Term Papers on Medicine Men

Term Paper Title	Medicine Men
# of Words	1006
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.02

Medicine Men

Believing that evil spirits caused diseases, the Indians used charms and magic to remove the evil influence. The magical procedures were usually preformed by those supposed to have the power to control spirit forces. Indians might call them such names as “mystery man”, “singer”, or the “wonderful”. White people called them “medicine men”. They were also priest’s in leading the ceremonies and in preserving sacred objects. Charms and ceremonies varied from tribe to tribe with some treatments including the use of herbs and roots as medicines. They used charms and other ceremonials to seek sprit help. In general, the men conducted these activities. Usually they had a house where secret societies met, sacred objects were kept, and ceremonies were taught to the young. Acknowledging that the word “traditional” means different things to different people, it is still possible to provide several general statements about traditions; medicine among American Indians that can be used as guidelines in understanding tribal beliefs about illness and healing. Most tribes have the beliefs that their medicine people have “extra” that others don’t. This power comes from varied sources: a visionary experience that leads one into the study of medicine, or being born into a family that includes generations of medicine people. Many tribes have both men and women medicine people, but some tribes have only medicine women. Many medicine people have a specialty, such as herbalist, bone setter, midwife, or counselor. The Hopi tribe has Effie, a medicine women who learned the art of using herbs. Each person is effective and useful at what he or she does, and they each have distinct ways of doing their work. They are ‘medicine’ in their cultures; learned, capable individuals who hold places of respect in their communities.
One must be very careful when using the term’s medicine man or women, healer, or shaman, because these are terms for concepts for which there are no direct translation from tribal languages. Each tribe has a particular title for its healers, a title not easily gained, for knowledge of these professions is closely guarded and many long years of apprenticeship to a seasoned practitioner is needed. Indian people understand that helping someone heal him or herself is a private, doctor-patient relationship with certain protocol and formality. Ceremonies like ‘talking circles’ or ‘smudging’ (smoking) are intended for helping groups of people to return to harmony, but not for healing.
In many tribes, ethics prohibit healers to charging for their services, although gifts are expected. In other tribes payment is required and there is a standard for gifts that repay the healer for his or her time and skill. When asking a medicine person for assistance, it is appropriate to offer a pouch of tobacco. Today in almost every tribe tobacco is recognized as a gift of respect. Payment or a substantial gift is expected later.
To tribal people, healing cannot be separated from worship or from daily life. Worship is not contained in a building or limited to certain days, ...

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