Summary
Contents
Subject index
Dying is a social as well as physiological phenomenon. Each society characterizes and, consequently, treats death and dying in its own individual ways—ways that differ markedly. These particular patterns of death and dying engender modal cultural responses, and such institutionalized behavior has familiar, economical, educational, religious, and political implications. The Handbook of Death and Dying takes stock of the vast literature in the field.
The Native American Way of Death
The Native American Way of Death
Native American tribes exhibit reverence and respect for life. Everything is sacred: dirt, rocks, trees, animals. Death is considered a natural occurrence within life, something to be accepted rather than feared. Rather than disconnecting with the dead, Native American peoples continue to have a relationship with them. From the Native American perspective, death is not a defeat. It is not the result of an offense against God or some other deity but, rather, the common fate of all.
According to the Native American worldview, each of us has a purpose and place in the world. Health requires that we find the life we are meant to live, which may involve an extensive search to discover our purpose. Finding our purpose may result from a quest or spiritual journey. When our purpose is fulfilled, our life is ended.
For the American Indian, health and health care require an examination of relations with family, culture, work, community, environment, and cultural heritage. To maintain health, one needs to be in a state of balance with oneself and with one's family, community, culture, work, environment, and cultural heritage. Poor health, illness, and even death may result from imbalance in one or all parts of the person: body, mind, and spirit. Part of the task of healing is to determine the source of the imbalance and then restore the balance or harmony. Elements of physical healing include medicines, shelter, food, clothing, massage, and heating or cooling the body. Mental healing may occur through relaxation, storytelling, family activities, ceremonies, rituals, entertainment, and cognitive activities such as concentration, meditation, focusing on the “rules,” and so forth. Spiritual healing involves meditation, ritual, ceremonies, use of sacred objects, prayers, and even exorcism.
Tribal Healing
The traditional healer of the Native American is the shaman. The shaman is to be knowledgeable in the ways of the earth, humans, and nature. The shaman first determines the cause of the illness or pain, including the spiritual causes, and then must develop the proper treatment of the illness or pain. Holistic medicine may reflect the attempt to recognize the multiple causes of illnesses. The shaman administers both physical and spiritual medicine.1 The treatment is a process that not only heals the physical illness but also ministers to the spiritual needs that must be addressed to bring the person back into harmony or balance (Highwater 1975). The special ceremonies conducted by the shaman may take from a few minutes to several days. One shaman teaches another, and it takes years to a lifetime to learn the craft.
The power of the medicine enables the possessor of the spirit to personally contact the invisible world of the spirits (Steiger 1974). If one is meant to die, then there is little that the shaman can do; one cannot defy nature. What can be done, will be done. More than that is unnecessary and may be an affront to nature.
Native Americans provide social support in the dying and burial process through the tribe or clan of the individual. That same social support system sustains the bereaved after the disposal of the dead. The grief process includes the ceremony of the funeral, the burial, and the give-away ceremony. Extreme emotions are usually managed by these ceremonies. The spiritual nature of the living and the dead permeates the entire process.
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