The medicinal use of cacao, or chocolate, both as a primary remedy and as a vehicle to deliver other medicines, originated in the New World and diffused to Europe in the mid 1500s. These practices originated among the Olmec, Maya and Mexica (Aztec). The word cacao is derived from Olmec and the subsequent Mayan languages (kakaw); the chocolate-related term cacahuatl is Nahuatl (Aztec language), derived from Olmec/Mayan etymology. Early colonial era documents included instructions for the medicinal use of cacao. The Badianus Codex (1552) noted the use of cacao flowers to treat fatigue, whereas the Florentine Codex (1590) offered a prescription of cacao beans, maize and the herb tlacoxochitl (Calliandra anomala) to alleviate fever and panting of breath and to treat the faint of heart. Subsequent 16th to early 20th century manuscripts produced in Europe and New Spain revealed >100 medicinal uses for cacao/chocolate. Three consistent roles can be identified: 1) to treat emaciated patients to gain weight; 2) to stimulate nervous systems of apathetic, exhausted or feeble patients; and 3) to improve digestion and elimination where cacao/chocolate countered the effects of stagnant or weak stomachs, stimulated kidneys and improved bowel function. Additional medical complaints treated with chocolate/cacao have included anemia, poor appetite, mental fatigue, poor breast milk production, consumption/tuberculosis, fever, gout, kidney stones, reduced longevity and poor sexual appetite/low virility. Chocolate paste was a medium used to administer drugs and to counter the taste of bitter pharmacological additives. In addition to cacao beans, preparations of cacao bark, oil (cacao butter), leaves and flowers have been used to treat burns, bowel dysfunction, cuts and skin irritations.

In the politics of indigenousness in international fora there are discourses and practices that strategically delimit the universe of meanings and that seek to define what are indigenous traditions, histories, collective memories, worldviews, present conditions, ways of life, and future aspirations. I argue that indigenous intellectuals and activists depict a strategically essentialized indigeneity to legitimize claims for social justice and rights; thus, this depiction should not be understood simply as an uncritical and retrograde essentialism. The (re)construction of peoplehood involves negotiating concepts used by nation states and, at the same time, a continuous conscious redrawing of cultural boundaries.

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Purpose: It is known that interpreter-mediated aphasia assessments may not provide the linguistic information that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) need to provide accurate diagnoses and determine treatment goals. The purpose of our study was to understand the perceptions of SLPs and interpreters who collaborate in a medical setting and to develop a checklist to categorize and quantify the errors interpreters make. Interpreter training may lead to unintentional errors that impact the information the SLP gains from the assessment session. Method: In Phase 1 of the study, 38 hospital SLPs and 26 interpreters responded to survey questions about their experiences working with the other discipline. In Phase 2, eight Spanish-speaking interpreters and two Spanish-speaking participants with fluent aphasia took part in a standardized interpreter-mediated aphasia assessment. A bilingual SLP and a Spanish-speaking interpreter analyzed and coded the assessments for errors in the interpreters’ behaviors. Results: Results from the survey demonstrated that both SLPs and interpreters would like the interpreters to have more education regarding the diagnosis of aphasia and an understanding of the SLP's goals during an aphasia assessment. A lack of time was considered the primary hindrance to educating interpreters during an evaluation session. The checklist included interpreter behaviors that could significantly impact the SLP’s ability to diagnose aphasia: omission of speech/language information, meaning errors, and cueing. Positive behaviors noted were calling attention to patient error and pointing out potential confusing items. Conclusions: Education for both disciplines will enhance the accuracy of interpreter-mediated aphasia assessments. A checklist tool with specific examples of errors may be useful in educating not only experienced interpreters and SLPs but also students in both disciplines.

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