefore those who deemed to follow the cultural beliefs had no difficulty in understanding the healing practices of the people. This appreciation of equality and respect was an advantage to the Aboriginal people, especially within their healing methods.      Illness was treated in many ways but the main goal was to achieve a sense of balance and harmony.(p82). Applications of herbs and roots, spiritual intervention, and community wide ritual and ceremonies were all therapeutic practices.(p71). â€Å"It was the healer who held the keys to the supernatural and natural worlds and who interpreted signs, diagnosed disease and provided medicines from the grassland, woodland, and parkland pharmacopoeia.†(p18). The healers knowledge of herbs and roots and ways to administer and diagnose had been passed down from generation to generation.(p85). Healers stood as an advantage for the Aboriginal people. â€Å"Trust and a personal relationships would naturally build between the patient and the healer.†(p77). This must have ... ...be effective for them. The healing practices persisted because they satisfied the needs of the Aboriginal people and because they trusted and understood the healing rituals and practices along with the individuals involved. Isn’t it best to trust what you know?      The nature of traditional medicine and its intimate relationship with Aboriginal culture explains the inadequacy of Western medicine as the primary model of health care for the Aboriginal community. I believe the preservation of the Aboriginal culture is the only true cure for the Aboriginal people. Society today must work on developing an understanding towards each other, and realize that the Aboriginal people are not rebelling against the â€Å"White man†or his ways, rather Aboriginal’s are trying to help their people by going back to what has worked for their ancestors for centuries; and what they feel comfort in.                          word count: 12542 Medicine That Walks Question #4 based on the book by Maureen Lux
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