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Dissertation Information for Wade Madoc Davies

NAME:
- Wade Madoc Davies

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- Arizona State University (USA) (1998)

ADVISORS:
- Peter Iverson

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Philip VanderMeer
- Robert A. Trennert Jr.

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Navajo health care in the twentieth century

Abstract: This history of Navajo health care in the twentieth century argues that Navajos have actively sought to draw upon the benefits of many forms of medical care. These forms include Western medicine, traditional Navajo healing, and the Native American Church. This century-long process of incorporation has been hindered by cross-cultural conflicts and misunderstandings, but has proceeded through individual patient decision making, community initiatives, cooperation with medical providers, and larger tribal efforts. Using oral history, manuscript collections, government documents, and tribal newspapers, this dissertation explores the historical evolution of cross-cultural relations between Western medical providers, traditional healers, and patients on the Navajo Nation. It also describes changing political relations among and between federal, state, and tribal governments. Furthermore, the dissertation traces the institutional development of Western medical services on the Navajo Nation, involving missionary providers, traders, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Medical Division, and the Indian Health Service.

After 1930, advancements in medical technology, the combination of primary care with health education and sanitation engineering, and a greater willingness on the part of Western and traditional medical providers to break down cross-cultural barriers made it more appealing for patients to draw upon Western medicine. However, an increased reliance upon the federal government in particular to provide medical care left Navajos dependent upon administrative and funding decisions made away from the Navajo Nation.

In response to this situation, the tribal government has advised federal medical providers and acted as a supplier of its own Western health care services. At the same time, the Navajo Nation, organizations of Navajo healers, and other concerned individuals have worked to protect, promote, and preserve traditional healing as a viable supplement to Western health care. Today, most Navajos support the Native American Church as another form of spirituality and healing. Although inadequate funding, social change, and political controversy have threatened to reduce the effectiveness of these three healing forms throughout this century, Navajos have retained the power of choice in health care.


MPACT Scores for Wade Madoc Davies

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-05-06 18:26:13

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Students under Wade Madoc Davies

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None