HONORING THE INDIGENOUS LINEAGE OF

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY​

 

As a white, Ashkenazi Jewish modern-day bodyworker humbly attempting to practice a sacred, ancient healing art on unceded Huchiun terrority of the Lisjan Ohlone people on Turtle Island, I acknowledge my complacency and participation in perpetuating a colonial and racist history that has stolen, disregarded, and erased the wisdom and healing practices of Indigenous and African Peoples.

 

I believe continuing to uphold ignorance and not honor and acknowledge the accurate history of my practice only holds us further back from realizing the radical safety and justice necessary for true healing and evolution of consciousness. I believe if we are to contribute to the collective shift in consciousness needed for the healing and liberation of all living beings, including Mother Earth herself, we must take accountability where we can. To be clear, I believe much more is needed than acknowledging the history of Craniosacral Therapy when it comes to healing systemic white body supremacy, implicit bias, and racism. But still necessary.

 

So much has been lost in the translation and transmission of history over thousands of years, especially in the oral traditions that are part of many Indigenous and African cultures. I believe the BCTA/NA’s newly issued origin story honors the roots of our work and uplifts the Lumbee, Shawnee, and other Indigenous Peoples who have been excluded from the history of Craniosacral Therapy. When BCTA/NA dove deep into the archives of the A.T. Still University and Museum, they found sources that prove Dr. A. T. Still was a descendant of the Lumbee people and that he spent time learning from the Shawnee. With the general acceptance of Dr. A. T. Still as the “Father of Osteopathy,” and Dr. William Garner Sutherland as his protege, we can confidently assume the origins of modern Craniosacral Therapy can be traced to Indigenous roots specifically of the Shawnee and Lumbee Native Americans (source).

 

“... when Dr. Still became a recognized physician and surgeon, although he never said where he had learned his musculoskeletal and organ massage techniques, which he called Osteopathy, he is known to have alluded to the bone-setting methods of the Shawnee at least once, as reported by the director of the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine in a lecture, who added that Still often used ‘the phrase ‘Taking an Indian look’ at something. Forgetting what you know and just to quietly observe with no thoughts.’ … when he started his medical practice, he advertised himself as a ‘magnetic healer’ and ‘lightning bonesetter’ before naming his methods Osteopathic Medicine” (Renfrew 2025).

 

“Bonesetting is a tradition that has existed since long before homo sapiens existed. There is evidence that our Neanderthal cousins practiced bonesetting and so we can assume that other hominid groups practiced versions of the same thing. Bonesetting is still practiced in many parts of the world including in Russia, India, China, and in many cultures of what are called the Americas. In bonesetting, a practitioner works with the bones as living animate forms, using a mix of gentle and strong touch to settle the bones differently in the surrounding soft tissue. There are bonesetting traditions and bonesetters that work closer to what we call chiropractic work and osteopathy and those that work closer to biodynamic craniosacral work” (Raffo 2020).

 

“Cherokee bodyworkers, reports Mehl-Madrona, who learned the method from two traditional Cherokee women, are masters at working with energy and the breath, and they also move cranial bones, seeking the ridges, albeit with more force than Craniosacral practitioners. They do this along with osteopathic-like massage and manipulation of musculoskeletal tissues, organs, and joints, as well as acupressure on points and energy channels (that, in fact, correspond to the meridians). They combine all this with gentle rocking and with narrative healing, both verbal and energetic, using storytelling, and dialogue with the musculoskeletal system and with the client, and intense breath work to ‘restore spirit’ to all parts of the body, when giving treatments that they commonly refer to as ‘doctoring’” (Raffo 2020).

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I am deeply grateful to Ruti Wagaki, Susan Raffo, Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Nita Renfrew, and all of the other individuals who have helped make this information publicly available. Thank you to my classmate, Sylk, for pointing me in the right direction. Thank you to Hugh Milne who seems to be one of the few white, Craniosacral Therapy teachers who names the origins of this practice as more than starting with a white man in the 1800s (source). Thank you to Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, Dr. William Garner Sutherland, my teachers, and many others who have kept the Spirit of Craniosacral Therapy alive to help heal so many including myself.

 

If I caused any harm in my writing this or in practicing Craniosacral Therapy and if there is any repair I can offer, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I will make the necessary changes to try to repair and to not further harm. I tried my best to accumulate all the resources I could find on these topics. If you wish to read more, see below.
 

REFERENCES

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A.T. Still University, Museum of Osteopathic Medicine. A.T. Still Biography. https://www.atsu.edu/museum-of-osteopathic-medicine/museum-at-still 

 

Ezeanya-Esiobu, C. (2019). The Case of Traditional Bonesetting and Orthopaedic Medical Curriculum. In: Indigenous Knowledge and Education in Africa. Frontiers in African Business Research. Springer, Singapore. 

 

Mehl-Madrona (2016). Polarity Therapy Workbook, John Beaulieu, Native American Bodywork Practices.

Milne. https://milneinstitute.com/origins/

 

Mitchell, S. (2022, May 18). Through a lens, documenting Indigenous culture. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/18/arts/indigenous-native-photography-matikawilbur.html 

 

Raffo, S. (2020). Aligning the relational field: A love story about retelling the creation of craniosacral therapy (and a lot of other touch-based bodywork as well). https://www.susanraffo.com/blog/aligning-the-relational-field-a-love-story-aboutretelling-the-creation-of-craniosacral-therapy-and-a-lot-of-other-touchbased-bodywork-as-well 

 

Renfrew, R.M. (2015). Traditional American Indian bodywork, the origin of Osteopathy, Polarity, and Craniosacral Therapy. A Journal of Contemporary Shamanism: Volume 8. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277013012_Traditional_American._Indian_ Bodywork_the_Origin_of_Osteopathy_Polarity_and_Craniosacral_Therapy