UNE hosts events and traveling exhibits on Native American cultures, focusing on Native notions of health, illness and healing

The University of New England is hosting two traveling exhibitions and two additional events on Native American cultural issues, with a special focus on tribal beliefs about wellbeing and medicine.

The exhibitions are showing simultaneously in the Ketchum Library Gallery on UNE’s Biddeford Campus through April 12. Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness examines concepts of health and medicine among contemporary American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian peoples. Produced by the National Library of Medicine, the exhibition explores the connection between wellness, illness and cultural life through a combination of interviews with Native people, artwork, objects and interactive media. Topics include Native views of land, food, community, earth/nature and spirituality as they relate to Native health; the relationship between traditional healing and Western medicine in Native communities; economic and cultural issues that affect the health of Native communities; efforts by Native communities to improve health conditions; and the role of Native Americans in military service and healing support for returning Native veterans.  An online version of the exhibition can be found at www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices.

The second traveling exhibition Kikehtahsuwiw – “It Heals” is a story about several women of the Passamaquoddy Tribe who share a common goal: healing Native communities. Created by George Neptune, museum educator at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, with photos by Thom Willey, the exhibit goes to the heart of health issues in Native communities and examines issues of culture, treatment and healing.

Both exhibitions are free and available for public viewing from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Two accompanying events will be held on April 6, also in the Ketchum Library Gallery. At 5:30 p.m., Annabel L. Bradford, M.D., LCSW, and UNE pre-med student Samantha Shepard, both of Native descent, will present on current views on treatment of Native and diverse populations. In addition, UNE’s endowed program on Native issues, the Donna M. Loring Lecture, will present a reading of Loring’s play Mary and Molly, which explores issues of Native identity, Native history and the importance of keeping cultural traditions alive. For time and other information, please call (207) 221-4324.

To learn more about UNE’s Art Galleries, visit www.une.edu/artgallery

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions