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Book Synopsis"I listened to my mum, my dad, my gramma, that is why I am still here. That is how you stay alive." —Mida Donnessey Wisdom Engaged demonstrates how traditional knowledge, Indigenous approaches to healing, and the insights of Western bio-medicine can complement each other when all voices are heard in a collaborative effort to address changes to Indigenous communities’ well-being. In this collection, voices of Elders, healers, physicians, and scholars are gathered in an attempt to find viable ways to move forward while facing new challenges. Bringing these varied voices together provides a critical conversation about the nature of medicine; a demonstration of ethical commitment; and an example of building successful community relationships. Contributors: Alestine Andre, Janelle Marie Baker, Robert Beaulieu, Della M. Cheney, Stakawas, Katsawa, Mida Donnessey, Mabel English, Christopher Fletcher, Fort McKay Berry Group, Annie B. Gordon, Celina Harpe-Cooper, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Leslie Main Johnson, Thea Luig, Art Mathews, Sim’oogit T’enim Gyet, Linda G. McDonald, Ruby E. Morgan, Bernice Neyelle, Morris Neyelle, Keiichi Omura, Mary Teya, Nancy J. Turner, Walter Vanast, Darlene Vegh.
Trade Review"[Wisdom Engaged] gives compelling evidence that Indigenous health is fundamentally tied to land, language, and culture…. Wisdom Engaged shows that decolonisation means a return to Indigenous peoples of the power they once had over their own health and well-being. This is a crucial first step on the long road to reconciliation.” -- Jeff Kochan
"This text will be of value to novice readers seeking an entry point to learn more about indigenous traditional healing practices. Summing Up: Recommended." -- S. Perreault
"Wisdom Engaged examines the different aspects of traditional knowledge and its usage in daily routines that support a healthy lifestyle… Readers will encounter rich evidence of the interconnectivity that Indigenous peoples’ well-being has with traditions, communities, and culture…. [Editor Leslie Main Johnson] accomplishes her goal: to center traditional knowledge in exploring methods to advance individual and community health as well as healing in northwestern North American Indigenous communities. All those interested in traditional knowledge, Western biomedicine, or Indigenous and environmental health should read this compelling book.” -- Kathie Beebe, Native American and Indigenous Studies Journal, Spring 2022
“This superb volume focuses on “the role of traditional knowledge” in “healing and health” and “the interrelated web of traditions, culture, communities and wellbeing” among Indigenous communities in Northern Alberta, BC, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Alaska. Editor Leslie Johnson, a professor emerita of anthropology at Athabasca University, brings academics, elders and traditional healers together in a book highlighted by first-hand accounts such as that by Celina Harpe-Cooper, an elder in For McKay whose discussion of cranberry picking sharply reveals the local impacts of oil sands development.” AlbertaViews, July/Aug 2020
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements xi i Contexts and Holistic Approaches to Northern Community Well-Being 1 Traditional Knowledge, Healing, and Wellness An Introduction // Leslie Main Johnson 2 Making and Taking Medicine Indigenous and Western Therapeutics in an Early Contact Eastern Mackenzie Delta Society, 1858–1920 // Walter Vanast 3 Illness and Power in Times of Contact Gitxsan and Witsuwit’en Narratives of Healing // Leslie Main Johnson 4 “Our Food Is Our Medicine” Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Plant Foods for Health and Well-Being in the Canadian North and Alaska // Nancy J. Turner 5 Cranberries Are Medicine Monitoring, Sharing, and Consuming Cranberries in Fort McKay // Janelle Marie Baker and the Fort McKay Berry Group 6 Huckleberries, Food Sovereignty, Cumulative Impact, and Community Health Reflections from Northern British Columbia, Canada // Leslie Main Johnson, Darlene Vegh, and Ruby E. Morgan 7 Conditions for Well-Being Sustainatibily of an Inuit Subsistence System in a Globalized World // Keiichi Omura 8 Inuvialuit Nautchiangit, Relationships between People and Plants A Project to Document Traditional Plant Knowledge // Inuvialuit Regional Corporation 9 Community Context, Research Methods, and Cultural Ethics in the Plants for Life Project, Délı̨ne // Christopher Fletcher 10 Life Transformation and Volunteerism in Teetł’itZheh Pathway to Community Well-Being // Thea Luig ii Northern Community Voices on Wellness 11 Sip’xw Hligetdin Demonstrating the Strength, Education, Readiness, and Responsibility to Speak in the Feasthall // Art Mathews, Sim’oogit T’enim Gyet 12 Seaweed Harvesting and My Uncle’s Stories // Della M. Cheney, Stakawas, Katsawa 13 Life at Moose Lake Traditional Life in Fort McKay Territory and the Impacts of Oil Sands Mining // Celina Harpe-Cooper 14 Health Is Living Well According to Kaska Values Kaska Women’s Words // Linda G. McDonald and Mida Donnessey 15 Wisdom for Well-Being Gwich’in Elders’ Teachings // Mary Teya, Annie B. Gordon, Mabel English, and Alestine Andre 16 Healing and Spiritual Knowledge of Délı̨ne and Plants for Life // Morris Neyelle and Bernice Neyelle 17 Words of a Traditional Healer from Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories // Robert Beaulieu 18 Pathways and Choices Concluding Words // Leslie Main Johnson Contributors
