Week 7: Indigenizing Medicine with Carly Chiwiwi

For our week 7 workshop, we welcomed Carly Chiwiwi, a third year medical student in the PRIME-LA program at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Carly is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and is passionate about integrating Indigenous methods of medicine and health into western medicine and supporting other Indigenous students interested in medical and public health careers.

Storytelling Activity

During her workshop, Carly talked about social determinants of health, which includes personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that impact personal and population health. Carly then guided us through a storytelling activity that detailed the perspectives of members of an Indigenous family through multiple generations, starting with the individuals that were forced to comply with federal assimilation policies. With each story, we recognized the social implications on the health of Indigenous communities due to federal regulations regarding assimilation, relocation, federal recognition, and self-determination. As a group, we analyzed the effects of intergenerational trauma in Indigenous communities, especially in regards to health and wellness. We also discussed the importance for physicians and other health professionals to understand the history and background of their patients in order to provide well-rounded diagnoses that factor in the consequences of public policy and systems of oppression. Carly told us to keep in mind that there may be distrust in the medical system in some communities based on their history. She also advised us to be culturally sensitive and, as future medical professionals, connect with patients with caution by avoiding assumptions and asking open-ended questions.

Federal Policy Regarding Indigenous Communities and Health

The Indian Health Services agency in the federal government is severely underfunded. Currently, about 71% of American Indians and Alaskan Natives live in urban areas. However, urban health is only given 1% of allocated funds. In addition, individuals must be a member of a federally recognized tribe and provide documentation of their descent with a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood in order to receive services provided by the government.

Carly’s Work and Goals

Carly sees health as not only involving medicine, but also health policy, management of health systems, and administration policies. For these reasons, she is currently also pursuing an MPH at her medical school. Some of Carly’s goals are to work with Indigenous communities and provide them better access to healthcare. She decided to study medicine in Los Angeles, where there is a large Indigenous population.

Carly has done research in postpartum depression in Indigenous women and the effects of culturally rooted intervention programs. She hopes to one day incorporate traditional birthing practices and integrative, holistic care into her practice.

Native American Heritage Month

We thank Carly for coming to present her topic of Indigeneity and health at our SIM workshop this month, which is Native American Heritage Month. While we reflect with gratitude on the past year, we must also remember and celebrate Indigenous Peoples and honor their ancestry and traditions.