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We Know Who We Are and What Is Needed

Achieving Healing, Harmony, and Balance in Ndee Institutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2021

Nicholas C. Laluk Open the ORCID record for Nicholas C. Laluk [Opens in a new window]  and
Benrita Burnette
Nicholas C. Laluk*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 15200, Flagstaff, AZ86011-5200, USA
Benrita Burnette
Affiliation:
White Mountain Apache Tribe, PO Box 345, Whiteriver, AZ85941, USA ([email protected])
*
([email protected], corresponding author)
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Abstract

Overall healing, harmony, and balance within Ndee (Apache) communities can be understood through the Ndee term Gózhó—“beauty, balance, and harmony.” Beyond this Ndee cultural precept, however, how are such states of Gózhó achieved, whether in the past or today? Within archaeological research on Ndee lands, achieving healing and promoting health is crucial to overall individual and community well-being. Healing activities that contribute to overall states of Gózhó can take many forms. As Rybak and Decker-Fitts (2009:334) suggest, “Native American healing practices exemplify key cultural perspectives and influence the identity development of Native American individuals.” Such healing practices including the use of yellow cattail pollen (hádńdín; Typha spp.) for protection are based on traditions and perspectives typically outside the mainstream of Western psychological tenets, yet they can have significant impact on the sense of well-being for Ndee communities. Ndee cultural specialists with the White Mountain Apache Tribe demonstrate that such traditions and perspectives are not only necessary for continued community well-being but are powerful conduits amplifying the past as present, which contribute to the ongoing cyclical and reciprocal nature of the ways Ndee communities have related to Nígosdzán—Mother Earth—since time immemorial.

El bienestar general, la armonía y el equilibrio dentro de las comunidades Ndee (Apache) (Gah'nahvah / Ya Ti’ 2013) se entienden bajo el concepto “Gózhó,” belleza, balance y armonía. Sin embargo, más allá del concepto cultural teórico, ¿cómo se ha logrado el estado de Gózhó en el pasado como en el presente? Dentro de las investigaciones arqueológicas hechas en tierras de la tribu indígena norteamericana “White Mountain Apache Tribe”, se encuentra que la sanación y promoción de la salud general es crucial para el bienestar individual y de la comunidad. Actividades de sanación contribuyen al estado de Gózhó de muchas formas. Como sugieren Rybak y Decker-Fitts (2009) “Las prácticas de sanación de las tribus Norteamericanas ejemplifican perspectivas culturales clave y contribuyen al desarrollo de la identidad del individuo.” Dichas prácticas, incluyendo el uso de el polen amarillo (hádńdín; Typha spp.) como protección, son basadas en creencias y perspectivas al margen de los preceptos psicológicos occidentales tradicionales, sin embargo, tienen un impacto importante en el sentido de bienestar en las comunidades Ndee. En la reserva india “Fort Apache”, especialistas en el patrimonio Ndee demuestran que tales tradiciones y perspectivas no son solamente esenciales para el bienestar comunitario sino poderosos conductos que proyectan el pasado a el presente y que a su vez contribuyen al carácter natural de ciclicidad y reciprocidad entre las comunidades Ndee y Nígosdzán, la Madre Tierra, desde tiempos inmemoriales.

Keywords

Ndee (Apache)healinginstitutionspollenIndigenous cultural resource managementharmonyinterrelationsIndigenous methodologyNdee (Apache)recuperacióninstitucionespolenadministración de los recursos culturales indígenasarmoníacolaboraciónmetodología indígena
Type
Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 110 - 118
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology

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