Coming Full Circle: Spirituality and Wellness among Native Communities in the Pacific Northwest by Suzanne Crawford-O'Brien

Abstract

Reviews  tradition,he sees an authentic dialogue of past and present. The acceptance of oral tradition especially among underrepresented voices has been long overdue, and Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce: Strangers in the Land of the Nimiipuu is vital to readers’understanding of history — its contacts, cadences, and rhythms. Much has been written about the Nimiipuu people and their encounters with Lewis and Clark and other European influences. For the first time in an academic press setting is the opportunity for readers to share,in equal parts, traditional forms of historical reporting and a companion with reference and reverence to traditions, accounts, and customs. Pinkham and Evans do a marvelous job of blending the academic with traditional narratives that provide a story rich in humanity and clarity. Using oral traditions alongside clues from the journals of the Corps of Discovery the authors expand and alert readers to the encounters and interactions between the Native and Euro-American cultures and experiences. The authors take the time to balance the stories readers first encountered in books such as Zoa Swayne’s Do Them No Harm, and her acknowledgements of the many Nimiipuu people she interviewed for her book, with expansion and clarity from a perspective of Native ritual passage of events and traditions. Stories of Twisted Hair, the Shoshone guide Old Toby, dog eating, and canoe mishaps are all balanced and add a new lens to view these events. They also provide a context that allows for a “birds eye view” of history to see it all unfold. The beginning chapters are choppy in style and form,but once readers get past these minor encumbrances, the prose flows with clearness, and purpose. In“WeavingLongRopes:OralTraditionand Understanding the Great Tide,” published in the Summer 2007 issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly, Jason T. Younker discusses how enough evidence of tsunamis and earthquakes along the Northwest Coast in the oral tradition of Coos Bay Indians exists to connect the mythic narratives to such specific episodes as the 1700 tsunami that struck the Coos Bay, Oregon, region. He reminds us that oral tradition calls for people to weave long ropes to keep from being swept away, to listen to the advice of elders, to respect the environment, and to remember the lessons that elders teach. Like the tradition of historians James Rhonda,Alvin Josephy, Elliott West, and Bernard Devoto, Pinkham and Evans remind us from the highest and most prominent point on the historical horizon to listen to all voices. Doug Erickson Lewis & Clark College COMING FULL CIRCLE: SPIRITUALITY AND WELLNESS AMONG NATIVE COMMUNITIES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST by Suzanne Crawford-O’Brien University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 2013. Notes, bibliography,index. 480 pages. $90.00 cloth. Coming Full Circle represents over a decade of archival and ethnographic, participant observation research Suzanne Crawford-O’Brien undertook in order to ask and answer questions about illness, disease, identity, healing, and community among Coast Salish and Chinook tribal peoples. Crawford-O’Brien discusses contemporary indigenous responses to health issues by tying them to the long and violent history surrounding indigenous bodies. She traces the history of contact and colonialism in the Pacific Northwest, focusing most on the Puget Sound area, but thoughtfully weaves in related discussions about neighboring areas,such as the Columbia River Plateau,British Columbia,and the Willamette Valley. Crawford-O’Brien situates her interdisciplinary scholarship in the book’s introduction,  OHQ vol. 116, no. 1 stating: “My work is about the intersection of health, healing, and spirituality in the experience of and resistance to colonization among Native communities of western Washington . . . .[I]t is about how Native people in these communities are indeed coming full circle: drawing upon traditional wisdom and practices to confront contemporary challenges to their health and well-being, while adapting to new contexts and creatively integrating elements of the dominant culture alongside their own”(p. xxi). A religious studies scholar, Crawford-O’Brien writes thoughtfully about the healing traditions and ceremonies among northwest tribal peoples.She discusses historical influences on tribal spiritual identities and practices by drawing from historical accounts, largely written by missionaries and Bureau of Indian Affairs agents, and contemporary narratives tribal peoples have shared...