Spirit Doctors

Summary: Lyrical and honest, filmmaker Marie Burke journeys inward into the spiritual world of traditional Indigenous medicine, the world of Mary and Ed Louie. With a lifetime of experience in spirituality, Mary and Ed are steadfastly committed to the practices that keep them accountable to the spirit world, their people and Mother Earth. In a twist of fate, sound recordist Don Howell is unexpectedly diagnosed with throat cancer during the filming process. He chooses to be treated with modern medicine, and for the first time ever, seeks Mary and Ed for spiritual guidance and healing. Though many healing practices and ceremonies are considered too sacred to be filmed, Mary and Ed decide to allow Don's doctoring to be recorded for the purposes of teaching others. From the lush Smilkameen Valley of the interior to the cityscapes of Vancouver, British Columbia, Burke reveals a beautiful way of life rarely seen and explores the ongoing debate around the ethics of documenting such sacred ceremonial knowledge.