The traditions of American Indian healing, from medicinal plants to the sound of the drum's rhythm and steam rising from a sweat lodge, fused with modern medicine Friday at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center with unveiling of a healing garden.
Purtkwahgahm (pronounced Burk-WAH-ga-me) means "healing ground" in the Ute language. And that's the name that adorns the beautiful park-like area in the heart of the hospital's campus. Besides the sweat lodge (a wood frame that will be covered when it's in use) and fire pit, the area features rock-look circular benches, a fire pit, garden art and a drumming area. Traditional medicinal plants will be added soon. A metal sculpture, "Greeting the Sun," rises from a rock, the gift of David E. Westley, who also did the wrought iron gates to the garden and the adjoining "Gem Court Garden."
More than 100 people from the medical center staff, area American Indian tribes, public officials and others gathered in the bright sunshine to dedicate the area Friday morning. The event began when five drummers "smudged" a large drum, then began beating the rhythm of the human heart. Smudging uses smoke to symbolically purify and protect physical and spiritual bodies, according to a note in the program.
After a U.S. Marine Corps color guard posted the flag, Nino Reyos treated the crowd to a traditional American Indian flute solo.
Plans for Purtkwahgahm have been under way for about two years, according to Kym Couture, a psychotherapist at the medical center.
The garden is very much a "work in progress," said the center's Steve Harmon. "It's a place to demonstrate respect and reverence" for all things "native," from Utah's people to its plants and traditions. "This is a place for reflection, meditation and enjoyment of nature."
Couture said the VA system has been exploring many options to foster holistic healing, alongside more traditional medicine. The healing ground celebrates a universal message. "All religions at the core have the same message: We are not separated from the divine." But they also teach that suffering comes from that sense of separation, she said, and the ground is a quiet place where people meditate, pray, think and become whole.
The healing ground was built around "the four elements of life: fire, water, air and mother earth," said Steve Todachiny, Utah Intertribal Veterans Association, who threw tobacco into the fire and blessed the area and those who had gathered.
He also offered tobacco to the fire "for the veterans protecting us so we can be here."
"This may not be perceived as a clinic . . . it has been dedicated and purified for healing," said James R. Floyd, director of the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. He noted that the Institute of Medicine Report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm," calls for institutions to offer customized care and broaden the view of healing, with patients as a source of control.
Purtkwahgahm, he said, meets that call. "This is a place for solace, rest, reflection and comfort."
E-mail: lois@desnews.com