Native American Healing

 

As I travelled around the south of Florida I stopped at the Miccosukee Indian Village along the Tamiami Trail (Tampa – Miami).  What I realised most, from my wonderful moon experience (see Clearwater – Full Moon Fall) and visiting this village was that the relationship between the "American" community and the different Native American tribes of Florida was not what I expected and, rather than visiting and understanding, I came away from Florida with many more questions.

 

For years I've been taught that it's politically incorrect to say "Indian" but here the signs say "Indian Village".  When asking questions I got the distinct impression I was asking the wrong ones or making people uncomfortable.  For example when talking about the Seminole Tribe or Miccosukee Tribe, the answer I got is that they are the same but that the Seminole signed a treaty whereas the Miccosukee held out and are described elsewhere as the only sovereign nation in the US, and were recognised by Cuba in 1959.  And that's where it starts to get complicated.

 

Visiting the Miccosukee Village I learned about tribal life, and about alligator wrestling, but aside from getting overcome by the heat and having to head into the air conditioned museum, (which made it difficult for me to ask a straight question,) I also felt a little like an outsider at an awkward family gathering, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

 

Although I did try to research Native American healing online before I left, I guess I just thought I'd stop off at a few places along the trail and… it'd be there, as this has worked for me in a lot of other countries.  But I left Florida, still with the feeling that what I saw under the full moon was the most real thing (when of course it may have had nothing to do with tradition and just be people having fun!)

 

At the end of the day, huge revenues come to the tribes through commercial and tourist activities, which mean that it's easier to find out about airboat rides, casinos and Reflexology massages than older, tribal healing traditions, if they still exist?

 

According to the American Cancer Society "Many Native medicine practices were driven underground or lost because they were banned or illegal in parts of the United States until 1978, when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed. Even now, there are difficulties with ceremonies and rituals on sacred sites. These activities are sometimes forbidden because the land now serves other purposes."

 

Reading elsewhere, people even talking about shamanic healing could be punished or treated as psychologically unstable (just as many women who didn't conform to social norms have been).  If someone could be incarcerated in a mental hospital and given electric shock treatment just for discussing shamanic rituals, well, you can understand why they're not widely known around here.

 

It leads me to feel, just as I do when trying to spot wildlife, or see a turtle hatching, that ultimately respecting any creature or person's privacy and not disturbing their wellbeing is as important as my desire to see or learn more.

 

In this sensitive area I feel it's more important for me tread carefully than to rush in as I normally do when it comes to spas and healing.  I will learn more, but slowly, with great respect.

 

A great resource I found is the Native Voices section of the US National Library of Medicine website, including the wonderful story of how Navajo healing traditions are now being used to help returning soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/exhibition/healing-ways/native-heritage/navajo-code-talkers.html

 

From the website it seems that there is a healing of the healing happening now as traditional practices are integrated with other types of medicine and healing in clinics around the country, in particular in Hawaii.  As sad as it is that so much of the Native American healing has been lost or hidden it's also worth remembering that the traditional Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage has survived, not only by going underground in Hawaii, but also by travelling all the way around the world and being incorporated into massage from the Far East, all the way through Europe and very possibly finding its way to the East Coast of America the long way round