According to give records, the federal government funded a “healing group diabetes software” that will treat the disease” through the process of social songs, meditation, music, and dance.”
The Department of Health and Human Services allocated more than$ 422, 000 in federal money for the American Indian Health Service of Chicago to launch the software, which also aims to undo” the destruction of imperialism” on the” frightened mind, body, and spirit of]the Native American ] people”. According to the offer information, western medicine is unsure about the healing potential of Native “ceremonies.”
The Biden administration’s latest move is one of the “indigenous information” movement, which claims American Indians possess key information about how the universe functions. Biden said at a cultural summit in 2022 that “respect for Aboriginal understanding and Tribal consultations]will be ] a vital part of the federal agency choice- making”.
The country’s population has the highest prevalence of diabetes among American Indians. More than 16 percent of Native communities have been diagnosed with the disorder, which is often caused by obesity, according to the American Diabetes Association. Insulin and diet modification are typically used to treat diabetes.
Health and Human Services has provided funding for specific programs that target diabetes in the American Indian community since 1997. The American Indian Health Service of Chicago did not receive funding until December 2023, despite the fact that funding for a” community-directed” program was allocated in 2016.
Program participants will have the option to enroll in a “health lifestyle change program” or take classes led by a certified fitness instructor trained by the Native American Fitness Council in addition to healing circles. ” Two young traditional dancers” will also lead dance classes, the grant reads.
” Our ancestors promoted health and wellbeing through a healthy lifestyle, including consumption of a healthy diet, medicinal plant use for healing, and ceremonies”, the grant description reads. ” Sadly, spirituality and adherence to ceremonies, rituals, and beliefs encompass an aspect of our culture that has been oppressed and forgotten. These methods will be reclaimed by The Healing Circle, and generations will be educated.
Since the White House issued a memo in November 2022 directing federal agencies to reject “methodological dogma” and take into account “indigenous knowledge” in the policymaking process, this language has become more prevalent in Washington.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control have since adopted “indigenous knowledge” guidelines for their scientific research. In environmental reviews and in a report that rejected oil drilling permits, the Department of the Interior has cited “indigenous knowledge.”
” The Department also recognizes that Tribal governance—and by extension the government- to- government relationship—is intrinsically informed by Indigenous knowledge, which is inclusive of relevant cultural norms and practices”, a 2023 Health and Human Services memo reads. In its interactions with Tribal governments and through the Tribal consultation process, HHS respects and works to advance indigenous knowledge.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.
