37 pages • 1 hour read
Lori Arviso Alvord, Elizabeth Cohen Van PeltThe Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: “A Knotted Sash”
Navajo have rituals associated with giving birth. Despite having to give birth in a hospital because of her high blood pressure, Lori wanted to incorporate some of these rituals into her birthing experience. A double rainbow appeared outside her window before she gave birth. In Navajo culture, rainbows are important, and often woven into rug designs. Lori thought that it might have been another gift from Thomas—a prayer for her and her son.
A medicine woman named Maria Herrera, who was related to one of the other women at the hospital giving birth, offered to say a prayer for the baby while she was at the hospital. Maria brought a red sash and tied it in knots. She placed the sash on Lori’s stomach and told Jon to pull the knots out. Once he completed this four times, Maria then sprinkled corn pollen on either side of the sash. According to traditional belief, this ritual prevents the baby from entanglement in the umbilical cord. Lori felt more relaxed after the prayer. The sickening effects from the medicine used to induce labor also subsided. Lori gave birth to Christopher Kodiak Alvord via a c-section. Jon and Lori wanted their son to have a name that would be associated with the spirit of the bear. Hence, the reason for choosing “Kodiak.”
The chapter ends with Lori and Jon burying Kodi’s placenta and umbilical cord at the top of Mount Taylor. Parents traditionally bury these tissues in a special place that symbolizes their hopes for their child. For Lori, she hoped Kodi (Christopher) would always remember and respect the Navajo people.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Mount Taylor in the Rearview Mirror”
The final chapter details Lori’s move with her family to New Hampshire, where she became the associate dean of student affairs at Dartmouth’s Medical School. Right before the move, Lori’s grandmother died. Lori’s biggest reservation about the move had been how her grandmother would have dealt with being away from the Navajo nation. There are tales of older Navajos being able to choose their time of death, and Lori wondered if there might have been some truth to this.
To Lori, Walking in Beauty had taught her so much and helped her become a better physician. Initially, she was hesitant to share her discoveries with others in the medical field since they were different from traditional Western medical practices. However, during her interview for the associate dean position, Lori spoke about the Walking in Beauty concept. Her interviewers strongly agreed with her. Lori would later find out that people were working to make the school’s hospital “a ‘healing environment,’ where patients felt comfortable and where the natural environment—the trees, the sun, and sky—were invited to come as close as possible, to encourage healing as well” (194).
While it was tough leaving the Navajo nation, Lori felt that the move would help her share Navajo concepts and beliefs about healing with the rest of the world. By doing this, she hopes to change the course of the medical field, ensuring that it returns to its healing roots.
Chapters 13-14 Analysis
In her concluding chapters, Lori recapitulates many of the central themes of the book. Her own personal birthing experience reinforced the power of combining Western medicine and Navajo practices. Focusing on her own inner journey to more fully follow the concept of “Walking in Beauty” has helped her unlearn concepts taught in medical school that were not patient-centered. She has learned that when it comes to treating illness, a holistic approach leads to better results. Establishing relationships with patients is important. To Lori, these relationships, like those a medicine man has with patients, is spiritual. Medical students need to understand that care should have a sacred component—a person’s spiritual and mental health are just as important as their physical health. Lori also views her patients as her partners during surgery. If their spirits are not in harmony then it will make the healing process more difficult.
Lori recognizes that changing the field of medicine will be challenging. One reason Lori accepts the position at Dartmouth, despite feeling immense sadness about leaving her people and community, is that she would have the opportunity to teach students and other physicians about the principles of Walking in Beauty. By sharing these concepts, it could help change the course of medicine. She was also breaking another glass ceiling for Navajo people and hopes that it will encourage others to join the medical profession. Once again, Lori is illustrating that young people, including those from minority groups, can achieve their dreams.
