The Aboriginal Peoples of North America come from a variety of different cultures. There is no single healing tradition that can be called Aboriginal North American medicine, but many of the different traditions share common ideas and images. That healing is a holistic process is a central belief in Aboriginal healing traditions. Physical healing requires spiritual, mental and emotional healing, in other words. Many Aboriginal healing practices can be described as mind-body medicine because they maintain that the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical aspects of life are connected. The four quarters of the medicine wheel, a symbol that some native elders and healers use to speak about healing, can represent these four aspects of life. A discussion of the medicine wheel as it applies to HIV disease can be found in CATIE’s magazine, The Positive Side (Spring 2004 issue).

The circle of the medicine wheel symbolizes another important feature of many Aboriginal healing traditions: the healing circle. Frequently used in Aboriginal gatherings, healing circles allow participants to speak to their community and find, as well as offer, support. The healing circle reflects the emphasis that many Aboriginal healing traditions place on people's connection to their community. Many Aboriginal traditions teach that personal or physical healing will only occur when people work to heal their relationships with the world around them.

Because of this emphasis on community, most Aboriginal healers only work with other Aboriginal people. Even healers who work with non-Aboriginal people usually expect the latter to commit to Aboriginal spiritual beliefs and the idea of shared community.

Sweat lodges and other ceremonies involving dancing, singing and chanting are also used in the healing traditions of Aboriginal cultures. How each ceremony is performed varies across North America and depends on the Aboriginal people involved.

Medicinal herbs are widely used by Aboriginal healers. Four herbs used frequently at First Nations gatherings are tobacco, cedar, sage and sweet grass. These herbs are smudged, meaning they are burnt to release them in the air. The purpose of smudging is to integrate the herbs with the surrounding environment as well as to link participants with that environment and each other. Participants become linked when they breathe in the herb, making it a part of their bodies. Sage is burned to cleanse the area before ceremonies begin, and sweet grass clears the mind of negative thoughts. Cedar cleanses the body and protects it from illness, and tobacco thanks the Creator for many things, including healing and providing food and medicine. Often used together in healing ceremonies, each of these herbs is associated with one of the four directions on the medicine wheel. Other herbs used by Aboriginal healers include Lomatium and goldenseal. Both are described in the CATIE publication A Practical Guide to Herbal Therapies for People Living With HIV.

The 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations has published Nashine Ginwenimawaziwin, or Constant Care, a guide for Aboriginal people living with HIV/AIDS. The guide reflects a holistic approach with sections devoted to the physical, spiritual, traditional, emotional and mental aspects of life. Although much of the guide focuses on palliative care (care for people who are dying), it integrates material on treatment with the cultural and spiritual health traditions of Aboriginal Peoples. For more information, contact the publisher: 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations.

To begin a healing journey in a native North American tradition, you must find an elder or healer to guide you. Contacting an elder from your own band or nation might be a good place to start. For those without close links to their home communities, Aboriginal communities across Canada are served by a network of clinics and healing centres that offer support and treatment to HIV-positive Aboriginal people. These agencies offer access to Aboriginal healers and help Aboriginal people find a range of services to holistically deal with their illness. In some cases, if the individual desires, such agencies may also help HIV-positive people access conventional Western treatment.

For a listing of AIDS services for Aboriginal people, contact the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network.