[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 107 (Thursday, July 10, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING NEW TRAVELING EXHIBITION--NATIVE VOICES: NATIVE PEOPLES' 
                     CONCEPTS OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS

                                  _____
                                 

                             HON. TOM COLE

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 10, 2014

  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize a new interactive 
exhibition, Native Voices: Native Peoples' Concepts of Health and 
Illness. This new exhibition, which examines concepts of health and 
medicine among contemporary American Indians, Alaska Natives, and 
Native Hawaiians, will start to travel on August 26, 2014, throughout 
the United States and is scheduled to open in Oklahoma, a state with a 
rich Native American heritage that I have the privilege to represent.
  Native Voices, developed by the National Library of Medicine, part of 
the National Institutes of Health, explores the connection between 
wellness, illness, and cultural life through a combination of 
interviews with Native people, artwork, objects, and interactive media.
  The National Library of Medicine has a history of working with Native 
communities as part of the library's commitment to make health 
information resources accessible to people no matter where they live or 
work. The Native Voices exhibition concept grew out of meetings with 
Native leaders across the country.
  According to the Library's Director, Donald A.B. Lindberg, MD, the 
exhibition honors the Native tradition of oral history and establishes 
a unique collection of information that visitors will find both 
educational and inspirational.
  Topics featured in the exhibition include: Native views of land, 
food, community, earth/nature, and spirituality as they relate to 
Native health. It also highlights the relationship between traditional 
healing and Western medicine in Native communities as well as economic 
and cultural issues that affect the health of Native communities. Other 
efforts by Native communities to improve health conditions is included 
as well. The exhibition also touches on the role of Native Americans in 
military service and healing support for returning Native veterans.
  To make the Native Voices exhibition accessible to people even if 
they cannot visit it when it comes to a nearby community, there is an 
online version of the exhibition at www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices and a 
free iPad App available through iTunes.

                          ____________________