Medicine People – Also medicine men and medicine women. A term cognate with holy people among many Native Americans that may be comparable to shamans elsewhere. Medicine not only emphasizes abilities to heal people from illnesses but also refers to sacred powers and/or abilities gifted to elected people at initiation and dependent on proper, respectful use throughout life. Specific plants, stones, rituals, and chants may also be labeled “medicine.”
SOURCE:
Historical Dictionary of Shamanism by Graham Harvey and Robert J. Wallis 2007