American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Southern California Indian concepts of illness and healing (the causality, prevention, and treatment of illness) have evolved over thousands of years. These concepts and spirituality were closely related, important components of the precontact Southern California Indian worldview, a well-covered topic in Michael Kearney’s World View (1984). Indians’ current beliefs and practices, including their endorsement of biomedical health care, have major effects on their lives today. The varied theoretical perspectives of medical anthropology lead to understanding the past and present influences on their concepts and practices, and the collaboration of applied anthropologists with biomedical practitioners is seen increasingly as crucial to optimizing their care. This article summarizes written material on illness and healing concepts among Southern California Indians and related Northern Baja California tribes from the prehistoric era to the present, primarily for use by social science researchers and teachers. The article’s secondary objective is to provide a background for public health workers and health care practitioners on important prehistorical, historical, and contemporary cultural features. The bibliographic comments begin with pertinent publications on the anthropology of medicine and are followed by archaeological and ethnographic works and contemporary studies of importance in understanding the Indians’ current health-related concepts and practices, which should be considered in organizing and providing their care. Although beliefs and practices are usually associated with geographical or tribal groupings, it is important to realize that there are important intragroup and intergroup variations in these cultural traits.