An Iñupiaq addiction psychiatrist at UCLA discusses drumming as sacred technology, from an Alaska Native perspective. “Traditionally, Native American people were very healthy. You know, we grew our own food, we hunted our own animals. We were engaged in spiritual practices and cultural practices that were all taught by our elders for us to use and to live healthy, healthy lives. So with historical-based traumas that created a dent in our shield, so to speak. So with cultural-based interventions, we believe there's an opportunity to restore the balance that we've lost through kind of healing through traditional practices and treatment. And if we could do that in a In a good and appropriate way, we feel that there's potential.” -Dr. Daniel L. Dickerson, DO, MPH Episode Summary Earlier this summer, we sat with West African drumming traditions. This episode, we go deeper into drumming as sacred technology — this time from an Iñupiaq perspective, with Dr. Daniel Dickerson, addiction psychiatrist and Associate Research Psychiatrist at UCLA’s Integrated Substance Use and Addiction Programs. Dr. Dickerson is the creator and principal investigator of DARTNA (Drum-Assisted Recovery Therapy for Native Americans), the first federally funded study of its kind, and he joins us to trace a direct line from colonial suppression of Native spiritual practice to the substance use crises we see in Native communities today — and back out again, toward what healing through cultural reconnection can actually look like in a clinical trial. (Content note: this episode briefly touches on addiction, substance use, and historical and intergenerational trauma. Take care of yourself as you listen.) Key Themes & Takeaways * The Forbidden Drum: Native American drumming was suppressed under settler colonialism — European colonists viewed Indigenous spiritual practice as illegitimate, severing communities from a core technology of identity, healing, and ancestral connection. * A Dent in the Shield: Colonial contact disrupted protective cultural and spiritual practices, rendering Native populations more vulnerable to secondary diseases. Alcohol and commercialized tobacco were introduced into populations with no prior cultural relationship to either, and that sudden shock is still reverberating intergenerationally today. * Traditional Tobacco vs. Commercialized Cigarettes: A distinction worth sitting with — traditional tobacco was used sparingly and ceremonially, for the purpose of healing. What colonizers observed, then repackaged and mass-marketed, became something else entirely. Sound familiar? (I’m looking at you, tech bros with your ‘psychedelic renaissance.’) * DARTNA and the Medicine Wheel: Dr. Dickerson walks us through how DARTNA integrates the four dimensions of the Native American medicine wheel — physical, emotional, mental, spiritual — into a real, federally funded randomized controlled trial. The results: participants showed significantly better cognition, fewer physical ailments, and lower drinking and cannabis use at the end of treatment. * What Fades, and Why: The benefits dropped off three months post-treatment — not because the intervention failed, but because ongoing access to community and drummers is what sustains healing. * What’s Actually Happening in the Brain: Drumming has been shown to enhance healthy brainwave activity similar to meditative states, and to improve synchronization between the limbic system (mood/emotion) and the frontal lobe (decision-making) — a neurological bridge between how we feel and how we choose. * Isolation as the Real Disease: Substance use is, at its root, a disease of isolation. Drumming pulls people out of individual isolation and into witnessed, communal practice — connection as medicine, not metaphor. Resources & References Research on DARTNA * DARTNA: Results from a Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial (PubMed) * NIAAA Overview: Drum-Assisted Recovery Therapy for Native Americans * DARTNA Clinical Trial Record (ClinicalTrials.gov) * DARTNA: Results from a Pretest and Focus Groups (PubMed) NIH Institutional Context * N CREW Program: Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness * Building Equitable Native American Research Partnerships: N CREW (NIH HEAL) The Neuroscience of Drumming * Brainwave Entrainment & Music Therapy: A Digital Therapeutics Review (Frontiers) * Inner Sense of Rhythm: Percussionist Brain Activity (PMC) Guest Spotlight: Dr. Daniel Dickerson Dr. Daniel Dickerson is an addiction psychiatrist and Associate Research Psychiatrist at UCLA’s Integrated Substance Use and Addiction Programs. He holds a D.O. and an M.P.H., and is double board-certified in psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. He is Iñupiaq, an Alaska Native tribe, on his mother’s side, and Caucasian on his father’s side, and he grew up in Long Beach, in Los Angeles County. His research centers on substance use treatment and prevention for American Indian and Alaska Native youth and adults, with a focus on culturally grounded interventions. He is the creator and principal investigator of DARTNA — Drum-Assisted Recovery Therapy for Native Americans — supported by NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a comment below — I’d love to hear how you’re finding connection back to your own lineage and traditions. Get full access to Root Shock at rootshock.substack.com/subscribe
