Daniel Stange de Acatl
Posted March 12, 2026
Last week, I wrote about some natural phenomenon and that the awareness of our natural reciprocity is what brings us good health. This week, I want to share some words about Curanderismo. Healers and natural practitioners today are often said to use alternative medicine. A true historical investigation reveals that most of the medical advances over the past century were motivated by our ancestral use of herbs and body functional awareness. When Europeans arrived to this continent, their medical practices were barbaric to say the least. Today, many of the ‘alternative’ practices are being revived and showing promise in helping people take control over their own health.
Indeed, this idea of a person having control over their own health is new to the western medicine practices still taught at universities today. My favorite slogan was “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Apparently having the doctor with you was not a favorable situation. Many of us can attest to the cold mannerism of doctors that treat your illness or provide some surgical wonders and then leave you with a list of side effects and secondary maladies. Now the term ‘holistic’ health has taken over and the term ‘integrated’ medicine is more common.
Sadly, much of the academic fields of medicine are defensive to have curanderos and natural healers become so frequent in their practices. Even chiropractors are still viewed to not have the “medical’ stamp of approval. when alignment of the spinal column is one of the more critical issues with a person’s physical abilities. Then there is acupuncture, an eastern practice that predates the arrival of those colonizers that systemically used biological warfare against the Indigenous people of this land. It makes me wonder how much they knew but pretended ignorance among their own common people, because it’s very obvious today that medical professions benefit from a sick population. It’s job security for them that you are eating processed foods and taking pharmaceuticals that yields profits for doctors who are the shareholders.
Not so different from the judges that profit from the private prison systems that they send our youth. Our addiction to money and greed are quick to fuel advances in artificial intelligence (AI), while the majority of people are made ignorant. The rich people do not want critical thinkers, they want obedient button pushing factory workers that continue to be replaced by machines. So medical malpractice is their solution to the growth of individuals that will not serve. And war is the obvious solution to population reduction. As much as I criticize the politicians and business leaders, I can sympathize with their limited options for population control.
I also can spend my energy sounding the alarms and directing my community to seek out new solutions. Based in ancestral wisdom, there is a practical and humane process of managing social issues. Beginning with, giving women a larger role in decision making and political power. Many Chicanos have read the book; Bless Me Ultima, and when we share stories of healers from the past, they were dominantly women. It’s the nature of women to be caretakers and to nurture their children.
In native societies the term Medicine Man has become a euphemism that many connect to charlatans. The word Shaman is often employed and that word comes from the Siberian region, so our Indigenous Elders do not like it. Spiritual leader is another term that is more neutral, but it lacks content. In Nahuatl language, there are specific titles for healers with respect to their field of expertise. Counselors are generally the first line of inquiry called Temachtiani, because they try to discover the perception that the patient has about their illness. Most of our sicknesses are self-induced, and relative to where they appear in the body. Such as unresolved grief that can lead to issues with the lungs. Anger that leads to bad liver function, fear of inadequacy that can damage the pancreas. An experience of betrayal that can cause ulcers in the stomach.
From here a person can refer to a Tepahtiani for herbal and medicinal plants. Temazcalli for physical therapy with steam bathing. Tecitl for serious surgical procedures. Teomitzintli for bone and muscle manipulation. To name a few. It was documented that during the 16th century the Spanish conquistadors told the Vatican and the crown NOT to send any medical practitioners, because the Aztecs had excellent healers. In fact, the historical foundation of Western medicine begins to make history not until the mid-17th century and beyond. Obviously, millions of the historical documents of the Aztecs were burned after Pope Torquemada was able to salvage what he could use. Still today, there are ancient documents that the church will not return to Mexico and these might well be a great resource for today’s medical advances.
My article is not meant to admonish the work of the modern medical field. I did hope to clarify to the reader that the term Medicine man and Shaman are wrong to employ even though our American English has little alternatives. But mostly, I hope that you can find healing in your own path by recognizing that as Chicano people, we come from a great lineage of healers and that our ancestors produced a majority of the world medicinal plants and methods. The work of Curanderismo continues and there is an annual conference that will be coming to Denver from Cuernavaca and through Albuquerque, New Mexico again this summer. More details about that will be forth coming.
Remember, in this time of uncertainty in the global world society. Your health begins with the perception you take about your place in the world. Things that we bury inside can become infectious and therapy is a great tool for clearing out your mental and emotional blockage. Connecting with people is the most important factor to having real holistic health. Find the courage to ask questions and seek multiple opinions about your issues. A second opinion is never as good as a third.
Danny Stange de Acatl is a Denver Native and Cultural activist that serves his community on various levels.
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