Our people have three types of illness: natural causes cured by herbs, drugs, poultices or sweating; unnatural social behaviour that is dealt with by a Shaman; and psychological problems manifested in dreams. We consider dreams to be the language of the soul. If dreamed desires remain unfulfilled, harm or even death will befall a person. Dreams and desires have to be interpreted by a Shaman.
There are four kinds of Shaman: those in control of wind, rain and weather; those able to predict the future; those able to find lost objects; and those able to heal the sick

Men usually take the position of healer, while women deal with spiritual problems. The Shaman use visions and dreams to tell which actions to take. To achieve these visions, the Shaman fast and remain apart from people until an answer is received. The Shaman work with drugs and herbal remedies and mask or shell rattles. Shaman are highly paid and highly respected.
(It is recorded that the natives use 275 species of plants for medicines, 130 for food, 27 as smoking tobacco and 25 for dyes.)

“When the French reached Canada they found that the Indians possessed a knowledge of medicine and surgery that was in some ways the equal of their own. In their application of the medicinal properties of the vegetable kingdom, the Indians were probably superior to the French physicians. They had remedies for each and every occasion”. Their system of medicine was an unwritten one that was handed down from generation to generation and, in spite of the manifold defects of such a system, was surprisingly complete.

(J.J.Heagerty, Four Centuries of Medical History in Canada, Vol. 1 Toronto, Macmillar 1928. P. 268 quoted in Indians in Transition.)

Health - View Video - Collect Movie