Joseph Neapetung is working to increase Indigenous student enrolment in sciences. For a decade, he's been integrating Indigenous views into neuroscience. (Submitted/ Joseph Neapetung)

By Kenneth Cheung

TRADITION AND MODERNITY

Bridging two worlds: Indigenous healing and western medicine

Mar 20, 2025 | 5:13 PM

For Joseph Neapetung, an Anishinaabe graduate student from Yellow Quill First Nation, medicine is more than science—it’s a connection to culture, history, and traditional knowledge.

At a recent TEDxUniversityofSaskatchewan event, Neapetung delivered a talk about Indigenous Neuroscience: The Healing Power of Willow Bark, highlighting how medicinal plants like willow bark, long used by Indigenous healers, align with Western scientific principles.

“There’s a more holistic view as to how these medicines work rather than just the physical aspect,” he said. “There’s emotional, spiritual, and so forth.”

Neapetung’s research aims to “Indigenize” neuroscience by incorporating Indigenous perspectives into scientific study. He also advocates for greater Indigenous representation in the sciences.

“I grew up in a very traditional household,” he said. “A lot of the medicine that I learned about growing up, and learning from other sources over the years, kind of inspired me to examine how traditional medicines are viewed from a Western science standpoint.”

SJHL Playoffs

North Stars fall short of comeback in Game 1 against Weyburn

9h ago

PROVINCIAL BUDGET

Jeremy Cockrill talks new budget impacts on the Battlefords and area

18h ago

Ban on Booze

More than 50 U.S. alcohol brands will soon vanish from Sask. shelves

19h ago

Despite growing recognition of Indigenous healing practices, he said Western medicine has been slow to embrace them.

“There hasn’t been much on the side of Western science to impart traditional knowledge, other than the academic aspect of how medicine works.”

Traditional practices are already part of everyday life

Dr. Janet Tootoosis, Vice Dean of Indigenous Health at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, has spent years pushing for Western medicine to be more open to Indigenous healing.

“My approach has always been building a culture in Western medicine that is receptive and respectful to alternative healing practices,” she said.

She believes many people unknowingly incorporate traditional healing into their daily lives.

“It happens every day, and we aren’t public about it,” she said. “Many people go through the Western medical system… are also including in their pursuit of health various practices.”

Practices like herbal remedies, dietary changes, and spiritual rituals such as prayer and ceremony are common but often overlooked.

So rather than thinking it is a thing that is special or new, it is actually already integrated into everyone’s day-to-day life, she believes.

Dr. Janet Tootoosis is the Vice Dean of Indigenous Health at the College of Medicine, leading Indigenous health strategies and establishing the Division of Indigenous Health. (Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

A shift in health-care culture

Tootoosis, a physician for over 23 years, said Indigenous healing doesn’t need to be “integrated” into Western medicine—it already exists alongside it.

“Incorporating or integrating is not, ‘How will your alternative practice impact what I’m doing for you?’ It’s, ‘How do I add to your traditional healing practices?’ Because it’s not an all-or-none conversation,” she said.

She points to willow bark as an example of traditional medicine with scientific backing.

“We know that the salicylic acid, a component of aspirin, has been extracted from the bark,” she said. “What Big Pharma does is they extract that one component, hyper-concentrate it, and put it in with a bunch of other things.”

Willow bark. (ID 41406292 © Kalcutta | Dreamstime.com)

Tootoosis said emotional and spiritual well-being are often ignored in Western medicine, despite being critical to health.

“Who doesn’t need bolstering of the human spirit when they’re going through a serious health crisis?” she said.

Some hospitals in Saskatchewan have started incorporating Indigenous healing ceremonies, particularly in palliative care, but Tootoosis said more needs to be done.

“Our health system is not meeting the needs of our population for the most part,” she said. “Access is incredibly poor. We have fewer physicians going into specialties that serve the general population. Our system needs to adapt, and this is one of the ways it will happen.”

In the province, Regina General Hospital and Pasqua Hospital, are integrating Indigenous healing practices. The All Nations Healing Hospital in Fort Qu’ Appelle emphasizes a holistic approach, while Battleford Union Hospital provides culturally inclusive palliative care .

Moving toward recognition

Despite challenges, both Neapetung and Tootoosis believe Indigenous and Western medicine can complement each other.

“What’s the scientific evidence that spiritual beliefs work?” Tootoosis asked. “Where’s the randomized control trial around spiritual practices? Your social environment, your belief structure—it works.”

Neapetung sees Indigenous healing as a necessary part of modern health care.

“There’s room for both ways of thinking,” he said. “The two systems can learn from each other.”

Tootoosis hopes to see more formal recognition of Indigenous healing.

“I think the direction our health system is trying to provide different modalities of healing therapies to patients—is a good thing,” she said.

“I hope that through our health system and the work that they do, they will provide very reasonable, safe opportunities to engage with alternative healing practices.”

—

Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com