INTRODUCTION:
Indigenous health systems consist of complex and dynamic sets of knowledge, norms, and practices that organize social life, relationships with territory and non-human beings, and processes of care. Rather than constituting a single, homogeneous system, they encompass multiple Indigenous medicines grounded in distinct cosmologies and specific conceptions of the body, personhood, health, and good living. Although the biomedical model institutionally structures public health services, Indigenous health systems remain the primary gateway to care in most Indigenous communities, shaping therapeutic decisions and care trajectories.

METHODS:
This study develops a theoretical discussion on the foundations of Indigenous Medicine, articulated with an analysis of the normative frameworks of the National Policy on Health Care for Indigenous Peoples. Academic literature on Indigenous health systems, self-care practices, therapeutic itineraries, and interculturality was reviewed, alongside policy documents and institutional guidelines related to Indigenous health care in Brazil.

RESULTS:
The analysis shows that the concept of Indigenous Medicines has been consolidated in Brazil through contributions by Indigenous researcher João Paulo Barreto, from the Tukano people, and its later incorporation by the Secretariat of Indigenous Health within the Ministry of Health. Indigenous medicines are preventive, collective, and territorially grounded systems integrating spiritual, social, environmental, and bodily dimensions of care. They guide interpretations of illness, the search for traditional specialists, and coordination with biomedical services. However, effective integration of Indigenous medical systems into the Indigenous Health Care Subsystem and the Unified Health System remains limited. Structural racism, institutional violence, and the absence of formal intercultural care protocols are the main barriers. Articulation with shamans, midwives, healers, and other Indigenous specialists is central to care quality.

CONCLUSIONS:
Recognizing Indigenous medicines is essential for an intercultural, equitable health care model in Brazil, requiring Indigenous participation, intercultural training, coordination within SasiSUS, and acknowledgment of self-determination as a foundation of public health.