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- By Native News Online Staff
Read our special three-part series about Native-specific healthcare organizations and their efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by offering traditional healing alongside Western medicine.
Through the pandemic, the Native American Community Clinic (NACC) in Minneapolis, MN; the Native American Health Center (NAHC) in Oakland, CA; and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) have all provided culturally relevant healthcare options to Native people.
For these clinics, traditional medicine propels community healing. Smudging with sacred medicines such as sage, prioritizing the Medicine Wheel and finding virtual spaces for ceremony are being implemented to address medical mistrust and fuel cultural connection.
This special series was reported by Jorja Siemons, a student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, with guidance and supervision by Medill professor Patricia Loew, Ph.D., a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.
Good Medicine, Part 1: The Native American Community Clinic integrates Western and Indigenous traditional healing models to foster community resiliency
Good Medicine, Part 2: California Native health center prioritizes cultural connection despite pandemic obstacles
Good Medicine, Part 3: Tribal health networks disseminate traditional knowledge across communities
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