Published: 05.15.2004

Healer taught by grandmother

Yaqui herbalist wants to pass her gift to others

By Carmen Duarte

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Dolores A. Flores, traditional healer and herbalist, would like to pass on her gift of holistic medicinal practices to other Yaquis.

But the search for people to teach is a slow process - something that worries Flores because she does not want the practice of traditional and spiritual healing in her tribe to die.

Meanwhile, the 63-year-old healer, or curandera, is part of a team that specializes in holistic treatments at the Alternative Health Care Clinic under the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Health Department on the reservation southwest of Tucson.

There, Flores treats patients for headaches, stomach and back problems and muscle cramps.

Others come because they suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes.

Flores began treating patients at the clinic in 1997, and is part of a staff that includes María Garcia, a chiropractic physician; Carol Revak, a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist; and Nancy Duran, a community health nurse.

Since January, traditional healers from Rio Yaqui, Sonora, have gone to the clinic at 7474 S. Camino de Oeste to see patients and share their treatment methods and knowledge.

Flores said this makes her happy because there are few curanderos practicing here.

"I have offered to teach others, but there have been no takers," said Flores. "But if the tribe can utilize the knowledge of healers from Sonora, then maybe others will come forth eventually to learn the practice."

On Wednesday, Arturo Valenzuela, who calls himself a sobador, or massage specialist, treated patients all day. He has treated more than 60 people at the clinic since May 3. His last day there is Friday.

"I calm people with deep massages. I pinpoint nerves and work the spine and central nervous system," said Valenzuela, 78, sitting on a small bed in an examination room during a break from seeing patients.

When needed, Flores translates for Valenzuela when he is treating patients. Valenzuela speaks Spanish and Yoeme, the Yaqui language, and he says his gift of healing comes from God.

In Flores' office, jars of dried medicinal plants and jars of alcohol and olive oil mixed with herbs used for treatments stand on a counter. She pointed to a jar of rose hips, which she said is a good source of vitamin C.

"Rose hips helps fight off infections, colds and respiratory problems. I combine it with other herbs and make a tea," said Flores, who remembers helping her grandmother gather medicinal plants near the Santa Cruz River when she was a young girl living in South Tucson.

Flores said her grandmother, Carlota Tapia, attended St. Augustine Catholic School and became a county-licensed midwife. She said her grandmother learned about alternative medicine and holistic practices from others and by studying books. Tapia passed on her knowledge to Flores.

"My grandmother died in 1992 at the age of 94. I still remember the beautiful scents in her garden where she grew herbs," said Flores.

Flores said medical doctors who are open to holistic treatment can work with traditional healers to treat patients. Flores said she questions her patients about their medications to make sure herbal treatments do not interfere with their health.

The National Institutes of Health established an office in 1992 to investigate and evaluate promising unconventional medical practices, said Revak, the naturopath who works with Flores at the clinic.

"The truth of it is that some of these practices have been around for thousands of years in the Americas and other cultures," said Revak. "Some medical doctors are schooled in alternative therapies, and for others it is more esoteric."

More medical schools are starting to teach alternative treatments and the cultural and historical traditions of herbal remedies among minorities, but more needs to be done, Revak said.

Unconventional remedies are growing in general, said Revak, who said that trend is patient-driven.

"People are very educated in these alternative therapies. They want both," Revak said. "That is the best world anyway - Western and alternative practitioners working together."

Contact reporter Carmen Duarte at 807-8414 or at cduarte@azstarnet.com.

For more info

For more information about the Alternative Health Care Clinic under the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Health Department, call 879-6129