Cherokee Medicine Man: The Life and Work of a Modern-Day Healer

by Robert J. Conley

A modern medicine man portrayed through the words of the people he has helped

Robert J. Conley did not set out to chronicle the life of Cherokee medicine man John Little Bear. Instead, the medicine man came to him. Little Bear asked Conley to write down his story, to reveal to the world “what Indian medicine is really about.” For Little Bear, as for the Cherokee ancestors who brought their traditions over the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory, the medicine is about helping people. Visitors from neighboring states and Mexico come to him, each one seeking help for a different kind of problem. Each seeker’s story is presented here exactly as it was told to Conley.

Little Bear has cured problems involving health, relationships, and money by uncovering the source of the problem rather than simply treating the symptoms. Whereas mainstream medicine and counseling have failed his patients, Little Bear’s healing practices have proven beneficial time and again.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert J. Conley was a Cherokee author and enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, a federally recognized tribe of American Indians. In 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.

Reviews

[gabriel buckner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisdom and Magic

This book is a chronicle of events experienced by the author with an active medicine man of the Cherokee Nation. As a displaced Cherokee descendant, it was validating to read of things that my mother had mentioned, my grandfather talked about my great grandmother gathering herbs and making medicine for her children.
For those uninitiated, it may seem fantastic, but I assure you, these occurrences are very real!

[Jim Drewery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was a required text in Native American Religions course taught at Webster Univ. Book was kind of hard to believe in spots, but the report generated by a research trip conducted by two of my classmates to actually visit the author, left me highly skeptical of this. My advice take it all with a grain of salt.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short book because I learned some interesting facts regarding Native American history that I was unaware of. It's written in a fairly conversational tone and is, overall, a fascinating subject. My only negative is that it had a very disjointed feel and was rather broken up throughout.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four stars not because I would recommend it to everyone, but because it made me miss Oklahoma--and that is hard to do.

[Felicia Gibble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, love....want to learn more about John Little Bear.