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Education and Training
We are committed to strengthening communities of care in historically marginalized populations and convening traditional healers, community health workers/promotores de salud, health advocates, caregivers, and other health professionals, to share best practices, challenges, strategies, especially during a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the core objectives of the education and training programs is to support the health and wellbeing of those in our communities that care for others, using indigenous scientific understandings of health and wellness:
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Raxnaquil
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The first of IHC’s programs, Raxnaqil (which in Mayan Kaqchikel language stands for health of the mind, the heart and life, a Mayan integral health concept) is a transformational learning experience for Indigenous healers, BIPOC health and community care workers, promotoros de salud, healthcare professionals, caregivers, parents, aunties, uncles and any community members that are caring for the wellbeing of others.
Designed by the center’s co-founder, Tat Balam, this curriculum provides a foundational understanding of Mayan indigenous approaches to medicine, healing and wellness. This space is intended to bring awareness and support to those in our communities caring for others, around centering their own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs, as well as that of their own families.
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​ So far, the center has graduated four cohorts, including the participation of 72 community members from Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties.
This educational experience is in high demand because of its uniqueness and high need for culturally-affirming health approaches in Indigenous, immigrant, low-income communities, and currently is being requested by San Joaquin and Santa Clara counties.
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Indigenous Medicine Bilingual Conference
By the closing of 2024, the center will hold its 3rd annual indigenous medicine bilingual conference that will convene practitioners of indigenous medicine, as well as western medical allies and holistic medicine practitioners, from the United States, Mexico and Guatemala.
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The purpose of these gatherings are strengthening communities of care, and creating a space for medicine practitioners to share best practices, challenges, and lessons learned. During the pandemic, these conferences became spaces where important treatment, traditional remedies, and preventative strategies were shared across cultural, language and medicine traditions.
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“It was a great opportunity to realize that we are so far away and in such need of connection. It’s like we’re all together, and at the same time, each one working alone. But I felt hope that something nice and beautiful is being created here."
Indigenous woman who participated in the 2022 Indigenous Medicine Conference
