article
Botanical and ethnological studies in the Aleutian Islands: II. health and medical lore of the Aleuts
Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters • 38 • Published In 1953 • Pages: 415-432
By: Bank, Ted.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source only provides an excellent historical review of some of the early accounts of explorers, missionaries, etc., relevant to the problem of disease and its treatment among the Aleut, but also lists current practices along these lines. In addition to discussion of the various diseases afflicting the Aleut, information is also provided on the contemporary health of the Aleut (as derived from health records), and a study of the Aleut's own medical knowledge and forms of treatment. A listing of various plants used in the native pharmacopoeia is also provided in the source, as well as a brief discussion of the Aleut's knowledge of magical and poisonous plants found in the environment. From this study the author concludes that the medical and surgical lore of these people was well developed in pre-Russian (European) days, and that this knowledge was a carefully guarded secret of a chosen few (i.e., the native doctors). Today, however, the Aleut culture, under the influence of European acculturation, has deteriorated to such an extent that there is a complete dependence on the present government not only for medical care, but for economic survival as well.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Morbidity
- Pharmaceuticals
- Medical therapy
- Ethnobotany
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Aleut
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2007
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Arctic and Subarctic
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Natural Scientist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 1964-1965
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1948-1951
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1948-1951
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Atka, Umnak, and Unalaska Islands, Alaska, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Theodore P. Bank, II
- References are made to Russian historical accounts, such as Veniamenof (1823-1834). (I.S. 2005)
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 430-431)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 23011028
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Aleuts