prisons in several states have allowed indigenous inmates to practice sweat lodge and other tribal religious ceremonies as part of their rehabilitation traditional medicine uses a holistic model of wellbeing through the integration of emotional physical mental and spiritual aspects of being even though specific practices vary between different tribes all traditional medicine is based on the understanding that humans are part of nature and health is a matter of balance therefore there is respect for the land and all of her offerings traditionally elders understood the importance of respecting and using their environment for foods medicines and ceremonies for overall health