New book is a powerful health information source

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Indigenous Women's Health Book, Within the Sacred Circle

Reproductive Rights, Environmental Health, Traditional Herbs and Remedies

Editors Charon Asetoyer, M.A., Katharine Cronk, Ph.D., Samanthi Hewakapuge, M.A.

Native American, Women's Health Education Resource Center, 2004

$32.95 (US) 322 pages (sc)

Among the proliferation of self-help, lay person's wellness books available, it seems no aspect of women's health has been left untouched. Whether you seek to understand physical, mental, emotional, sociological, genetic, pharmocological, wholistic or nature-based concerns, you will find books or articles exist to explain women's biological functions in these varied contexts. Or do they?

Maybe not, if you are looking for information that respects the Indigenous woman's cultural and social norms and her genetic tendencies. Where do we find Native women's health issues identified and discussed in a source we trust?

This is where the Indigenous Women's Health Book, Within the Sacred Circle comes in.

This book is about women taking charge. Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC) executive director Charon Asetoyer unabashedly points out that not only is the book designed to give up-to-date health information, it aims to "inspire activism."

The Indigenous Women's Health Book was written for "individuals, educators, community health workers and advocates," and is intended to "provide us with the tools to better care for our community's needs, as well as our own personal needs," according to Asetoyer.

Released early this year by NAWHERC and published by Indigenous Women's Press of South Dakota in the United States, the book is packed with accurate and plainly written cradle-to-grave women's health information. More than 300 pages give insight into maintaining personal health and wellness, and clearly explain disease processes and current available treatment options from a combined traditional and Western perspective. The writers are all Indigenous women from several American tribal groups, and five Sioux women Elders were associated with the project.

Puberty, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, addictions, diabetes, cancers, osteoporosis, weight loss and female operations are included, as one would expect. But so are more controversial topics such as abortion and sterilization, and there is a full chapter called "The Politics of Reproductive Health and Rights." There is another chapter called "Two Spirited Women and Health," which assures women that "being two spirited is not a mental health problem," affirms women who claim that identity, and gives voice to their unique concerns.

Because research into the broad and burgeoning fields of health and wellness renders information outdated almost from the time it is printed, some features NAWHERC has built into this health compendium will save it from early obsolescence.

One feature is the Recommended Readings list at the end of every chapter. For the woman who wants or requires more detailed knowledge about some facet of female health, these library resources will, at the very least, empower her to be able to discuss her concerns in depth with health care providers and health administrators in her community.

In addition, most chapters contain a list of Web pages that can be expected to provide numerous links to the specific topic any woman wants.

It is almost impossible to overstate the value of this book to Indigenous women, but it does have some limitations, unfortunately, for women living north of the 49th parallel. Practically all of the print and online sources and experts cited are American. For instance, there are references throughout to the Indian Health Service (IHS), which does not exist in Canada. Also, there are numerous references to reproductive health rights; i.e., the chapter "The Politics of Reproductive Health and Rights," which in most cases will not be a template for the laws, reulations, policies and social history of this country. Canadian Indigenous women will still need to consult their local telephone books and community authorities to find resources such as domestic violence hotlines, treatment centres, and information about environmental contaminants, for example.

This well-organized and comprehensive book should inspire Indigenous women in Canada to compile and publish their own health book.

Even the National Aboriginal Health Organization based in Ottawa lists this American resource and can recommend no Canadian equivalent. A representative of NAHO told Birchbark, "We also searched on the Carleton University library catalogue to find some recent books, but there weren't any on Aboriginal women's health."

NAHO was able to recommend two books published in 2000 that provide insight into women's health and well-being; however, they do not contain medical information. The first is Being Alive Well ? Health and the Politics of Cree Well-Being, by Naomi Adelson. The other book is A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood, by Kim Anderson.