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It says on Pg 120 that witchcraft only manipulates a small portion based on something happening, with that knowledge can we even try to use it in Western medicine.?

1."Some people act like witchery is responsible for everything that happens, when actually witchery only manipulates only a small portion of it.(120)

2.  "It's up to you.  Don't let them stop you.  Don;t let them finish off this world." (141)

3. "All the promises they made to you, Rocky, they weren't any different than the other promises they made you," (117)

I noticed that Tayo's character is finally developing.  I like that II was able to learn more about a medicine man and all they can do.

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Ceremony pg 104-147.            Macy Scharff

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Ceremony pg 104-147.            Macy Scharff

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Tayo feels as though he is stuck in between the Native American way and the white world because of his background. How does this affect the way he sees both Western medicine and the native traditions?

1. "His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (Silko 116).

2. "But don't be quick to call something good or bad. There are balances and harmonies always shifting, always necessary to maintain" (Silko 120).

3. "He walked down the ditch beside the highway, below the shoulder of the highway. He didn't want anymore rides. He wanted to walk until he recognized himself again" (Silko 143).

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How does Tayo's heritage and background affect how he lives his life?

1. "At one time, the ceremonies as they had been performed were enough for the way the world was then" (116).

2. "Medicine didn't work that way, because the world didn't work that way. His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (116).

3.  “He wanted to walk until he recognized himself again” (143).

I really enjoyed the ceremony that was performed for Tayo. I think that seeing that was very cool and a good part of the book for me. I also think that learning more about the medicine man was good in order to give more background about how the culture works.

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Is the discussion of witchcraft relevant to modern medicine?

"His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (Silko 116).

"He blinked back the tears, but he didn't move. He was tired of fighting. If there was no one left to trust, then he had no more reason to live" (Silko 113).

"It's up to you. Don't let them stop you. Don't let them finish off this world" (Silko 141).

It stuck out to me that this chapter spent a lot more time addressing the historical grief that Indians face. Betonie also had very strong feelings for the poor state of the world, seemingly caused by this disharmony between the Indians and white people. I'm glad Tayo's character seems to be developing, so it's slightly easier to follow what's going on in his head.

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As the world keeps changing, so does the world of healing. Has the definition of both harmony and disharmony changed or broadened? Or has disharmony grown bigger while harmony in one’s life narrowed?

“Cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything.” (116)

“Things which don’t shift and grow are dead things.” (116)

“It is the people who belong to the mountain.” (118)

“I’m walking back to belonging… happiness… long life.” (133)

I found this section very interesting, I feel as if Tayo is growing closer to the earth and his surroundings. He’s realizing it takes many different factors to achieve harmony in his life.

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How has Tayo's distrust for people and his condition come about?

1. "He had the tossed the coins to them the way he had tossed them from the bridge in San Diego, in a gentle slow arc. Rocky wished out loud that night for a safe return from the war, but Tayo couldn't remember his wish" (106).

2. "His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (116).

3. "But you see, Tayo, we have done as much fighting as we can with the destroyers and the thieves: as much as we could do and still survive" (118).

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Question: Tayo remarks during this section that he has never understood the ceremonies of the Navajo, and simply wants help. Do his thoughts of inadequacy hinder his own ability to receive the help he needs?

Quotes
1: "He was breathing faster, and he could feel the dear surge over him with each bat of his heart. They didn't want him around. They blamed him. And now they had sent him here, and this would be the end of him" (112)
2: "Medicine didn't work that way, because the world didn't work that way. His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (116)
3: "When they look they see only objects. The world is a dead thing for them the trees and rivers are not alive the mountains and stones are not alive. The deer and bear are objects. They see no life" (125)

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this chapter. I felt the ceremony performed for Tayo was incredibly moving, hearing the stories of the Native American's and the medicine man were incredibly interesting and gave a lot more context!

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How does Tayo's "double heritage" or background affect his daily thinking? What about from a medical standpoint?

1. "At one time, the ceremonies as they had been performed were enough for the way the world was then" (116).
2. "Nothing is that simple," he said, "you don't write off all white people, just like you don't trust all indians" (118).
3. "He didn't make it though,. I was supposed to help him, so he'd make it back. They were counting on him. They were proud of him. I owed him that much. After everything that happened. I owed it to him" (121).

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How does the story of white people affect Tayo?

1.       “What Tayo could feel was powerful, but there was no way to be sure what it was” (114).

2.       “Suddenly the feeling was there, as strong as it had been that day in the jungle. “He loved me. he loved me, and I didn’t do anything to save him” (114).

3.       “His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything” (116)

4.       “He wanted to walk until he recognized himself again” (143).

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Betonie tells Tayo the story of his Mexican grandmother. What significance does this story play in helping Tayo reconcile his own mixed heritage?

1. "'People wondering why I live so close to this filthy town. But see, this hogan was here first. Built long before the white people ever came. It is that town down there which is out of place. Not this old medicine man'" (109).

2. "But he had known the answer all along, even while the white doctors were telling him he could get well and he was trying to believe them: medicine didn't work that way, because the world didn't work that way. His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (116).

3. "Sometimes she was bitter because of what they had done to her in the end, after all the years she had helped them. 'Sometimes I have to shake my head...because human beings deserve exactly what they get" (140).

I found that I really liked the medicine man (Betonie) in this section and the ways that he seemed to have a more complete perspective. For instance, he offers the understanding that not all white people are bad, in the same way that not all indigenous people are good. Overall, I think the ways that he redirected Tayo's thinking have potential to help Tayo a lot in the long run.

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Tayo often feels inferior to white people, but Betonie tells him "we invented white people" (122). Does the witchcraft story play a role in Tayo's healing process?
1. "'In that hospital they don't bury the dead, they keep them in rooms and talk to them'" (114).
2. "His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (116).
3. "'I wonder what good Indian ceremonies can do against the sickness which comes from their wars, their bombs, their lies?'" (122).
Tayo realizes that Betonie has hazel eyes. I wonder if Tayo trusts him more knowing that he is of mixed race too.

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We seem to have this constant theme about the white man throughout the book as it seems to expand on this idea that white people are bad as in the book one of the Natives origin stories is that white people were made by witches. It seems like this theme that natives have is building towards something.

1 " It strikes me as funny, the medicine man said, shaking his head, People wonder why I live so close to this filthy town. But see, this hogan was here first. Built long before the white people ever came" (109)

2 "That is the trickery of the witchcraft, he said They want us to believe all evil resides with white people" (122)

3 " Don't let them stop you. Don't let them finish off this world. (141)

It still seems odd the way the story seems to be pushing Tayo. It seemed like in this section moves away from Tayo's past and sort of drops off in a new direction which made it harder to follow.

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Tayo is stuck in between  his Indian and White/Mexican heritage which leads to his view point of the world and his struggle with accepting his traditional Indian family. Through his process of healing Tayo is seen as a dirty Indian from the white community and an outsider in his Indian community, could his possibly pose a problem in Tayo's healing process and hold him from a healthy life?
1. "There was something about the way the old man said the word "comfortable." It had a different meaning---not the comfort of big houses or rich food or even clean streets, but the comfort of belonging with the land, and even peace of being with these hills" (108).

2." But he had known the answer all along, even while the white doctors were telling him he could get well and he was trying to believe them: medicine didn't work that way, because the world didn't work that way. His sickness was only part of something larger, and his cure would be found only in something great and inclusive of everything" (116).

3." Sometimes I have to shake my head, ' she'd say, because human beings deserve exactly what they get" (140).

I wonder if the medicine man has a deeper connection with Tayo because Betonie's mother was a Mexican making him half-blooded like Tayo, would that make him trust him more or more willing to heal? I think that Betonie's ceremony seemed to "heal" Tayo as we see in the next chapter him enjoying his car ride with Harley and friends. It seems like Tayo has been very guarded but his character seems to shift after the ceremony with Betonie and I wonder if it has taught him to relax his mind and not think about the past.

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We see two different times when Tayo is feeling closer to himself, one being with the medicine man and feeling connected to the earth and then another when he is in the truck with Harley, Leroy, and Hellen Jean drinking wine and laughing. In a sense, these symbolize the two different worlds, in this kind of situation is it important to have a balance between both or is one better than the other?

1. "Even while the white doctors were telling him he could get well and he was trying to believe them: medicine didn't work that way, because the world didn't work that way" (Silko 116).
2. "'They only fool themselves when they think it is theirs. The deeds and papers don't mean anything. It is the people who belong to the mountain'" (Silo 118).
3. "I was born from the mountain/ I leave a path of wildflowers/ A raindrop falls from me/ I'm walking home" (Silko 133).

I am a little confused with Tayo and if he is actually getting better or not. He seemed to be when he was with the medicine man and when he was connecting to the earth like in my last quote, but then he gets in the truck and starts drinking wine and is laughing, so is this him just hiding his pain or is he actually getting better, I cannot tell.

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One part that was confusing was the very beginning. I wasn't quite sure how Robert and Tayo ended up heading to the medicine man.  It seems like it kind of came out of nowhere.

"We can because we invented white people; it was Indian witchery that made white people in the first place" (122)

"He could see no signs of what had been set loose upon the earth: the highways, the towns, even the fences were gone... It was a special place. He was smiling. He felt strong" (129)

"He didn't have to remember anything, he didn't have to feel anything but this; and he wished the truck would never stop moving" (147)

I think that it is interesting how the old medicine man "healed Tayo. While it doesn't directly say he is healed, you can see through his actions and personal thoughts that he is beginning to feel better than he did. The ceremony that was done on Tayo had some effect that did help him.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear
CH. 11-14

In what ways can medical students have experiences like Alvord’s that will allow them to grow and see different practices? Without first hand experience how are doctors suppose to incorporate both Western medicine and Navajo belief?

“Are such burst of disharmony in our lives symptomatic of larger, more endemic, global imbalances? Navajo philosophy—in which everything in the universe is of equal importance.” (154)

“Yet it goes against Navajo convention to approach a medicine man and ask to be taught.” (159)

“I had learned how to respect my patients and empower them. I had learned how important It is to acknowledge and value each member of the medical team. I had learned that when it comes to treating patients’ illness, everything matter.” (185)

Throughout the last four chapters, Alvord grows tremendously as a doctor because she has now experienced seeking care of the Navajo culture and has been the patient in a medical situation. This just goes to show how important first hand experience really is.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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How could Western medicine adapt the Navajo views better in order to make everyone of culture feel safe and comfortable?

1. "If a person respects and honors all these relationships, then they will be Walking in Beauty." (186)

2. "I needed the patients' spirits to assist me in surgery" (Alvord 188)

3. "Once again Western medicine was 'discovering' something that indigenous people had been aware of for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years" (151).

I found these chapters interesting because it shows a different point of view from the rest of the book.  I think that it did a good job of showing her experience as a patient and all of the harmony and balance that goes into Navajo culture.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14 Luke Henkhaus

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14 Luke Henkhaus

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How could trying to live more in harmony and balance affect one's health? Does this come into play in medicine?

1. "As my pregnancy advanced, I wondered what "bad things" I might have already seen and if they are somehow affecting the baby" (153).
2. "Some surgeons seem to have disharmony in their practices. Some surgeons often come across major difficulties in the OR. They are collectively referred to as "black clouds." Such doctors always seem to attract "problem" patients" (154).
3. "I'd wanted to add at least a few of the rituals in my baby's delivery" (175).

I found these chapters interesting talking about harmony and balance and how it is a big part of Navajo culture. Lori seems to take these same virtues in her practice and through her pregnancy in these chapters.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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On page 187 Alvord talks about how she will look at the person's whole life, but most healers live in the same community for decades.  Since she has not lived with most of her patients community, would her was of healing change at all?

1. "I had heard stories about how older Navajos were able to chose their time of death."(184)

2. "I had learned that when it comes to treating patients' illness, everything matters: our efforts, their efforts, their spiritual health, the health of their relationships, their comfort with the trust in the procedure they would undergo." (185)

3. "If a person respects and honors all these relationships, then they will be Walking in Beauty." (186)

I enjoyed reading about Alvords journey through her pregnancy.  It amazed me that she did know she was pregnant till four months in.  Judging by her profession I would find it easy to know that your are pregnant.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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How can Western medicine utilize the macro view of health that Navajo medicine is based on?

1. "Many traditional Navajos believe that just thinking bad thoughts can affect one's well-being. Maybe 'not looking at bad things' was a way to stop a chain of bad thoughts from starting" (151).

2. "The trip home went so fast, I scarcely noticed it...I realized that I felt happy, and I knew that everything would somehow be all right for Kodi and me and Jon" (169).

3. "I could now speak from personal experience about the combination of Western medicine and Navajo ways: It had produced my beautiful, healthy baby boy" (181).

I find these chapters interesting because they don't really concern her experience in medicine, but her experience as a patient. The last two quotes above show that her experience as a patient reinforces her beliefs as a doctor that Western medicine combined with Navajo beliefs is a special treatment.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Ch. 11-14

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Ch. 11-14

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Alvord says “the time has come for a critical shift in the practice and delivery of medicine” (191). How could Navajo practices of harmony and balance be implemented into Western medicine on a large scale?
1. “My colleagues—the nurses and doctors I worked with—had teased me about how as a doctor I am supposed to understand people’s bodies, and yet I had missed all the clues with my own” (151).
2. “Walking in Beauty had already taught me so much and helped me ‘unlearn’ many concepts I had been taught in my medical training” (185).
3. “The time has come for a critical shift in the practice and delivery of medicine. It is ironic that so-called ‘primitive cultures’ such as the Navajo have understood these concepts for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years” (191).
I enjoyed seeing Alvord’s growth as a person and surgeon. I like how she started her journey at Dartmouth and ended the book with her accepting the position as associate dean. The last chapter justifies her move across the country and answered a lot of questions I had.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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Is it possible for the Navajo way of medicine to play a more vital role in healthcare throughout Western culture?

"I needed the patients' spirits to assist me in surgery" (Alvord 188)

"It would be a place where illness was thought of not as a matter of a single organ or bodily system but rather as the effect of an imbalance" (Alvord 189).

"People were working to make this hospital a 'healing environment,' where patients felt comfortable and where the natural environment-the trees, sun, and sky-were invited to come as close as possible, to encourage healing as well" (Alvord 194).

I find it interesting that after all the time she spent working in Gallup that she decided to move across the country to work for Dartmouth. She spent many years building relationships with doctor's and patient's and to move across the country seems out of place for her. It seems that the move would cause an "imbalance" in her life which is something she strives to be against.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 11-14

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While Navajo healing practices aren't perfect, there is a lot that Western Medicine could learn from them. What are some practical ways that the Navajo beliefs of harmony and well being could be adopted into Western Medicine that would be beneficial to the overall level of care that patients receive, without sacrificing the quality?

1. "Once again Western medicine was 'discovering' something that indigenous people had been aware of for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years" (151).

2. "His sense of humor and spirit, his embodiment of my own duality, his wisdom at such a young age, and his balanced approach to life were evidence that I was right in my instincts to drive to Tuba City" (160).

3. "But most importantly, I now have the opportunity to teach Dartmouth medical students how to respect their privilege of placing their hands inside another human being" (195).

I thought that the including of Alvord's own experience as a patient was deeply valuable as she learned for herself first hand how Western Medicine can interfere with Navajo culture and what types of decisions patients have to make as they decide to emphasize culture or safety. To me, the chapters about her pregnancy and the birth of her son were very impactful and demonstrated that she knows what it is like to be a patient, and also that she is willing to grow in her understanding of what it means to be a doctor.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Ch. 11-14

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Ch. 11-14

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Is every doctor capable of finding balance and harmony in order to give the patients the best possible care? Can we really expect physicians to adapt the Navajo concept of walking in beauty?

"'The whole planet is inside the four sacred mountains if you think about it,' I joked to myself, 'since the planet is round" (Alvord 193).

"The ideal hospital would not smell like a hospital; nor would it necessarily look like a hospital. Perhaps it would have adobe walls and fresh, clean, natural smells. . . In addition to state-of the-art operating rooms and equipment, there would be a ceremonial space, for use by any who felt the need for it. People who speak the language of the patients would be there at all times" (Alvord 189).

"In my dream delivery, Jon would have caught Kodi. I would also integrate all sorts of traditional Navajo ways into the birth. But due to my dangerously high blood pressure, this baby needed to come out soon--and by state-of-the-art high-tech means. I would have to forgo my imagined traditional birth for medical pragmatism" (Alvord 174).

I found it ironic that Alvord found herself in the same situation as many of her patients, where she had to choose Western medicine that contradicts Navajo tradition because of the severity of her condition. It was also interesting that her visit to the medicine didn't lower her blood pressure, but it eased her mind. I think her idea of hospitals that incorporate Navajo belief into the design would be really effective as well.

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Question: How can the concepts of beauty all around us, and the idea of our actions having consequences near and far be implemented in medicine, both in the United States and around the world?

Quotes:
1: The song passed over me, around me, and through me. Beauty was above me, below me, behind me, in front of me. It felt like a cool breeze (168)
2: It goes against Navajo convention to approach a medicine man and ask to be taught. Such students are chose, just as medicine men are chose or spiritually guided, usually when they are very young (159)
3: It meant that I would soon be in a complete role reversal- the faces that were usually at my side, listening to my advice, would be hovering over me, consulting with one another about my condition (172)

I really appreciated how this novel ended and tied things together with traditional Navajo beliefs in the time of Dr. Alvaro's pregnancy. Native American values and customs helped Dr. Alvaro to understand the far-reaching consequences (both positive and negative consequences) of their actions and attitudes. Being calm and respecting traditions that are close to her helped make the experience of having a child in this place more rewarding and special! In addition, this attitude helped her to better understand the people she was helping and further understand her identity as a Navajo woman!

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (Ch. 11-14)

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (Ch. 11-14)

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How does Alvord use her personal stories between her Navajo culture and Western Medcine along with her patient's stories to strengthen the evidence the need of balance between Western medicine and Navajo beliefs?

1. "Once again Western medicine was 'discovering' something that indiginous people had been aware of for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years" (Alvord 151).
2. "In the Navajo world he was so revered that at mealtimes the elder people walked behind him and waited until he'd tell them to eat. In his other world, at the IHS, people might casually ask him to get them a cup of coffee" (Alvord 159).
3. "I could now speak from personal experience about the combination of Western medicine and Navajo ways: It had produced my beautiful, healthy baby boy" (Alvord 181).

These chapters really showed how much Alvord had grown as a doctor and a member of the Navajo culture. When she left for medical school, she knew it was bad to leave her tribe but she did not seem to care that much, then she became a doctor and started to get back into the tribe and really follow their beliefs, and finally, at the end, she is leaving her tribe but she is doing so to help spread how Navajo beliefs can help strengthen the medical world for all patients. I thought this was a great book and I highly idolize Alvord.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear. Chapters 11-14.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear. Chapters 11-14.

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Throughout the book Doctor Alvord talks about how different both Western and Navajo cultures are. She had to adapt to western culture, but she felt like she was losing the Navajo way. She gets asked by someone if the concepts can be applied in other cultures (195). What concepts could be used in other cultures and what ones would be considered offensive? What techniques can be used in other cultures?

1.       “I will have to remember the degree of misery when I am treating really sick patients, I thought. I will have to remember the way senses are altered” (178).

2.       “Beauty to Navajos means living in balance and harmony with yourself and the world. I means caring for yourself—mind, body, and spirit—and having the right relationships with your family, community, the animal world, the environment—earth, air and water—our plant and universe” (186).

3.       “The Navajo view is a macro view, whereas Western medicine often takes a micro view” (187).

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (CH.11-14)

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (CH.11-14)

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What is the biggest value in Native American culture when it comes to helping with Dr.Alvord with her pregnancy?
"Native people are the poorest ethnic group in the country five times more likely than anyone else to not have plumbing." (160)

"A baby's laugh is a sign that the soul has become attached to the body." (171)
"It was hard to imagine Robyn relinquishing her role as baby doctor to become a baby doctor's patient." (172)

Overall it seemed to be that the greatest value that Native traditions had on Dr. Alvord was helping her mentally. The Healer Thomas due to his prayer seemed to calm her down in a way that would help deliver the baby in a more healthy and more comforting way.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (CH. 1-3)

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (CH. 1-3)

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What are the differences between being a surgeon and being a healer?

“Although I was a good surgeon, I was not always a good healer.” (3)

“It is my hope and vision that groups of people can learn from one another—that the culture of medicine can ;earn from the culture of Native Americans, and that both can be richer for the experience.” (3)

”Decide,” the world whispers to them, “you must choose.” (24)

I find it very interesting that Alvord is walking a very fine line between two very different communities. She does have the advantage that she grew up white at the Navajo Reservations as she is more accepted. Her hopes are to come back and integrate both medical practices to provide the best care possible for Navajo people at the reservation.

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How does Alvord's idea of a "good doctor" differ from Tweedy and Ofri's?

Cast in this light, the decision came easier. I took a deep breath. Someone handed me a scalpel. I'm not afraid, I told myself. I reached down to the shape below me and slid the scalpel into the skin" (Alvord 43).

"From her example we learned that to be Navajo was to be a part of the Dine nation as well as the the larger American culture, proud and strong. But simply by opening our eyes, we could also see that to be Navajo meant to be downtrodden, and broken, treated like a lesser human being by white people" (Alvord 11).

"Like all things, a  song may be seen in scientific terms or in spiritual terms. Yet neither one is sufficient; they need each other to truly represent the reality of the song" (Alvord 5).

It stuck out to me that Alvord utilizes juxtaposition so often to compare the Navajo world with the outside world, as well as her beliefs and mannerisms with those of her white classmates. It's clear that the two worlds she's living in are very different, and she makes the reader feel that sense of imbalance and the need for her inner harmony to be restored.
I also find it interesting that unlike Tweedy and Ofri, she lets us get to know her before she begins to tell grueling stories. This seems to parallel what she says in the book about getting to know people before asking any probing questions or invading their space.

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Alvord makes the claim that modern medicine is in crisis (2). Assuming that this is true, what qualities of the healing practices of indigenous peoples can contribute to solving this healthcare crisis and why?

1. "Knowing and treating my patients was a very profound privilege, I realized, and as a surgeon I had license to travel to a country no other person can visit--to the inside of another person's body, a sacred and holy place" (15).

2. "Believe it or not, we never imagined that the "Indians" in movies and television shows has anything to do with us. We thought of them as foreign and bizarre people, like cartoon characters, with peculiar practices" (18).

3. "Again, the system seemed to have the ability to attain balance, like the planet. The body was very much like the Navajo philosophy of the universe. It had hozho. It was beautiful" (37).

So far, I really enjoy Alvord's writing. I find it very remarkable that someone who has been raised her whole life to not bring attention to herself can write such introspective things and publish them for people to read. I love reading and journeying with her as she discovers who she is as she becomes more and more aware of the two worlds she is apart of. I'm looking forward to hearing more about her journey as she heads into the clinical world!

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Scalpel and the Silver Bear CH 1-3; Solomon Mamola

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Scalpel and the Silver Bear CH 1-3; Solomon Mamola

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How can we adjust the acceptance of different cultures for more than just fulfilling the college board requirements?

1. "In my two worlds I am two different people, defined in different ways" (Alvord 8).

2. “We should treat our patients the same way we would treat our own relatives” (Alvord 16).

3. "He wasn't invasive in his questions, and though gentle conversation he was able to learn many things he needed to know as a physician. His patients loved him, and he was deeply concerned with their welfare" (Alvord 47).

I think that seeing a journey like hers is very interesting because it is not very traditional, especially where she comes from.  Learning about the Navajo people is something I really like because it is a culture of people that I have never heard of before.  Their beliefs are so much different that it is cool to compare and contrast our two cultures at hand.

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Scalpel and the Silver Bear Ch 1-3.     Macy Scharff

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Scalpel and the Silver Bear Ch 1-3.     Macy Scharff

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How important do you feel it is for doctors to separate their Western medicine practices from their cultures practices? What are ways to separate these  different practices from a professional standpoint?

Quotes
1. "Healing is not only a one-to-one relationship, it is multidimensional. At the basis of Navajo philosophies of healing is a concept called "Walking in Beauty." It is a way of living a balanced and harmonious life, in touch with all components of one's world" (Alvord 3).
2. "In many other cases hospitals are avoided. Navajo people know that death lies inside hospital walls" (Alvord 41).
3. "He wasn't invasive in his questions, and though gentle conversation he was able to learn many things he needed to know as a physician. His patients loved him, and he was deeply concerned with their welfare" (Alvord 47).

I think that reading about a medical professional from a different background than commonly heard about is really interesting. Learning about the practices that the Navajo people believe in is really intriguing because things they believe in such as singing to help heal are practices I had never heard of.

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How can underprivileged and oppressed individuals, such as those in the Native American community, be inspired to pursue their dreams?

1: 'Any physician will tell you that unless a dying patient has hope and emotional strength, the will to live, a doctor can do little to save him" 7
2: 'Today Navajo children are still standing on the playground where I stood, facing the critical decision I would face after I graduated high school: to leave the rez, or to stay and cleave to traditional ways. To let the desert live inside them, or to try to wash it away" 24-25
3: "The very thought of exhibiting my skills and knowledge before others was disturbing: I could not bring myself to participate in class discussions and debates, or to volunteer answers to professors' questions, although it was expected" 39

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Intro-Ch. 3 

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Intro-Ch. 3 

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When Dr. Alvord attended Dartmouth, the unofficial mascot was an Indian. She says it made her feel even more alienated and served as a caricature. Should schools still be allowed to use Native Americans as mascots?

1. “In my two worlds I am two different people, defined in different ways—in one by my clan and people, in the other by my education and worldly accomplishments. In one by blood, in the other by paper” (8).
2. “We learned what it was like to feel peripheral. This was doubly ironic, because we felt peripheral to a culture that was itself peripheral to the larger culture that had engulfed it. We lived on the margin of a margin, which is dangerously close to nowhere at all” (12).
3. “The very thought of exhibiting my skills and knowledge before others was disturbing: I could not bring myself to participate in class discussions and debates, or to volunteer answers to my professors’ questions, although it was expected” (39).

I like Dr. Alvord’s less traditional path to becoming a surgeon. She is a minority, as both a Native American and woman, giving us a very unique cultural perspective.

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How could medical school be adjusted to account for all cultures? How could medical school be reformed to include similar beliefs that Alvord provides?

1. "I am reminded of the metaphor of weaving. My life itself feels like a Navajo rug I am weaving, where the warp is one culture and the weft another. I pull the strings in my life across itself and make it make sense" (Alvord 8).

2. "We must find what has been lost as we have become enraptured with scientific advancements: working with communities, and creating bonds of trust and harmony. We must learn how to sing" (Alvord 16).

3. "To let the desert live inside them, or to try to wash it away. They too hear the voice of the wind and the desert, smell the strong smells of our people, and feel the ways we came from" (Alvord 25).

I find Alvord's style very interesting compared to Tweedy and Ofri's. Tweedy and Ofri used individual stories, but Alvord introduces bigger ideas like education or leaving the reserve and using multiple stories to explain her experience with them. She provides the Navajo belief in contrast to the Western idea.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, Luke Henkhaus

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, Luke Henkhaus

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Native Americans who have differing views from white doctors and also go into the medical field have to learn in a way that they are not used to. Do you think that this gives them an advantage overall or is it something that needs changed?

"In my two worlds I am two different people, defined in different ways" (Alvord 8).

"Amazingly enough, as I was gradually allowing my Navajo upbringing to affect my Western medical practice" (Alvord 12)

"I always remembered that I too was of bear clan and was therefore strong" (Alvord 24).

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear. Intro-Chapter 3. 

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear. Intro-Chapter 3. 

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Native Americans who go into the medical field and have different beliefs then the “White man” should they be able to opt out of certain tasks? Such as touching a cadaver.

1.       “Now more then ever, patients themselves feel removed and forgotten, powerless in the face of the institutions that were created to help them” (Alvord 2).

2.       “We should treat our patients the same way we would treat our own relatives” (Alvord 16).

3.       “And the longer I stayed outside the sacred mountains the more I adopted “white” behavior. I felt I was losing touch with my culture, and inside I mourned this loss” (Alvord 52).

I found this reading interesting. It interesting to see the difference between two worlds. I talked to my sister-in-law (who works as a surgical technician and now in school for nursing) about what I read. She conferred some of the things said and added others.

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When we talk about the doctor-patient relationship we talk about making connections with the patient to build that trust and make them feel comfortable, but in this book, Alvord talks about how within her tribe, this is considered rude and instead they use music to heal. How is the use of music for healing similar to Tweedy and Ofri's methods of working to build a relationship? Is it just as effective?

1. "They want to feel like more than a set of organs and bones, nerves and blood, and participate in the process of restoring their body to health" (Alvord 2).
2. "White people know what it is to be a family, but to be a tribe is something of an altogether sort" (Alvord 32).
3. "In the Native American world, this way of behaving is a terrible, embarassing intrusion. Personal, private information is just like property.." (Alvord 46)

Reading this book gives me so much hope of going into the medical world as a female. Alvord not only goes through all of this as a female but also as part of Indian tribe where leaving the land of the tribe and performing certain practices in medicine is frowned upon; however she somehow still is part of both "lives," the medicine one and the Indian one. She is a strong role model for us females that want to go into the medical field.

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How do indigenous people explain the fact that we have found causes of diseases that aren't related to what they believe?

"Buy beyond all of this, I had to combat another level of discomfort; Navajos do not tough the dead. Ever." (Alvord 40)

"What happened to me was comparable in that an overworked resident almost caused a death. But in this case both the resident and the patient were the same person: me." (Alvord 52)

"But perhaps it was not the residency call system that had caused my illness at all. As a resident, I had violated the basic Navajo principles of living in harmony and balance." (Alvord 55)

I find it remarkable how well Alvord is able to go through medical school when it goes against everything she had ever been taught. Don't draw attention to yourself, don't touch a dead body ever. It's amazing that she was able to look at the scenario she was in and interpret it in a way it was alright with her personal morals.

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 1-3

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The Scalpel and the Silver Bear Chapters 1-3

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To what extent should cultures be represented when it comes to medicine in comparison to western technology?

1.Page 3-I was a good surgeon, I was not always a good healer

2 page 10 -To talk about myself in a book is to go against a part of myself.

3. Page 14-Their belief system sees sickness as things being out of balance.

I personally really enjoyed reading about the aspects of her culture and how it has developed over time. It really was powerful how she is able to adapt and live in two completely different worlds.

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Sample question for discussion or problem related to indigenous medicine to explore in a paper

Three (or more) passages I found meaningful:
1
2
3

A few additional thoughts on today's reading:

Make this useful as part of your writing process for Paper 2!