Traditional Medicine Program; Located in Kanonkwatsheri:io Health Facility Tel: 575-2341 Fax: 575-2346 TRADITIONAL MEDICINE & ALTERNATIVE HEALING As Native People, we are well aware that Traditional Medicine, or as sometime referred to as Indian Medicine, has been here since the beginning of time. In the old days, you grew up around Indian medicine or you knew iomeone who knew alot about medicine. The Traditional Medicine/Alternative Healing Program, is under the direction of Ms. Emmy Mitchell. Some of her duties include: * To develop a strategy for the implementation and development of traditional medicine within the Primary Health Care model for the community of Akwesasne. Included is the education of providers and health care recipients about the benefits of traditional and alternative medicine. * To work with appropriate provider groups to promote a dialogue between western and traditional practitioners, so as to encourage a greater understanding and acceptance of each other's philosophies and treatments, and to solve the outstanding issues related to the practice of Traditional Medicine. * To work with the elders to define the role that the traditional practitioner will have within a Primary Health Care structure and determine the support from the community of Akwesasne for the re-introduction of traditional practices. * To sensitize and educate western practitioners regarding the orientation and use of traditional medicine. In addition, Barbara Barnes will be working as a consultant in the Traditional Medicine/Alternative Health Program with Emmy. Barbara brings with her many years of experience in the Mohawk Culture along with managerial skills. The Traditional Medicine/Alternative Healing Program is located in the Kanonhkwatsheri:io Health Facility. The office is open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, but since the program is here for the community, hours call be flexible. Community members are invited and encouraged to come into the office and talk with the staff about Traditional and Alternative Medicine. The exerps have been taken from the "The Iroquois Creation Myth" forwarded by John Mohawk The reason I am doing this is that now disease will travel over the earth. Diseases destroy many people. Now I deliver at your si medicines which may in some small way to prove be a preventive. "Now bring to me each of the various kinds of grasses and shrubs, and of the trees". Now people collected these things and brought them Skyholder. "Now", Skyholder said, "You know various names of these plants". Then he held a plant aloft and said "This will be for medicine, and we'll able to conunteract a few of the kinds of diseases". And he saw that there were only a few people who could remember the names of the plants correctly. "In the future, there will only be a few people who will know the tnedicines that can aid people. They will continue to aid the people, both in flesh and in mind. Now you see next to the next: tobacco, this will work together with the medicine plants. When one becomes sick, one will take tobacco to person who one chooses as knowledgeable in the medicines.. Then one will ask for help and will give the tobacco to the other.