Natives treating the sick, United States of America, engraving by Vernier from Etats-Unis … [+] d’Amerique, by Roux de Rochelle, L’Univers Pittoresque, published by Firmin Didot Freres, Paris, 1837. DeA / Biblioteca Ambrosiana November is National American Indian Heritage Month, a time of recognition for the substantial contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S. But, the month and remembrance, like many Native influences, still frequently go unrecognized in our day-to-day lives. Whether it’s the invention of vital infrastructure such as cable suspension bridges or sport for fun like lacrosse, so much of what exists in modern culture today is a direct result of what was created before newcomers occupied these lands. And the world’s health ecosystem, ranging from preventative measures to administration of medicine is no different, owing much of its practices and innovations to those ancestral peoples and healers. Here are seven inventions used every day in medicine and public health that we owe to Native Americans. And in most cases, couldn’t live without today: 1. Syringes In 1853 a Scottish doctor named Alexander Wood was credited for the creation of the first hypodermic syringe, but a much earlier tool existed. Before colonization, Indigenous peoples had created a method using a sharpened hollowed-out bird bone connected to an animal bladder that could hold and inject fluids into the bod… Click below to read the full story from Forbes
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7 Native American Inventions That Revolutionized Medicine And Public Health
