The ReCLAIM Story
Resisting Colonial Legacy And its Impact on Medicine
ReCLAIMing Midwifery:
ReCLAIMing our Bodies:
ReCLAIMING our Choices:
Colonialism Defined As a historical phenomenon, colonialism refers to the expansion of European economic, political, and military influence and control over most of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East, and the North American eastern seaboard that began in the fifteenth century and continues down to the present (a number of islands in the Caribbean are still “territories” of the United States, England, the Netherlands, and France). Later, in the early nineteenth century, the United States followed Europe’s colonizing lead and issued the Monroe Doctrine, effectively claiming the entire American hemisphere as its domain. From the beginning, the colonial project has been based on disdain for the native and thus justified by that disdain. The relationship between the colonizer/master and the colonized/ subject is one of forced labor, theft, rape, compulsory crops, conversion, subjugation, displacement, and intimidation. Moreover, societies are drained of their essence; economic and political dependency develops; lands are confiscated; glorious artistic creations are destroyed; libraries are burned to the ground. The cultures of the Indigenous peoples and nations—defined as those “having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, [who] consider themselves distinct from other sectors of societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existences as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems” —were crushed underfoot, and marvelous possibilities wiped out. The Colonial Legacy, Medicine, and HealthThe parallels between the biomedical industrial complex (BIC) and the prison industrial complex (PIC) are chilling. Similar to the prison industrial complex, which is “ a complicated system situated at the intersection of governmental and private interests that uses prisons as a solution to social, political, and economic problems” the biomedical industrial complex can be described as its own complicated system situated at the intersection of insurance companies, medical lobbying groups, health care providers, health care consumers, government, educators and private businesses (i.e many hospitals). In addition, “the prison industrial complex depends upon the oppressive systems of racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia. It includes human rights violations, the death penalty, industry and labor issues, policing, courts, media, community powerlessness, the imprisonment of political prisoners” ; and a very similar statement can be made regarding the biomedical industrial complex.This predominantly for-profit, imbalanced and often abusive system of the BIC is a direct legacy of colonialism. From the deliberate spread of disease by the colonizer to the indigenous people of many nations, to the oppression of indigenous healers and midwives, to the forced sterilization and apartheid of Africans and African Americans, colonial legacy has created a damaging medical legacy. The linear model of biomedicine is in direct contrast to most indigenous people’s beliefs that cycles of nature are the models for health and healing, and the forced education of indigenous people in the BIC has lead to collective struggles to retain indigenous teachings and traditions.One such very clear model of the BIC at work as colonial legacy in modern times is the place that midwifery has in the United States today. Midwifery has been noted to be one of the oldest and most respected professions known to humans, as the midwife had skills to preserve life, heal the sick and protect the next generation. Although midwifery was widely practiced in colonial Europe, indigenous midwives came under attack by the colonizer, who introduced the practice of obstetrics (which brought with it death of thousands of women at the dirty hands of “doctors”. Midwives were not of the habit of placing their hands inside of a woman’s body, thus their infection rate was far lower then that of the “new” obstetricians) . Indigenous midwives worldwide were systemically banned from practicing their trade, even as European midwifery continued to thrive in places like England and Switzerland. In fact, as Granny midwives (elder African American midwives of the southern United States) were being banned from practicing midwifery, an all European American school of Nurse-Midwifery was successfully operating in Kentucky. The legacy of this intentional attack on midwives of color is evidenced by the fact that indigenous nations and communities of color continue to have very low numbers of women choosing to have midwives as their birth attendants, a choice that is greatly effected by the inaccessibility of midwifery care to women who receive government-ascribed insurance. In addition, student midwives of color as well as practicing midwives of color are deeply underrepresented in the profession of midwifery, despite demographics in most major U.S cities that reflect large communities of color. The European colonizer contagiously—and in many instances, intentionally—introduced disease to the indigenous people whose territory they were invading. Some instances of the impact of this disease transmission are documented below:—European colonizers introduced a previously non-existent disease to the native (Guanches) population of the Canary Islands in the 16th century, killing the entire population.—Smallpox killed 150,000 in Tenochtitlán (Mexico), including the emperor Cuitáhuac. Measles killed a further two million Mexican natives in the 1600s. —In 1618–1619, smallpox wiped out 90% of the Massachusetts Bay indigenous people. —Smallpox epidemics in 1780–1782 and 1837–1838 brought devastation and drastically reduced the population among the Plains Indians.
Destruction of Indigenous Healing Practices
Indigenous healing practices are an ancient, intact, complex, holistic healthcare system practiced by indigenous people worldwide. The healing traditions of indigenous people of North America, for example, have been practiced on this continent for at least 12,000 years. Medicine women and men were long recognized by colonizers as a principal barrier to the eradication of indigenous cultures. Therefore, traditional healing was made illegal and the skills of traditional indigenous medicine was driven underground. This is exemplified by the fact that until 1978 when the Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed by the United States congress, indigenous people of North America could not legally practice their spiritual and healing traditions in the United States. Harmony and balance with one’s environment externally and internally, respectful use of plants, animals, prayer, music, ceremony and vision quests are just some practices used by indigenous people that the colonizer attempted to destroy, desecrate, forbid and systemically eradicate from use. By forbidding indigenous languages, spiritual practices, freedom of movement, familial structures, teaching styles and beliefs, as well as through genocide, threats and cohersion, indigenous healing practices were greatly damaged by colonialism.
REsisting Colonial Legacy And its Impact on Medicine and health
RECLAIM Health Collective is a sustainable model for preserving health and healing traditions from indigenous peoples worldwide. ReCLAIM Health Collective actively resists the fractured colonial legacy that is the biomedical industrial complex, and supports collective members and sister organizations in acquiring, maintaining and sharing skills and implementing projects aimed at providing health care and healing for all people who reject the biomedical industrial complex as the superior model of medicine. Through the preservation, teaching and practicing of our traditions we actively seek to educate others and ourselves on ways to sustainably, holistically and realistically provide full physical, mental, emotional and spiritual care to our communities and ourselves. ReCLAIM Health Collective demands that all colonized people come forth from the margins of medicine to the center, as we RECLAIM our wisdom and power as midwives, nurses, doctors, educators, students, medicine people- healers of ourselves, our nations, and the Earth.
Resisting Colonial Legacy And its Impact on Medicine
ReCLAIMing Midwifery:
ReCLAIMing our Bodies:
ReCLAIMING our Choices:
Colonialism Defined As a historical phenomenon, colonialism refers to the expansion of European economic, political, and military influence and control over most of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East, and the North American eastern seaboard that began in the fifteenth century and continues down to the present (a number of islands in the Caribbean are still “territories” of the United States, England, the Netherlands, and France). Later, in the early nineteenth century, the United States followed Europe’s colonizing lead and issued the Monroe Doctrine, effectively claiming the entire American hemisphere as its domain. From the beginning, the colonial project has been based on disdain for the native and thus justified by that disdain. The relationship between the colonizer/master and the colonized/ subject is one of forced labor, theft, rape, compulsory crops, conversion, subjugation, displacement, and intimidation. Moreover, societies are drained of their essence; economic and political dependency develops; lands are confiscated; glorious artistic creations are destroyed; libraries are burned to the ground. The cultures of the Indigenous peoples and nations—defined as those “having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, [who] consider themselves distinct from other sectors of societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existences as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems” —were crushed underfoot, and marvelous possibilities wiped out. The Colonial Legacy, Medicine, and HealthThe parallels between the biomedical industrial complex (BIC) and the prison industrial complex (PIC) are chilling. Similar to the prison industrial complex, which is “ a complicated system situated at the intersection of governmental and private interests that uses prisons as a solution to social, political, and economic problems” the biomedical industrial complex can be described as its own complicated system situated at the intersection of insurance companies, medical lobbying groups, health care providers, health care consumers, government, educators and private businesses (i.e many hospitals). In addition, “the prison industrial complex depends upon the oppressive systems of racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia. It includes human rights violations, the death penalty, industry and labor issues, policing, courts, media, community powerlessness, the imprisonment of political prisoners” ; and a very similar statement can be made regarding the biomedical industrial complex.This predominantly for-profit, imbalanced and often abusive system of the BIC is a direct legacy of colonialism. From the deliberate spread of disease by the colonizer to the indigenous people of many nations, to the oppression of indigenous healers and midwives, to the forced sterilization and apartheid of Africans and African Americans, colonial legacy has created a damaging medical legacy. The linear model of biomedicine is in direct contrast to most indigenous people’s beliefs that cycles of nature are the models for health and healing, and the forced education of indigenous people in the BIC has lead to collective struggles to retain indigenous teachings and traditions.One such very clear model of the BIC at work as colonial legacy in modern times is the place that midwifery has in the United States today. Midwifery has been noted to be one of the oldest and most respected professions known to humans, as the midwife had skills to preserve life, heal the sick and protect the next generation. Although midwifery was widely practiced in colonial Europe, indigenous midwives came under attack by the colonizer, who introduced the practice of obstetrics (which brought with it death of thousands of women at the dirty hands of “doctors”. Midwives were not of the habit of placing their hands inside of a woman’s body, thus their infection rate was far lower then that of the “new” obstetricians) . Indigenous midwives worldwide were systemically banned from practicing their trade, even as European midwifery continued to thrive in places like England and Switzerland. In fact, as Granny midwives (elder African American midwives of the southern United States) were being banned from practicing midwifery, an all European American school of Nurse-Midwifery was successfully operating in Kentucky. The legacy of this intentional attack on midwives of color is evidenced by the fact that indigenous nations and communities of color continue to have very low numbers of women choosing to have midwives as their birth attendants, a choice that is greatly effected by the inaccessibility of midwifery care to women who receive government-ascribed insurance. In addition, student midwives of color as well as practicing midwives of color are deeply underrepresented in the profession of midwifery, despite demographics in most major U.S cities that reflect large communities of color. The European colonizer contagiously—and in many instances, intentionally—introduced disease to the indigenous people whose territory they were invading. Some instances of the impact of this disease transmission are documented below:—European colonizers introduced a previously non-existent disease to the native (Guanches) population of the Canary Islands in the 16th century, killing the entire population.—Smallpox killed 150,000 in Tenochtitlán (Mexico), including the emperor Cuitáhuac. Measles killed a further two million Mexican natives in the 1600s. —In 1618–1619, smallpox wiped out 90% of the Massachusetts Bay indigenous people. —Smallpox epidemics in 1780–1782 and 1837–1838 brought devastation and drastically reduced the population among the Plains Indians.
Destruction of Indigenous Healing Practices
Indigenous healing practices are an ancient, intact, complex, holistic healthcare system practiced by indigenous people worldwide. The healing traditions of indigenous people of North America, for example, have been practiced on this continent for at least 12,000 years. Medicine women and men were long recognized by colonizers as a principal barrier to the eradication of indigenous cultures. Therefore, traditional healing was made illegal and the skills of traditional indigenous medicine was driven underground. This is exemplified by the fact that until 1978 when the Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed by the United States congress, indigenous people of North America could not legally practice their spiritual and healing traditions in the United States. Harmony and balance with one’s environment externally and internally, respectful use of plants, animals, prayer, music, ceremony and vision quests are just some practices used by indigenous people that the colonizer attempted to destroy, desecrate, forbid and systemically eradicate from use. By forbidding indigenous languages, spiritual practices, freedom of movement, familial structures, teaching styles and beliefs, as well as through genocide, threats and cohersion, indigenous healing practices were greatly damaged by colonialism.
REsisting Colonial Legacy And its Impact on Medicine and health
RECLAIM Health Collective is a sustainable model for preserving health and healing traditions from indigenous peoples worldwide. ReCLAIM Health Collective actively resists the fractured colonial legacy that is the biomedical industrial complex, and supports collective members and sister organizations in acquiring, maintaining and sharing skills and implementing projects aimed at providing health care and healing for all people who reject the biomedical industrial complex as the superior model of medicine. Through the preservation, teaching and practicing of our traditions we actively seek to educate others and ourselves on ways to sustainably, holistically and realistically provide full physical, mental, emotional and spiritual care to our communities and ourselves. ReCLAIM Health Collective demands that all colonized people come forth from the margins of medicine to the center, as we RECLAIM our wisdom and power as midwives, nurses, doctors, educators, students, medicine people- healers of ourselves, our nations, and the Earth.
