Chumash traditional medicine

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Chumash traditional medicine is a type of traditional medicine practiced by the Chumash people of the southern coastal regions of California.^[1]

Chumash medicine focused on treating mind, spirit, and body alike to promote the wellness of both the individual and the larger community. Healing practices included a knowledge of local plants, as well as a mix of spiritual practices including prayer, singing, and dancing. Post-European contact, Chumash healers adapted these methods to treat changes in environment and the introduction of deadly diseases. Prevention was key in promoting health, and healers took responsibility for ensuring all people worked and felt valued in the community.

In the modern day, certain medicinal practices are viewed as controversial, including the treatment of menstruating women, the use of poisonous datura plant, and the consumption of dangerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.