"Good Medicine" - Raymond Two Hawks Watson

"Good Medicine" - Raymond Two Hawks Watson

Medicine. It’s a key component of the local Indian culture, and if you’ve been blessed to engage with any of the Indian Tribes around Rhode Island, you’ve probably heard the term mentionned a time or two. The concept is so foundational that I asked the elders for permission to name my daughter “Good Medicine” and my request was granted. Logically, if there is a concept of good medicine, there is simultaneously a concept of bad medicine. I assure you, from my own personal and professional experiences, bad medicine does exist, and I do my best to stay away from it.

But what exactly is medicine? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary gives several options, speaking to the complexity of the subject matter. Contemporary society has attempted to codify the concept, but medicine has its origins in times predating the Code of Hammurabi, and forms are practiced in every part of the world. Medicine is an international concept, and a diversity of opinions and practices should be expected and honored when seeking a proper understanding.

 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Relating back to the local Indian culture it is generally understood that medicine has a spiritual component to it. It’s not only what you do once a problem presents itself, it also, and predominantly, seeking to understand and address the factors leading up to and the intentions behind one’s current disposition and circumstances. The Indians understand that medicine is as much about the outcome as it is the contributing factors and the intention behind those contributing factors. This should shed more light on why the terms good medicine and bad medicine are so prevalent in the culture. For me, the birth of my daughter was a very good thing and has caused my life to move in a much more positive direction than before she arrived. For me, my daughter is Good Medicine indeed.

 

Medicine was also the inspiration for Chief Darryl Black Eagle of the Pocasset Tribe starting the Eastern Medicine Singers drum. Chief Black Eagle recognized that Indians in the state needed to have more pride in their own specific culture and traditions and understood the power of the drum to bring people together. His general premise was that by reembracing and re-popularizing the traditional dialects of the region, we would not only promote more cultural pride, but also better inform the general public that “Eniskeetompoag” . . . we are still here. Given that I was personally seeking the former, I saw drumming with EMS as both a blessing and a responsibility. The subsequent steps I have taken with EMS have led to some tremendous outcomes personally and culturally. Trips to meet Indians in territories I never previously visited; travelling throughout Europe to perform music composed in the tradional dialects of southern New England; a better understanding and practice of my tradional culture and language; and informing and educating my children to practice their culture and speak their own language. The last part, for me, is truly where the good medicine exists; what parent doesn’t want more and better for their children?

More recently, I’ve had the opportuity to explore the local Indians’ understanding of medicine in a more professional context. Specifically, my company the Providence Cultural Equity Initiative has partnered with Howl’s (www.howls.com) to share more of the tradional Indian understanding of medicine to the geenral community. The partnership began with a conversation between Howl’s CEO Peter Glantz and I about whether any of the local Tribes had any historical relationship with any form of Cannabis. I informed Peter that there is a location in the area that my people call Assapumsik which loosely translates to “Place of gathering hemp”; however I was quite express that the indigenous engagement with hemp/cannabis should not be confused with the western standard of commodification and exploitation of the plant. For the Indian tribes, the plant was/is part of our plant medicine spectrum and was to be used accordingly. Peter was extremely open to learning more about the cultural connection that the local Tribes have with the plant, and we continued to discuss how tradional Indian culture related to or conflicted with contemporary society. The more we talked, the more connections Peter made, eventually granting Peter the understand that for the Indian tribes, cannabis/hemp was indeed a medicine and should be respected as such.

Peter was ecstatic. Having little previous conception of medicine in the fashion that the local tribes applied it, Peter immediately saw parallels with the impact of Howl’s products on the quality of life of his clients. Howl’s tinctures were more than just a fun time; they were a beneficial tool to help individuals cope with physical ailments, address mental exhaustion, and lift their spirits despite very dire circumstances. In short, Peter realized that Howl’s tinctures were good medicine for his clients, and he wanted to build on this understanding.

 

Our ongoing dialogues eventually moved beyond plant medicine to exploring how promotion of local Indian knowledge of medicine can beneficially impact today’s society. These dialogues have since materialized into a monthly newsletter entitled “Moon Medicine with Miss Cat” that highlights tradional teachings from Ramapough Lenape elder and clan mother Kathy Spirit Dancer Mann Crippen, illustrations from Seaconke Wampanoag visual artist Deborah Spears Moorehead, and photography from Jeny Hernandez-Watson. The newsletter’s title highlights the tradional 28 calendar day month that indigenous nations adhere to. The Indian calendar has a total of 13 months or 13 moons per year, in contrast to the 12 month Gregorian calendar that most use today. In every newsletter Ms. Cat shares tradional knowledges associated with each moon and relates the tradional teaching in a manner that’s relevant to the general public. The newsletter is an exciting and informative initiative, and I’m extremely proud that PCEI partnered with Howl’s to bring it to life. Indian knowledge is, of course, the original good medicine of these lands.

I’ll close my remarks by saying this; we all need more good medicine in our lives. We can’t just look at how things are today; we have to examine the factors leading up and the motivating intentions to most comprehensively understand what steps we need to take to better the future. Only then can we be sure that we’re truly creating a more healthy and vibrant community. In short, we don’t just need medicine to heal, we need good medicine. Personally, I cannot think of any better source to tap into than the local Indians. They seem to know a lot about these sorts of things.

My three cents.

Raymond Two Hawks Watson J.D., M.C.P.