Wellness was an important part of our traditional Tahltan culture. It was more than just physical health, it was a philosophy based on the idea of harmony between mind, body and spirit. We believed that wellness depended on interaction between our mind, body, and spirit. Imbalance in one of these resulted in unwellness or illness. When the interaction was balanced and accepting, the result was wellness, a state of harmony.

We believed that everything happened for a reason. So, if we became ill, with a cold, for example, we treated the cold. But we also asked why did we get the cold? Did we get the cold because we were worried about something? Was our mind troubled about a serious problem? If an arm was broken, we would also ask questions. Why did this happen? Did it happen because we were worried and did not pay attention? Did it happen because we were not taking proper care of our physical self? The answers to these questions were important because we also believed that each person was responsible for their own wellness. We caused the illness through our actions. For instance, we might cause our own headache because we were upset.

Treatment of an ailment included treating more than the physical problem. For example, a broken arm would be set. But also, we would look at ourselves, at our balance between mind, body and spirit. Where had the problem started? What is needed to return "me" to harmony, to wellness? Our medicine men helped us to deal with these questions.

Our medicine people understood that for a person to return to wellness, they could not treat only the physical symptoms. They looked at the health of our mind and feelings, as well. They would investigate the state of our spirit, how we feel about ourselves. They understood that in order for wellness to be restored, that a person must be treated as a whole. Today we call this idea holistic medicine.

Our medicine men were usually, but not always, men. Each native nation had their own traditions about how a person became a shaman. Some believed that only members of a certain family group could become a shaman. Or some believe that a shaman is born, that certain people were born to be a shaman. We Tahltans believed that men could choose to become shamans as part of their training as teenagers. They would choose this only if their personal energy was strong. Also, we believed that some women were given certain power so that they became as powerful as shamans.

In order to become a shaman, our people believed that the teenager must choose this path when he was deciding on his life work. His training was more intense than training for other boys. His manitou was a very powerful animal spirit. He might have more than one.

Medicine men were skilled in the use of plants and herbs. These were needed to treat physical ailments. Of course, we all knew the way to treat ordinary problems, such as cuts or colds. The shaman had a more thorough knowledge and more. He (or she) also had strong person energy and were able to see spirits and to interact with them.

A person had the freedom to choose to use his or her personal energy for good. A person could also choose to use their energy for bad or evil. So, when a shaman is working with a person to find out what is causing their illness or misfortunes, he might find that it is caused by witchcraft. The shaman would work to remove the spell as part of his or her treatment.

A person who used their energy for evil was said to be using witchcraft. This person could be either a man or woman. They used their energy to cause harm and put cause evil for others.

The best defense against this negative energy was a strong personal energy and a house filled with happiness and love. A strong personal energy resulted when a person was in harmony. We say that happy people have strong spirits. Our people used to carry certain objects in their medicine bags for added protection. Stones and other objects of strong religious or spiritual importance to individuals would be carried in the bags. These would guard against evil and give the individual spiritual help. Perhaps they would also include objects that represented their spirit guardians.

It is true that even today some people believe in the traditional Tahltan view of wellness. Others do not. Or people may believe only parts of it. Whether people choose to accept or reject the role of spirits in wellness is a matter of personal choice. That is alright, too, because we believe that an individual's spiritual beliefs are a personal matter.

It is interesting to note that modern medicine is recognizing the value of holistic medicine. People are realizing that wellness is more than being physically healthy. They see that an unhappy person is very likely to become physically ill. Or that people whose spirits have been wounded might turn to an unhealthy lifestyle. Their unhappiness might show itself as depression, drinking, or drugs, or abuse, or suicide, and so on.

Modern counseling teaches that "only you can help yourself". Does this sound familiar?