Friday the 13th: The Shaman's Apprentice

Friday the 13th was a horror series on the Sci-Fi Channel that had nothing to do with the movies of the same name. The Shaman's Apprentice was the 24th episode of the show's second season.

Here are a couple of synopses:

"Friday the 13th" The Shaman's Apprentice (1989)A Native American doctor discovers a unique way to cure terminally ill patients, but the price of the treatment is murder.Friday the 13th: The Series--The Shaman's ApprenticeA ceremonial rattle lets an Indian doctor save his patients by taking other lives.Dr. White Cloud was played by someone named Paul Miceli-Sanchez. It was apparently his first and last role in the business. There's no indication whether he's Native or not, but he appears to be. Gordon Tootoosis is the only cast member who's clearly Native.

You can see the first 9:51 of the episode below. It's your typical "modern Native doctor scorns traditional shaman grandfather" plot, with the young skeptic learning the old ways via a magical artifact. There's nothing new here, but it's reasonably well done. It isn't pure trash.

For more on the subject, see TV Shows Featuring Indians.