Posted by http://www.azcentral.com/news/0408medicine.shtml on April 13, 1998 at 22:40:39:
In Reply to: Doctors Needed For Aboriginals posted by Kurri Sympathesiser on February 08, 1998 at 23:10:29:
VA gives Navajo care the OK
By Bill Donovan
Special for The Republic
April 8, 1998
WINDOW ROCK -- For centuries, Navajos returning from war
were welcomed back to their homeland with ceremonies to restore
them to harmony and get thoughts of war and death out of their
minds.
But since the end of World War I, Navajo veterans have been
fighting the federal government, arguing that the cost of these
ceremonies was a legitimate medical need that should be paid for
by Veterans Affairs.
On Tuesday, VA officials in Phoenix signed an unprecedented
agreement with Navajo Nation President Thomas Atcitty, making
the reimbursement of certain medicine-man expenses a reality.
"By this agreement, for perhaps the first time ever, our traditional
Navajo beliefs will be acknowledged and affirmed by the federal
government," Atcitty said.
Navajo officials said much of the credit for getting this agreement
approved by the federal government had to go to John Fears,
director of the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix.
Fears said that when he mentioned the idea to his superiors in
Washington, D.C., three years ago, the response was one of
disbelief, with many saying, "You want to do what?"
But his efforts were bolstered by studies indicating that Native
Americans, and especially the Navajo and the Sioux, came home
after serving in war with psychological problems stemming from
their military service.
So 18 months ago, a pilot project got under way to see what kind
of effect reimbursement of medicine-man expenses would have on
the mental health of Navajo veterans. The results were better than
expected, according to Leo Chischilly, director of the Navajo
Veterans' Office.
"Sometimes when a Navajo veteran went to a doctor, the doctor
could not detect anything wrong. This is when the veteran was
urged to go to a medicine man and see if they could help,"
Chischilly said.
But with an unemployment rate exceeding 50 percent in the Navajo
Nation, he said, many of the Navajo veterans couldn't afford a
medicine man.
Willie Keeto Sr., a Window Rock-area medicine man, said
Tuesday that many of the estimated 6,000 to 10,000 Navajo
veterans are unwell and in need of medicine-man services.
"This should help more veterans come forward to get (that) help,"
he said.
The agreement between the VA and the tribe paves the way for
Navajo veterans to be reimbursed $50 when they go to a hand
trembler, crystal gazer or stargazer, all of whom are traditional
Navajos who diagnose the patient and determine which of the 23 or
so Navajo ceremonies or hundreds of Navajo herbs are needed for
a cure.
The government also will reimburse Navajos for all or part of the
expenses if any of nine ceremonies - all of which aim to restore
harmony in a returning warrior - are required for the well-being of
the veteran.
For example, a hand trembler may say that a Flint Way (or
Beesheeji) is needed. This is a five-day ceremony that is done to
heal wounds from enemy weapons. Tuesday's agreement provides
a reimbursement of up to $750 for this ceremony.
Other ceremonies that may be needed include the Evil Way (which
purifies warriors affected by the dead), the Monster Way (to
counteract the effect of coming in contact with the destruction of
war) and the more widely known Yei Bei Chei (a nine-night
ceremony that, among other things, can heal hearing problems
stemming from explosions, shock and gunfire).
Fears said the government is agreeing only to pay the cost of the
medicine man and his supplies. The Yei Bei Chei, for example,
actually costs $3,000 to $4,000 to perform because there are a
number of indirect expenses, including providing food for those
involved in the ceremony and the payment of dancers.
Fears said there has also been talk about allowing Navajo veterans
to be reimbursed for a healing ceremony performed within the
Native American Church. But that is on hold until he gets some
feedback from VA attorneys, he said, since part of the ceremony
requires the ingestion of peyote, a hallucinogenic drug. Peyote use is
restricted to Native Americans who are using the substance in
traditional religious ceremonies.
"It's one thing for the federal government to allow the use of peyote;
it's another when the federal government would actually pay for it,"
Fears said.
The program probably will be expanded in upcoming months, he
said, to include other tribes in Arizona. Tribes outside Arizona will
have to contact their area VA hospitals to see whether they can
receive the same kind of benefits.
The Arizona Republic