The Archive of Healing: Preserving and Protecting Indigenous Folk Medicine
A Treasure Trove of Traditional Healing Knowledge
UCLA’s Archive of Healing is a groundbreaking online platform that houses hundreds of thousands of entries detailing traditional healing practices from around the world. Spanning seven continents and 200 years, the archive draws on a vast array of sources, including anthropologists’ field notes, scholarly journals, oral histories, and folktales.
This comprehensive database is one of the most inclusive catalogues of medicinal folklore in existence. Its key goal is to preserve Indigenous treatments while ensuring that this knowledge is protected from exploitation by pharmaceutical companies seeking to profit from it.
Historical Marginalization of Folk Herbalism
Western medicine has historically overlooked herbal remedies used by women and Indigenous peoples. Folk herbalist Sade Musa explains that many traditional treatments were passed down orally and thus overlooked in favor of written documentation.
Furthermore, colonialism played a role in suppressing cultural practices related to healing. “Colonialism built a medical industrial complex through often violent means of cultural suppression, erasure, and exploitation,” notes Healthline. “The rise of the patriarchy also authorized only white male physicians to practice and define medicine for the world.”
The Archive’s Revival and Expansion
Former UCLA faculty member Wayland Hand launched the database over 40 years ago. In 1996, folklorist Michael Owen Jones spearheaded the digitization of the collection, which then contained over one million notecards.
After Jones’ retirement, the database languished until 2012, when a university librarian brought it to the attention of David Shorter, an anthropologist who had documented Indigenous languages and communities.
Shorter recognized the immense value of the collection and set out to revamp it with the help of programmer Michael Lynch and students enrolled in a new interdisciplinary class on healing. The team re-coded the data and built a user-friendly online interface.
Empowering Users with Personalized Results
Upon registering with the site, users can search for cures to common ailments like colds, bee stings, and burns. Results can be refined based on treatment type, from plant-based remedies to medicines that are worn, consumed, or performed.
The archive also provides personalized results based on the user’s status as a health care provider, researcher, or general user. This ensures that users receive relevant and tailored information.
Combating Misinformation and Fostering Collaboration
In light of the proliferation of medical misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Archive of Healing team emphasizes that the listings presented in the archive are not substitutes for expert medical counsel.
Shorter and his students have removed around 200,000 potentially misleading entries from the original collection.
The archive also plans to accept new contributions from users in the near future, enabling them to share information and suggestions. This collaborative approach encourages knowledge creation and exchange.
A Shared Process of Healing and Inspiration
David Shorter believes that knowledge should be democratized and shared across cultures. “My impulse has been to find ways that we can make knowledge together in a shared process of creativity, challenge, and inspiration,” he says.
The Archive of Healing embodies this vision by preserving and protecting Indigenous folk medicine while making it accessible to a global audience. It serves as a valuable resource for researchers, health care providers, and anyone interested in the rich traditions of healing practices around the world.