AUGUST 6, 2021

YUP’IQ SPIRITUAL HEALER RITA PITKA BLUMENSTEIN DIED

Born in 1936 and raised in the Yup’ik village of Tununak, Nelson Island, Alaska (AK), Rita’s name meant “Tail End Clearing of the Pathway to the Light.” She began healing people at age 4. At age 9, her great-grandmother gave her 13 eagle feathers & 13 stones to give to the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers (Council) [the Council would not actually convene until 2004!]. She worked as a doctor’s aide at hospitals in Bethel & Nome before becoming the 1^st certified traditional doctor in AK. Rita worked for the AK Native Tribal Health Consortium & South Central Foundation and taught internationally on cultural issues. In 2004, Rita was asked to serve on the Council and provided the feathers and stones. The Council, which protects Indigenous medicines & wisdom, has had audiences with leaders such as the Pope & Dalai Lama. Inducted into the AK Women’s Hall of Fame in 2009, her tribe and her mayor made February 18, 2006 “Rita Pitka Blumenstein Day.” Rita died in Anchorage, AK.

Sources:

“Rita Blumenstein,” Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame.  Retrieved 10/10/2023, Rita Blumenstein | Alaska Women's Hall Of Fame (alaskawomenshalloffame.org)

Wikipedia

Photo:  Courtesy of Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame.