CHINLE, Ariz. — Utah Health Scholars and Southern Utah University’s nursing program recently joined for a cultural immersion trip to Arizona’s Navajo Nation and the Hopi Health Care Center. The trip aimed to learn more about Diné (Navajo) and Hopi culture and health care.
During the trip, the students spent a morning with Diné traditional healers inside the hogan at the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility Hospital. Roland Begay, Office of Native Medicine supervisor, and Leroy Nelson, traditional counselor/healer, described the Native Medicine program at the Chinle Service Unit.
According to Begay, the vision and aim of the Office of Native Medicine are “To promote a prosperous journey of healthy living for patients, staff, and communities through Native Medicine services” and “To promote K’é and T’aa hwo a Jlt eeo (Self-Reliance) by providing spiritual cultural guidance, counseling, healing, and cultural education for the people we serve.”
Dr. Puthiery Va, internal medicine physician and public health program director at Chinle Service Unit, also came by and talked about her background and work with the Navajo Nation and Chinle Service Unit during the COVID-19 pandemic along with her experience as a physician starting out in Brooklyn and then practicing in Chinle for the last four years.
The group traveled to Spider Rock overlook in the afternoon on the first day of the trip, where they enjoyed the breathtaking views of the natural landmark. Later that evening, they joined the University of New Mexico Nursing students for a talk with Ravis McQuade Henry, a traditional Diné knowledge holder and silversmith. He answered student questions on Diné culture and his training in traditional medicine.
The group also traveled to the Hopi Health Care Center, where the students learned about Hopi culture and the services offered at the Hopi Health Care Center during a tour of the facility led by Lisa Lomavaya, public affairs specialist with the Hopi Health Care Center. Lomavaya is a Hopi tribal member, and she provided students with information on how she and her family continue traditional practices handed down through generations.
The trip provided an opportunity for the students to learn about Navajo and Hopi culture, to learn about how traditional medicine practices have been incorporated into care at the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility and how they could contribute after they graduate as health care professionals working with the Indian Health Service.
“We are thrilled to offer this experience to our students,” said Rita Osborn, executive director at the Utah Center for Rural Health. “It is an opportunity for them to learn about the rich history and culture of the Navajo and Hopi people and to gain a deeper understanding of the traditional health care practices in indigenous communities in the southwest.”
A goal for this cultural immersion trip was to provide future health care workers insight into the obstacles and challenges that exist in rural and tribal health and see firsthand the resiliency, creativity and resourcefulness that stem from the teachings of the Navajo and Hopi cultures.
The trip was led by Mark Siemon, Ph.D., assistant professor of Nursing at SUU, who worked as a public health nurse in the Chinle Service Unit.
For more information about the Utah Center for Rural Health and the Utah Health Scholars, call Rita Osborn at 435-865-8520 or email [email protected].
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