to improve the health situation of indigenous peoples there must thus be a fundamental shift in the concept of health so that it incorporates the cultures and world views of indigenous peoples as central to the design and management of state health systems it is shaped by indigenous peoples historical experiences and worldviews and is expressed in the rules and norms that are applied in the community and practised by its members to promote health and prevent illness an indigenous community seeks to recuperate and maintain its interior and exterior equilibrium including the harmony between community members who are sick and the world around them