Community divided on imported healing

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Strong and disparate feelings were roused by the recent sentencing of an Ecuadorian shaman and his son on charges that stemmed from the death of a 71-year-old woman who took part in a healing ceremony the men were conducting.

The issues raised by the case against Juan and Edgar Uyunkar divided First Nation communities across the country and particularly on the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve in Ontario where Jean (Jane) Maiangowi collapsed after ingesting a solution of natem, tobacco and water provided by the medicine men.

Some people rallied around the Ecuadorians, forming a committee to raise funds to defray costs for their 18-month legal battle. Others criticized the local health centre for bringing in outsiders when the community has traditional healers of its own. But now that the case is behind us, what remains to be seen is if the outcome will deter the practice of Aboriginal traditional medicine in Canada.

The Crown alleged that Juan Uyunkar brought South American vines containing harmaline into the country.

"Harmaline and its hallucinogenic properties are inherently dangerous to anyone who consumes them," said federal Crown attorney Joe Chapman. He noted, however, that the case was not a typical drug prosecution.

"This is not trafficking for profit," Chapman emphasized. "This is the administering of a drug for healing and medicinal purposes. In this particular case, the accused was not motivated by profit, was not part of organized crime as is often associated with cases of this type."

The Crown assured the court the prosecution was not brought to debate the merits of traditional, holistic medicine.

"The question before the court is what are the limits that should be placed on holistic medicine. The federal government clearly stipulates that certain substances and chemicals are not to be possessed or distributed," he said.

Both the provincial and federal Crown claimed the accused were well aware of the properties of the solution they administered to participants in the healing rituals.

"The primary concern of the federal Crown is that Juan and Edgar Uyunkar not ever be allowed to administer similar substances in Canada again," Chapman said. "It is the concern of the federal Crown that anyone who engages in holistic medicine be well aware and very familiar with all the prohibited substances as contained in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act."

After a plea bargain that saw other charges against the men dropped, the Uyunkars pled guilty on April 24 to administering a noxious substance and to trafficking in a controlled substance. In sentencing the Shuar healers, Justice Gerald Michel said, "It is necessary to bring home to all natural healers the message that they have to be careful with reference to the use of controlled substances and their consequences."

It is too soon to determine if the ruling will send a chill through the Indigenous medicine community, but some observers are beginning to offer their opinions.

Karen Manitowabi, a Wikwemikong writer and community worker, acknowledges that the prosecution has had a great impact on the community.

"For a year-and-a-half it was very quiet," she said. "It wasn't spoken about openly. It is a very touchy subject, because you feel sympathy for both sides. My heart goes out to both parties in the case."

She believes the outcome of the prosecution "might slow down the exchange of medicines because people will be hesitant and take more precautions."

Manitowabi is a strong supporter of cultural exchange among First Nations.

"The medicines are unique to each area," she said. "There is a great benefit to sharing with other communities. Along the way we have lost or forgotten some of the knowledge. By meeting with people from other cultures it helps to revive the knowledge."

Wikwemikong resident Randy Trudeau also supports cultural exchange as a way to enrich and expand tribal knowledge.

"It is a good thing to invite people from other culures," he said. "Historically, that is how we shared our medicines, such as sweetgrass, sage and tobacco. Nowadays it is more important than ever to share this knowledge."

In his view, a prosecution was not the appropriate response to the matter.

"The healers were in the wrong place at the wrong time. In our community some people felt the justice system should take over and go through proper channels, but I feel we should have worked with them on what happened and then just sent them home."

Trudeau believes the use of a community restorative justice model would have been a more appropriate way to deal with the tragic results of the ceremony.

Larry Jourdain, a family services worker from the Fort Frances area, agreed the prosecution might "put a tension or concern in the community." However, he remains a firm believer in the expansion of cultural knowledge through exchange.

"I strongly support such activity," he said during a recent visit to Manitoulin. "But there are some cautions that the Elders advise we take. As you solicit people to come from other cultures, you need to understand that the cultural system that exists [there] might not be easily transportable . . . You have to have that understanding," he said.

In his territory, the Elders have the utmost respect for Western medical practices, he said. They always advise patients to check with conventional doctors, as well as Indigenous practitioners. In addition, the medicine lodges have established policies governing use of traditional medicine and have set out guidelines for healers.

Calgary motivational speaker, Bea Shawanda, doubts the Ecuadorian case will be a setback to advocates of traditional healing. In fact, the high profile case "may even strengthen our resolve to share our medicines," she said. "It may serve to validate what we already know."

She acknowledges that some communities may be "really rigid or closed and stuck in black and white thinking" about such issues. "Some people are torn etween the traditional ways and mainstream ways, so there may be some caution, but overall the outcome will support our ways in the long run," she said.

She also suggested "it is necessary to be mindful of the continuing evolution of First Nations culture and the fact that everyone is in a different place on their healing path."

Whether the prosecution of the Uyunkars makes people fearful or not depends upon the individual's world view, said retired Laurentian University professor, Barbara Riley. "Ask yourself, how strong are you in your own belief system? As for me, I would lay down my life for my people, but a lot of others function out of fear because of the fear tactics that were used on them in the past."

She said entrenched Western medical systems attempt to put down the traditional way.

"From my own experiences I have seen that professionals try to protect their own turf," she said. "So why not in this area?"

In her view, fear is the primary enemy.

"If you are strong in your beliefs, then cases such as this will not deter you from practising natural medicine."