Alaska Native and American Indian elders living in Alaska were surveyed to determine their recollections of traditional practices that were related to mental health and that took place in their youth or were told to them by parents, grandparents, or their elders. Professional people who work in mental health centers in rural Alaska were contacted by mail and telephone to obtain their knowledge of those mental health-related practices which had been used or are currently in use in counseling Alaska Native people. A review of the literature was conducted to discover accounts of traditional practices within Alaska, conducted within the past or present, within which overt or covert healing, particularly of a psychiatric nature, might be found or extrapolated. The review of the literature also served as the base for developing an informal historical sketch of some of the major events that have been particularly stressful in the lives of Alaska Natives over the past 100 years. A Western definition of mental health was modified to include the concept of spirit, and an attempt to explain its relevance to the mental health of Alaska Native people was made. The report indicated current trends toward reawakening Alaska Natives' traditional ceremonial and informal healing practices as part of a national movement also led by American Indians and supported by state and federal leaders responsible for public health and mental health.