The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing

In the opening chapter of The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing, Lori Arviso Alvord reflects on Navajo weavers who blend various strands of wool into a beautiful pattern that “tells a story and has spirit” (1). To the author, this book is similar to Navajo tapestries because it weaves together the various parts of Lori’s life. Lori grew-up in a small town called Crownpoint, New Mexico, which is located on a Navajo reservation. The words “Navajo” and “surgeon” rarely appear together, yet Lori became the first Diné, or Navajo, woman surgeon.

As Lori practiced medicine, she realized that modern medicine was a “one-way system—from physicians to patient” (2). Patients are much less involved in their own treatments. Physicians rarely take time to listen or develop professional relationships with their patients. Rather than treating the whole person (i.e., mind, body, and spirit), physicians only see the body. This scenario has resulted in modern medicine facing a crisis. To Lori, traditional Navajo healing, including the Navajo concept called “Walking in Beauty” (3), can fix this crisis. Walking in Beauty refers to a way of living. Individuals who follow this concept live a balanced and harmonious life and are in touch with all components of themselves and the world around them.