Our talk today in class over the medicine wheel really made me think. Thinking about how you have four different things that help you stay in balance you have mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. In western medicine you have one doctor for each of them but the native American’s realized that you only need one person to keep all of them in balance. Dr. Warnes talked about how you need to have a balance in all four things because if you don’t you will try and fill the void and numb the pain. We talked about that in class and how natives filled the void with drinking alcohol.
He also talked about the type two diabetes issues within the tribes because they are not able to get good food. With 12.6% of natives American’s having diabetes and only 6.5% of white American’s having type two diabetes it makes you realize just how big of an issue it is within tribes. If they were able to get good food and able to get help with their diabetes they have now they might be able to save lives and help others not be diagnosed with type two diabetes. He talked about a very simply solution instead of building ramps for after you lose a limb to diabetes get people better food so they don’t get type two.
avestoll June 21, 2018
I also found the medicine wheel interesting. In our Western culture/medicine we have people who specialize in certain things, one doctor that specializes in the physical body, one doctor who focuses on mental health, and many more. As I am learning, Native culture and medicine believe that everything is connected. When you think about that, it really rings true. If you think about when your sick with the flu for example, you may have a fever and chills, but how do you react emotionally? Personally, I tend to be frustrated with my body for not functioning as it is supposed to. This is just one bit of proof that the sides of the medical wheel, physical-mental-emotional-spiritual, are all connected.