Describing a Sustainable Model of Harmonization between Culturally Congruent Traditional Healing and Evidence Based Biomedical Models in the Context of Alaska Native Tribal HealthCultural Competency

An understanding of the importance of culturally sensitive care has progressed immensely in the last few decades. The theory of enculturation has proven that promoting cultural identity and cultural humility improve the health of indigenous communities. This project incorporates cases, themes and practices that are useful in the integration of traditional medicine (TM) with biomedical (BioM) services. This project was tailored for the clients of the Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center (CAIHC) in Fairbanks, Alaska, but has implications for any healthcare system working with tribal/indigenous groups. The CAIHC has been operated by the Tanana Chiefs Conference for nearly three decades. Despite being a tribally owned clinic, the CAIHC uses a prototypical approach to clinic organization and management. Recently some of the principle stakeholders have become interested in the possibility of incorporating a more holistic, traditional approach. The question to answer is: How do you successfully and sustainably integrate TM with BioM in the context of evidence based practice and cultural humility and how can those principles be applied to the Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center? The objectives of this project include: • Completing a clinical rotation at the CAIHC in Fairbanks, Alaska • Recruit content experts to assist in refining the project in an ongoing fashion. • Develop a manuscript on the subject of integrative models suitable for submission for peer review • Develop a poster that summarizes the key points of the manuscript. • Develop a formal presentation with specific principles and recommendations for the Tanana Chiefs Conference, to be presented in Fairbanks Alaska. This paper is not an exploration of the common practices known as Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) where traditional healing practices and philosophies are brought into western medical clinics for non-indigenous peoples. The theme of this paper does not question the validity of that model but I suggest that there is something different at work in the context of enculturation and the use of medicine as promoting cultural continuity and identity. The objectives of this project are specifically directed, and the end result of this project will be applied to the Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks Alaska as a means to improve the healthcare they are providing to their people.