Shaman or Medicine Man?

The words "shaman" and "medicine man" were not of Native origin, and "shaman" was considered to be a more politically correct term than "medicine man" was. Each nation had spiritual leaders and healers... each one had different beliefs of what practices were done. The Lakota believed that their spiritual leaders were in constant communication with The Great Spirit. Their role was to seek spiritual enlightenment and secure the tribe's good graces with the spirit world. They were healers of the mind and body. Many were Spiritual or Mental alchemists, able to grasp what needed to be done and transformed the life path so the final destination might be clearer and the path not be so bumpy and treacherous, the fast route from where you start to your final goal would be a straight line, many of us choose the hardest possible way and that's okay,  sometimes its the journey that matters not where you end up.