Lori Arviso Alvord

Born: 1958

Country of Birth: USA

Nationality: USA

Ethnicity: Native American - Navajo

Dartmouth College AB Psychology & Sociology 1979; University of New Mexico Pre-med classes; Stanford University School of Medicine 1985

" "although I was a good surgeon, I was not always a good healer. I went back to the healers of my tribe to learn what a surgical residency could not teach me. From them I have heard a resounding message: Everything in life is connected. Learn to understand the bonds between humans, spirit, and nature. Realize that our illness and our healing alike come from maintaining strong and healthy relationships in every aspect of our lives." (cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov); "Hospitals need to have places where you can see trees and grass and sky and sun... animals nearby, and not just for children and the elderly. Beauty is so important—artwork on the walls, gardens, outdoor porches with a view. A hospital should also have the right smells, the right foods, the right sounds, the things in life that soothe us. We should also avoid the things that are wrong, that cause stress—no harsh sounds, no bright lights, no invasive overhead paging." (cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov); “The purpose of the (Navajo night chant) ceremony is to help the patient return to a way of thinking and living in harmony and balance,” Alvord said. “While training at Stanford, I had longed for something like it for my non-Indian patients, who went alone or nearly alone. Their minds and their spirits were often not prepared for surgery, and could not assist in healing them.” (thedartmouth.com); “Thoughts have great power and meaning, and it’s possible to think or speak something into existence,” Alvord said. “What goes into our minds actually does affect our health, in many dimensions.” (thedartmouth.com); “Navajos believe in hozho or hozhoni – “Walking in Beauty” – a worldview in which everything in life is connected and influences everything else…So Navajos make every effort to live in harmony and balance with everyone and everything else. Their belief system sees sickness as a result of things falling out of balance, of losing one’s way on the path of beauty. In this belief system, religion and medicine are one and the same.” (goodreads.com); “In the Western world…disease is very compartmentalized by organs or medical specialties, and in some ways this does not benefit the patient. Specialists often don’t look outside their own parameters to see what else might be influencing an illness. A Navajo healer…will look at the person’s whole life and the lives of those around him or her…The Navajo view is a macro view, whereas Western medicine often takes a micro view.” (goodreads.com); "

— Lori Arviso Alvord

Field of Study: Medicine - Traditional Healing Practices

Institution/Corporation: Indian Health Services Gallup New Mexico; Dartmouth School of Medicine; Johns Hopkins School of Public Health; Astria Health Washington

Degrees & Memberships: Honorary Degrees: Albany Medical College (2001); Drexel University (2006); Pine Manor College (2009); Member: National Advisory Council for complementary & Alternative Medicine

Awards: 1992 Govenor's Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women; 1999 American Medical Writers Association 2000 Will Solimene Award of Excellence; 2000 Circles Book Award, Georgia College & State University; 2003 Veteran's Administration (VA) Federal Appreciation Award, White River Junction VA Medical Center; 2018 Wallace Sterling Lifetime Achievement Award, Stanford Medical Alumni Association

Achievements: research interests focus on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) healthcare with publications in surgical outcomes and decision-making in AI/AN patients; she combines modern medical treatments with traditional Native American healing practices;