Incorporating Traditional Healing Into an Urban American Indian Health Organization: A Case Study of Community Member Perspectives

Facing severe mental health disparities rooted in a complex history of cultural oppression, members of many urban American Indian (AI) communities are reaching out for indigenous traditional healing to augment their use of standard Western mental health services. Because detailed descriptions of approaches for making traditional healing available for urban AI communities do not exist in the literature, this community-based project convened 4 focus groups consisting of 26 members of a midwestern urban AI community to better understand traditional healing practices of interest and how they might be integrated into the mental health and substance abuse treatment services in an Urban Indian Health Organization (UIHO). Qualitative content analysis of focus group transcripts revealed that ceremonial participation, traditional education, culture keepers, and community cohesion were thought to be key components of a successful traditional healing program. Potential incorporation of these components into an urban environment, however, yielded 4 marked tensions: traditional healing protocols versus the realities of impoverished urban living, multitribal representation in traditional healing services versus relational consistency with the culture keepers who would provide them, enthusiasm for traditional healing versus uncertainty about who is trustworthy, and the integrity of traditional healing versus the appeal of alternative medicine. Although these tensions would likely arise in most urban AI clinical contexts, the way in which each is resolved will likely depend on tailored community needs, conditions, and mental health objectives.