Medicine man

This article is about the Indigenous healers of the Americas. For other uses, see Medicine Man (disambiguation).

An Ojibwe midew 'ceremonial leader' in a mide-wiigiwaam 'medicine lodge'

A medicine man (from Ojibwe mashkikiiwinini) or medicine woman (from Ojibwe mashkikiiwininiikwe) is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Each culture has its own name in its language for spiritual healers and ceremonial leaders.

Cultural context

See also: heyoka

Yup'ik "medicine man exorcising evil spirits from a sick boy" in Nushagak, Alaska, 1890s

In the ceremonial context of Indigenous North American communities, "medicine" usually refers to spiritual healing. Medicine people use many practices, including specialized knowledge of Native American ethnobotany. Herbal healing is a common practice in many Indigenous households of the Americas; however, medicine people often have more in-depth knowledge of using plants for healing or other purposes.

The terms medicine people or ceremonial people are sometimes used in Native American and First Nations communities, for example, when Arwen Nuttall (Cherokee) of the National Museum of the American Indian writes, "The knowledge possessed by medicine people is privileged, and it often remains in particular families."

Native Americans tend to be quite reluctant to discuss issues about medicine or medicine people with non-Indians. In some cultures, the people will not even discuss these matters with American Indians from other tribes. In most tribes, medicine elders are prohibited from advertising or introducing themselves as such. As Nuttall writes, "An inquiry to a Native person about religious beliefs or ceremonies is often viewed with suspicion." One example of this is the Apache medicine cord or Izze-kloth whose purpose and use by Apache medicine elders was a mystery to nineteenth century ethnologists because "the Apache look upon these cords as so sacred that strangers are not allowed to see them, much less handle them or talk about them."

The term medicine man/woman, like the term shaman, has been criticized by Native Americans, as well as other specialists in the fields of religion and anthropology.

While non-Native anthropologists often use the term shaman for Indigenous healers worldwide, including the Americas, shaman is the specific name for a spiritual mediator from the Tungusic peoples of Siberia, which has been adopted by some Inuit communities but is not preferred by Native American or First Nations communities.

Frauds and scams

There are many fraudulent healers and scam artists, known as plastic shamans who pose as Native American "shamans", and the Cherokee Nation has had to speak out against these people, even forming a task force to handle the issue. In order to seek help from a medicine person, a person needs to know someone in the community who can vouch for them and provide a referral. Usually one makes contact through a relative who knows the healer.

See also

The Medicine Man, an 1899 sculpture by Cyrus Dallin exhibited in Philadelphia

• Bomoh – Malay shaman and traditional medicine practitioner
• Dukun – Indonesian term for shaman
• Cultural appropriation – Adoption of culture and cultural identity perceived as inappropriate
• Curandero – Traditional healer found in Latin America and the United States
• Folk healer – Unlicensed traditional health practitioner
• Herbalism – Study and use of supposed medicinal properties of plantsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Holism – A system as a whole, not just its parts
• Keewaydinoquay Peschel – Herbalist and author from Michigan, U.S. (1919–1999)
• Kallawaya – Indigenous group in the Andes
• Kennekuk – Kickapoo religious leaderPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Medicine bag – traditional North American Indian container for various items of supernatural powerPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Native American ethnobotany – List of plants used by indigenous peoples of North America
• Native American religion – Systems of faith and worship of the Native AmericansPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Plastic shaman – Fraudulent spiritual practitioner
• Prehistoric medicine – Medicine in the time before the invention of writing
• Quesalid – Canadian shamanPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Shamanism – Religious practice
• Trance – Abnormal state of wakefulness or altered state of consciousness