ANN ARBOR—”Indigenous Healing: Alive and Well?” will be the focus of a brown bag lecture and public symposium at the University of Michigan on April 15. Both events are free and open to the public.

The brown bag lecture, “Rain Forest Therapeutics,” will be presented by ethnobotanist Mark J. Plotkin, executive director of the Ethnobiologist and Conservation Team in Washington, D.C., 12- 1:30 p.m., Room 1334, School of Nursing. Author of “Tales of a Shaman Apprentice,” Plotkin will describe healing rituals and remedies of Indian tribes of the Amazonian rain forest.

Plotkin also will speak at the symposium, 3-5 p.m., in the Pendleton Room, Michigan Union. In his talk, “Odyssey into Healing: Perspective of a Shaman’s Apprentice,” he will recount his experiences with some of the most powerful Amazonian shamans and his effort to salvage medicinal plants in the Amazon that are threatened by over-development.

Cristino B. Perez, a shaman and spiritual leader, also will speak at the symposium on “Traditional Healing in the Diaspora.” Perez will discuss shamanism practices throughout the world, the Aztec healing tradition, and his own contemporary role as healer. Perez conducts workshops, ceremonial healing and dance performances locally and internationally.

The events are sponsored by the U-M School of Nursing, the Office of the Associate Provost for Academic and Multicultural Affairs, and the King/Chavez/Parks Visiting Professors Program. For more information, call (313) 763-3210.

Phone: (734) 764-7260