The Medicine Way is the American Indian worldview and way of knowing, a framework for understanding American Indian history through indigenous narratives that have often been overlooked by mainstream historiography. (Fixico 3) While non-Indians produced most accounts in the past, it is essential to understand the Medicine Way as it “helps the history discipline intellectualize Indigenous people” (Fixico ix) and assists Indians and non-Indian scholars in seeing a holistic approach that dissolves negative stereotypes and places Indigenous narratives at the center of their historiography.
Incorporating all dimensions into the historiography and research of American Indian history dismantles harmful and dangerous stereotypes of Indigenous people and challenges the notion of Manifest Destiny and imperialistic expansionism ( Fixico 9). Dr. Fixico, author of A Call for Change: The Medicine Way of American Indian History, Ethos, and Reality, describes that the “cultural bridge of understanding” through the Medicine Way benefits all historians as it provides a clearer picture of American Indian experiences through their reality of seeing “the world of medicine power in all things.” (Fixico 5) Indeed, “the function of the conqueror’s version, shrouded in optimistic glory, remained the prevailing narrative of the American experience, and the textbook version infiltrated the American Indian experience for the first and of the twentieth century.” (Fixico 9). “Dunken Indians,” “dirty redskins”, and “wild savages” are but a few of the derogatory names. (Fixico 13) Therefore, the Medicine Way transcends the interpretation of American Indian history through such Euroamerican biases and prejudices. Instead, it incorporates indigenous views and ethos that accurately describe their experiences and histories.
The Medicine Way “demonstrates and explains the indigenous ethos and reality,” functioning as a cultural bridge of understanding between American Indians and whites to study American Indian history holistically. (Fixico ix) Dr. Fixico states that American Indian history revolves around relationships, including the white-Indian relations for which he has created the Three Dimensions (Fixico 4). The First Dimension symbolizes the historiography of American Indian history from Eurocentric white perspectives, shrouded in simplifications and stereotypes. The Second Dimension symbolizes Indians-white “interactions” - a cross through that Dr. Fixico describes as the door representing “the threshold where the mainstream reality meets native reality.” (Fixico 4). Such interactions include missionary efforts, boarding schools, intermarriages, and conflict.
Interestingly, American Indians have always lived in this duality, existing in their world and American society. (Fixico 4) The Third Dimension represents the American Indian view of Indian-white relations and history, providing “a framework and route for enlightening non-Indians.” (Fixico 5) However, acknowledging the complex makeup of American Indian tribes is essential. A singular American Indian way of seeing does not exist. Instead, each tribe contains its ethos, history, worldviews, and reality. (Fixico 7)
The “Natural Democracy” is a foundational paradigm of the American Indian reality, consisting of everything living and non-living coexisting in harmony through the Circle of Life. (Fixico 31) Indeed, American Indian reality is cyclical and transcends European linear paradigms. It contains the symbiosis of physical and metaphysical realities, where not only the subconscious and conscious exist but also dreams, prophecies, and visions. (Fixico 11)
Additionally, the American Indian methods of recording historiography are not linear or event-based but focus on experiences. The Indian way of seeing and recording history is cyclical since linear time is less relevant than the act of doing something. (Fixico 24) Experiences define history instead of a sequence of events. Oral traditions passed through “myths, legends, and stories, and in pictographs, etchings, and paintings.” (Fixico 9)
Therefore, oral traditions contain aspects of truth, memories, experiences, and knowledge based on cultural interpretations of the past rather than empirical evidence. (Fixico 24)
The primary aspect of this reading that changed my perspective on American Indian history was oral traditions' role in recording historical events. Previously, I believed that Indigenous people, due to their lack of written language, were not as “advanced” as other cultures and could not, therefore, record historical events. Instead, Dr. Fixico opened my eyes to the understanding that American Indians contain vast amounts of records and information regarding the past. Dr. Fixico made me question “What is history?” and “How does it change based on who is telling it?” (Fixico 24)
In conclusion, the Medicine Way provides a contextual paradigm for non-Indians to understand American Indian reality and history, thus shifting the collective consciousness surrounding negative stereotypes and overlooked historiography. Expanding the discipline of history to incorporate American Indian voices and experiences is essential in the 21st century, and the Medicine Way provides an excellent template to begin the journey.
This post was originally published in Arizona State University's HST 327 Class American Indian History.
Work Cited
Fixico, Donald L. Call for Change: The Medicine Way of American Indian History, Ethos, and Reality. Lincoln and London, University of Nebraska, 2013.
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