Ways of knowing about health: an aboriginal perspective

Because of the questionable applicability to extant health promotion models and middle-range theories to aboriginal peoples, foundational inquiries examining the nature of cultural beliefs and ways of knowing about health within the cultures of various ethnic groups are imperative. This article describes the ways of knowing about health reported by Ojibwe people during an ethnographic inquiry in the Great Lakes region. These ways included stories from the oral tradition, authoritative knowledge of elders, "commonsense" models of illness and health, spiritual knowledge, and knowing oneself. The health-world view, a conceptual orientation for investigating health beliefs, is offered.