The healing practices of Native Americans are thousands of years old. Tribes throughout North America learned by mixing certain herbs and plants they could heal medical ailments. Many tribes believed that one’s health was an expression of one’s spirit and so it was imperative to keep the spirit healthy. The role of medicine men was to acquire the help of the spirit to heal a sick individual, and many medicine people were born into families with long lineages in the profession.
Reverend Emmanuel – Sound & Voice Healer
Reverend Emmanuel is a Master Sound Healer and has been using his voice and energy since early childhood to assist people in their journey of self-discovery. His practice involves embracing one’s whole being by balancing energy, and doing so without judgment of what may arise or why. The Reverend has assisted people from across the globe, from those with traditional challenges to victims of terminal illnesses with his natural curative and healing powers. As he stated in an interview, "This journey is not being done to you, but with you. Your participation is required.”
George Amiotte – Medicine Man
Amiotte specializes in helping veterans overcome post-traumatic stress disorder. Part of his work involves the use of the Sun Dance ceremony in healing.
http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-george-amiotte.html
Dr. Allison Kelliher – Healer
Dr. Allison Kelliher is a Koyukon Athabascan holistic family physician, researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, and certified tribal doctor focused on community health and traditional balance.
https://www.aaip.org/people/allison-kelliher-md-koyukon-athabascan
Meda DeWitt – Traditional Healer
Meda DeWitt is a Tlingit traditional healer, ethnoherbalist, and educator who holds a master’s degree in Alaska Native traditional healing and actively practices plant-based and somatic wellness.
Hoskie Benally - Spiritual Leader and Counselor
Hoskie Benally Jr. is a Diné spiritual leader and traditional counselor based in New Mexico who preserves and shares Navajo healing ways and the philosophy of the sacred medicines.
https://www.ncd.gov/council-members/hoskie-benally-jr/
Dr. Jeffrey Henderson - Doctor Combining Western Medicine with Lakota Healing
Dr. Jeffrey Henderson is a Lakota physician (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe) who directs the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, combining epidemiology with community-based traditional Lakota healing frameworks.
Tonita Gonzales – Traditional Healer
Tonita Gonzales is the Director of Tonantzin Traditional Healing and RAÍCES (remembering ancestors, inspiring community, empowering self), located in North Albuquerque, New Mexico.
https://www.instagram.com/tonitagonzales/?hl=en
Sage LaPena – Certified Medical Herbalist
Sage LaPena is a Nomtipom Wintu ethnobotanist and certified medical herbalist based at the Sacramento health center, Healing Ways. She involves patients and their families in the healing process and recognizes our unique relationship to the community and environment.
https://snahc.org/healing-ways/
Rhonda Grantham – Midwife and Herbalist
Rhonda Lee Grantham is an Indigenous midwife, herbalist and cultural anthropologist who lives and serves families on her ancestral territories in Washington.
https://spiritaligned.org/cultural-atlas-circle-five/rhonda-lee-grantham/
Institutional Providers Offering Traditional Healing Services
- Fort Defiance Indian Health Board, Fort Defiance, AZ
Terrilynn Nez-Chee
Terrilynn.Nez-Chee@fdihb.org
- Winslow Indian Health Care Center, Winslow, AZ
Carol McCabe
carol.mccabe@wihcc.org
- Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation, Tuba City, AZ
Dollie Smallcanyon
dollie.smallcanyon@tchealth.orgHanley Manygoats
hanley.manygoats@tchealth.org
- Dolores Flores Hiak Hitevi Healing Program - Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Tucson, AZ
Marcellina Lucero
Marcellina.lucero@pascuayaqui-nsn.gov
The following books are available for “self-starters” who wish to learn more:
Healing Secrets of the Native Americans: Herbs, Remedies, and Practices That Restore the Body, Refresh the Mind, and Rebuild the Spirit
Medicinal and Other Uses of North American Plants: A Historical Survey with Special Reference to the Eastern Indian Tribes
The World We Used to Live In: Remembering the Powers of the Medicine Men
Native Healer: Initiation into an Ancient Art
(Editor’s Note: Tribes and urban Native American organizations may be able to offer referrals. A listing of tribes can be obtained in Native America Today’s community resources section)
Accept our apologies if your program/organization/website was not included. We would like to hear from you and please contact us. Thank you.
