AP/SOSC 3921 6.00

Indigenous Health & Healing

Indigenous communities deal with alarming rates of health problems, such as diabetes, compared to non-Indigenous populations, but many of these health issues have proven resistant to conventional biomedical treatments. At the same time, Indigenous cultures across the globe possess understandings of health and healing that differ greatly from dominant Western biomedical views. Indigenous knowledge and healing practices are integral not only for healing Indigenous peoples, but also provide important clues for how to better deal with many modern health and environmental crises. Students will learn how historic and contemporary injustices perpetuated against Indigenous peoples continue to undermine the health of Indigenous groups and will explore Indigenous understandings of health and healing. Students will also examine different approaches to healing Indigenous communities to discover what is involved in healing from colonial injustice.Indigenous communities deal with alarming rates of health problems, such as diabetes, compared to non-Indigenous populations, but many of these health issues have proven resistant to conventional biomedical treatments. At the same time, Indigenous cultures across the globe possess understandings of health and healing that differ greatly from dominant Western biomedical views. Indigenous knowledge and healing practices are integral not only for healing Indigenous peoples, but also provide important clues for how to better deal with many modern health and environmental crises. Students will learn how historic and contemporary injustices perpetuated against Indigenous peoples continue to undermine the health of Indigenous groups and will explore Indigenous understandings of health and healing. Students will also examine different approaches to healing Indigenous communities to discover what is involved in healing from colonial injustice.