Struthers speaks about healing

Minnesota professor presents topics of indigenous women's healing experiences

Media Credit: Jessica Tonsfeldt/Staff Photographer

"Healing is a natural manifestation of feminine principles, an inherent responsibility of mothers and wives," said Roxanne Struthers during a seminar on "Indigenous Women as Traditional Healers," which took place at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the Glacier room of the Atwood Center.

Struthers has a doctorate in nursing and is an assistant professor with the school of nursing at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. She was born and raised on the White Earth Indian Reservation. Her tribal name is Falling Snow. Struthers gave her perspective on traditional women's healing experiences.

"There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to be a healer," Struthers said. "One reason that was very clear to me was given to me in a dream."

In the old days the Ojibwa people had no books. All their wisdom and knowledge came from dreams. Testing their dreams they learned their own strengths. The ability to dream was cultivated from earliest childhood. The dream, once secured, is of great importance in the life of the individual.

"I was the one who was supposed to write some of this information down." Struthers said. "A large concept of American Indian medicine has not ever been put to paper and some of it never will be. Our tradition about the way we had things down was through the oral tradition, through the stories we tell each other.

"Before I started on this venture, I had to make sure this was appropriate to do," she said.

Struthers decided to talk to some of the elders, giving them tobacco before asking for their honest opinion.

"I spoke to three different elders for their approval," she said. "Some were medicine people. I was assured that this was appropriate, timely, and that I had their approval.

"I wanted to interview women healers because there is quite a bit of information written about men healers of various tribes. Very little has been written about women healers.

"When Anglo-Saxons first came to this country, many of the people who were writing things down were missionaries (males), and explorers (also males). The world of the women was not acknowledged."

The Anglo-Saxon society is a male dominant society even today.

"There is a sacred way to do research," Struthers said.

Before the interviews she prepared herself in the traditional way with the medicines provided to her by the Ojibwa people (cedar, sweet grass, sage and tobacco).

"Healers in the Ojibwa/Cree communities are connected with the people," she said. "They know everybody in their community. There is a great responsibility when you take it upon yourself to say, 'I want to be a healer,' and become one.

"Everyone has a special gift," Struthers said. "The Creator has given each of us a gift so we would be able to contribute in a manner that no one else can, sort of a trademark. There are storytellers, people who are visionaries, people who are very skilled artists. No two people are the same.

The four women that Dr. Struthers had interviewed for her information were all 48 to 59 years of age. The first woman knew she was going to be a healer when she was young. For another woman, she went to boarding school. She went on a quest for her healing skills. The third woman didn't begin using her healing methods until she was older. Up until this time, she had been taking care of her parents; it was after they had entered into the spirit world that she became an indigenous woman healer. The fourth woman was always told by many of the elders that she was a healer, and practiced her skills all of her life.

Three of the women talked about their faith and beliefs, an unbending trust. You need to believe in the seemingly impossible, the wondrous, the magical and the mystical, because it happens.

"The women also spoke of their connection with the spirit world and working from the heart," Struthers said. "Healing comes from the heart. Having that connection with your creator, the power of prayer, listening to your teachers. Everybody is still learning, even though the women of indigenous healing have been doing this for 13 years or more. Information is given to them from their ancestors and the spirits. The healing comes from the hand of the creator. You should never doubt your medicine."

"You have to walk the talk," she said. You have to make things right between yourself and your creator. You have to be healed yourself. You need to strive to stay on the path. Don't be gossiping, saying bad things about people. Maintain your balance because balance brings harmony to what you do. Live your life in a circular fashion, because everything you do comes back to you. The need to embrace mankind, that doesn't mean just to care for this person and not that one. It means not being afraid to embrace other cultures, experiencing other ways of life. It means being non-judgmental. You need to be practicing unconditional love and forgiveness.

"The most informative part of the seminar I thought was the question and answer segment," Megan Goggleye said. There is a possibility that I have some of the same questions like what certain medicines are for, and the use of herbs, songs and prayer." said Megan, who belongs to the Ojibwa nation and works at the American Indian Center on campus.

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Doug Fries can be reached at: [email protected]

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