Celebrating Alutiiq cultural revitalization: pathways to holistic individual health and community wellness

Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2021It is well understood that disease is a consequence of varied causation. Despite the fact that many health care providers acknowledge the importance of treating patients in a comprehensive manner in order to successfully cure sickness or alleviate symptoms, the contemporary medical system dispenses care in a fragmented and frequently incomplete manner. The essential differences between Indigenous epistemologies and the predominant Western worldview has had a more devastating impact on well-being and infirmity than is often recognized. The intention of this research is to explore the importance of promoting balanced holistic health care at a deeper and more essential level in order to address root causes, accessed through communication with the natural and spiritual realms, versus merely treating the physical expressions of illness.Chapter 1: Introduction and rationale -- 1.1. Overview -- 1.2. Understanding the importance of my own story in this process -- 1.3. Connecting to the land that is home -- 1.4. The Alutiiq people of Kodiak Island -their story of healing and resilience -- 1.5. Feeling with an indigenous heart and learning to think with an indigenous mind -- 1.6. Purpose and intention of this research -- 1.7. Theoretical framework. Chapter 2: Literature review -- 2.1. Overview -- 2.2. The healing influence of relationship with spirit and nature -- 2.3. Historical influences that shaped Western worldviews -- 2.4. Current result from shifting focus to western scientific approach on wellness -- 2.5. Holistic is comprehensive but balance is the key -- 2.6. Quantum physics helps Western science accept subjective influences on health -- 2.7. Traditional healing practices review--a caution leads to deeper understanding -- 2.8. Kodiak Alutiiq cultural values -- 2.9. Evolving understanding. Chapter 3: Methods -- 3.1. Overview -- 3.2. Theoretical paradigm/framework -- 3.3. Research perspective -- 3.4. Methodology selection -- 3.5. Alutiiq community connections and relationships -- 3.6. Description of method -- 3.6.1. Familiarity with research topic -- 3.6.2. Maintaining an ongoing CIRM approach -- 3.6.3. Guiding the conversation in contrast to interviewing participants -- 3.6.4. Identifying participants with oversight and approval of Alutiiq culture bearers -- 3.6.5. Determining an appropriate setting for data gathering -- 3.6.6. Recording the data: sharing participant information or maintaining anonymity -- 3.6.7. Transcribing the conversations -- 3.6.8. Identifying the themes and reviewing them with participants to verify agreement -- 3.7. Questions this method answers/strengths and weaknesses -- 3.8. Summary. Chapter 4: Results -- 4.1. Data analysis with two-eyed seeing and looking both ways approaches -- 4.2. Overview and discussion of themes -- 4.3. General overview of all themes -- 4.4. Balance -- 4.4.1. Overview of the theme of balance - open and intact emanation of spirit -- 4.4.2. Collected observations that support the theme of balance -- 4.4.3. Summary review of participant comments on balance -- 4.5. Imbalance -- 4.5.1. Overview of the theme of imbalance-manifestations of spiritual distress -- 4.5.2. Collected observations that support the theme of imbalance -- Somatic symptoms: physical manifestations of spiritual distress such as pain or illness -- Mental health symptoms: emotional or behavioral manifestations of spiritual -- Distress such as depression or substance abuse -- Soul wound: impacts of colonization; intergenerational PTSD -- 4.5.3. Summary review of participant comments on imbalance -- 4.6. Relationships -- 4.6.1. Overview of the theme of relationships -- 4.6.2. Collected observations relationships in all realms: the human realm, the spiritual realm, the natural realm -- 4.6.3. Summary review of participant comments on relationships -- 4.7. Overall summary of findings. Chapter 5: Looking both ways with two-eyed seeing on selected findings -- 5.1. Acknowledging historical trauma to move forward -- 5.1.1. Understanding trauma - a devastating consequence of colonization -- 5.2. Gaining awareness of trauma and stressor related disorders -- 5.2.1. Western health care models that recognize and treat PTSD -- 5.3. Soul wound in the Kodiak Alutiiq community -- 5.4. Maqiwik a traditional indigenous approach to holistic health -- 5.4.1. Health benefits of the maqiwik or sweat lodge -- 5.4.2. Applying this traditional health strategy to this research. Chapter 6: Conclusions -- 6.1. Looking back -- 6.2. Revisiting the initial questions planned for the study -- 6.3. Application - looking forward -- 6.4. Suggestions and recommendations - looking forward -- 6.5. Implications for future research-looking forward -- References -- Appendices