Indigenous & Integrative Health

Indigenous and Integrative Health Summit

The South Dakota Department of Health is pleased to announce the Indigenous and Integrative Health Summit on September 24th at the Arrowood Resort and Conference Center at Cedar Shore in Oacoma. This event intends to bridge Western medicine, traditional healing practices, and integrative health approaches.

The intended audience for this event includes healthcare professionals, tribal and public health practitioners, and local health coalition members.

View the Indigenous & Integrative Health Summit Flyer

Registration coming soon!

Keynote Presentations

This session will discuss how the Woiwanke (Lakota Worldview) and a kinship-based approach are the foundation for health and healing using an example of the Oinajin Topa (Lakota Four Stages of Life). During this presentation, attendees will learn about the interrelatedness of mind, body, emotions, and spirit as a factor in individual wellness, the environmental conditions and context relative to health and wellness from a Lakota perspective, and the historical and intergenerational considerations relevant to the current state of Lakota health and wellness.

Speaker: Richard Two Dogs

Richard Two DogsHmuya Mani (Walks With a Roaring), Richard Two Dogs is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, a federally chartered Indian tribe. He lives with his spouse in Porcupine, South Dakota in the Oglala Lakota Nation. Mr. Two Dogs is from the Mato Oyate, Kiyuksa Band, and is Oglala Lakota. He is an Oglala traditional healer and a Wakan Iyeska (Interpreter of the Sacred). His father is the late Asa Two Dogs Sr., and his mother is the late Edna Lone Hill-Two Dogs. He descends from the bloodline of Medicine Horse, American Horse, Brown Cloud, and Little Warrior. For more than three decades, Mr. Two Dogs has provided Lakota cultural services to many tribal nations in the United States and Canada. He has extensive experience in development and training in the areas of Lakota mental health and wellness, Lakota language revitalization, cultural competency, child and family development, and individual/family healing.

This session will cover core concepts regarding Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine, including methods to improve current and future health. Attendees will learn about who can benefit from Integrative or Lifestyle Medicine consultations, the evidence behind the use of these modalities, and how it can benefit patients and themselves.

Speaker: Dr. Eric Thompson

Dr. Eric ThompsonDr. Eric Thompson, MD, DipABLM, specialized in Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of North Dakota and has worked in North and South Dakota providing care. Tired of all the chronic disease, he became Board Certified in Lifestyle Medicine which focuses on lifestyle changes to prevent disease, and went on to complete a fellowship at the University of Arizona at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. He is passionate about bringing patients better options to achieve optimal health using lifestyle modifications, mind-body techniques, botanicals, and more.