The Scalpel and the Silver Bear--The Memoir of a Navajo Surgeon

When I first encountered The Scalpel and the Silver Bear by Navajo Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, I wondered how she overcame the Navajo prohibition against contact with the spirits of the dead referred to as chindi in so many Tony Hillerman novels.  This barrier, and my curiosity about how traditional Navajo healing became part of her medical practice, were what drove my interest in reading this memoir.

                           

                               
 It did turn out that emotional discomfort over exposure to chindi was a hurdle for Alvord in medical school, but why didn't this issue arise when she first told her family that she planned to become a physician?  I discovered that Alvord came from a family who weren't traditionalists.  In fact, she was following her father's dream.

When Alvord graduated from medical school, she came back to Navajo country to serve her people at an Indian Health Service hospital.  Alvord initially thought that Navajo traditional healers could calm her patients before surgery, but she discovered that they could also use what sounded to me like a form of biofeedback to control bleeding.

Later Alvord went back to her alma mater, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire,  to teach medical students how to relate to Native patients.

I thought that Alvord's experiences were fascinating, and that she had a number of valuable insights to share with readers.  I also felt that The Scalpel and the Silver Bear was moving--particularly in the section that dealt with her difficult pregnancy.   I would recommend this memoir to anyone who is interested in Native Americans or in alternative approaches to medicine.