The ASU Libraries proudly presents fall 2015 installment of The Simon Ortiz and Labriola Center Lecture on Indigenous Land, Culture, and Community.
Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord’s lecture "The Healing Properties of Navajo Ceremonies,” took place on Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Dr. Alvord spoke of the healing properties of ceremonies and the importance of the mind-body connection both to overall health and to the medical profession. She spoke about the benefits of chant, songs, prayer, and meditation to physical and mental health. Moving beyond individual health, Dr. Alvord also notes the connection between ceremonies and the health of the planet as a whole.
Raised in Crownpoint, New Mexico, Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, MD (Navajo) is a member the Tsinnajinnie (Ponderosa Pine) and Ashi’hii’ Dine’ (Salt) clans. She is the first Navajo woman to be board-certified in surgery. Her memoir, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (Bantam, 1999), tells the story of her journey from the reservation to the operating room and of her work to combine Navajo philosophies of healing with western medicine.
Dr. Alvord is currently Chief of Surgical Services and a practicing general surgeon at Banner Health Page Hospital, in Page, Arizona. She also holds an appointment as Associate Faculty at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for American Indian Health.
The Simon Ortiz and Labriola Center Lecture on Indigenous Land, Culture, and Community at Arizona State University addresses topics and issues across disciplines in the arts, humanities, sciences, and politics. Underscoring Indigenous American experiences and perspectives, this series seeks to create and celebrate knowledge that evolves from an inclusive Indigenous worldview and that is applicable to all walks of life.
Lecture by Dr. Lori Arviso
Date/Time: Thursday October 22, 2015, 7:00pm
Location: Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Visit the Labriola National Native American Data Center lib.asu.edu/labriola