While there are a multitude of incidents over the past couple years, here is a recent one about parents are refusing to allow chemotherapy on their kid and the kid appears to be ignorant of the situation.
Judge rules family can't refuse chemo for boy
The kid is pretty much a goner without the treatment.
So, should parents be allowed to refuse life saving treatment for their children?
[EDIT] Based on Etheral's insightful marks, assume at least for the discussion that the medical live saving treatment is medically sound and likely to save the child's life [/EDIT]
In this particular case, in this instance, I believe the judge and others were right to step in.
Over the past few days I've been doing some digging about the Nemenhah Band and their claims. No way would it be appropriate if this had been a legitimate Indigenous group with legitimate healers working with the boy. I've seen healers who've worked "miracles" after the MD types have given up.
The problem with this group is that they took it upon themselves to adopt a name, adopt a lifestyle and proclaim themselves some kind of "born again" Indians and proceeded to use legitimate healing ceremonies as their own, adapting them ie changing them.
Spiritual, medicinal healers would NEVER do such a thing. NOR would they then turn around and charge others for their services.
So, I confirmed that their legitimacy is bogus as is their "Indian-ness" via the moccasin telegraph.
I've spoken with several healers I know personally about this and they've confirmed what I know about healers and healing in our communities. You can't just go to a workshop/weekend retreat and become one of those jiffy pop shamans we're always battling. Healing, being a Healer takes years, like lifelong years, of training. That kind of knowledge is thousands of years old and was learned in a context of time and space. There are songs, dances, things of the natural world, plant peoples and the harvest of those plants (which also have their own ceremony and song and proper harvesting and use) for various ailments. Those things and that knowledge is embedded in our languages.
When people try to take that knowledge and use it without the proper cultural context, they can hurt someone. Spirituality and healing can exist within those outside of our communities and they are then encouraged and helped to learn what they need to know to use those gifts properly. Without that, they can and will hurt someone by opening doors, touching the web of the healer's path without the knowledge of what to do next and how to properly, respectfully harness those powers of universe.
It would be like someone watching an MD doc on tv and then going out to perform brain surgery.
The judge was right to step in and get this boy medical care. Usually, there are Healers who work in conjunction with MD types. Using the tools of both worlds would have given this boy an even greater chance of survival. It's unfortunate, in their ignorance, his parents didn't choose that path.