To unify practitioners and to establish and maintain license certification that is inclusive of different qualified educational approaches.
Continuing education shall be offered to provide opportunities to fulfill current license and certification requirements.
The ANA is the oldest and original national organization representing Naturopathic Doctors since its inception in 1919.
The ANA advocates for the unhindered practice of original Naturopathy, as exemplified by the classic ND (in whichever focus of drugless healing he or she may provide). Efforts to exclude original naturopathic practitioners from practice through restrictive licensing laws are vigorously fought.
Since February of 1931 when the U.S. Congress amended and clarified the 1927 Naturopathic Licensing Act, Washington D.C. has remained the hub of political activity and presence of the American Naturopathic Association, as befitting a national guild.
The American Naturopathic Association continues to operate under the original charter established by Dr. Benedict Lust (See certificate at left). The ANA survived under the stewardship of Shippell, Gehman, and other first-generation naturopaths, down to 21st Century leaders such as Freibott, Inzer, and others. Ultimately, it is a group of members and practitioners, not politicians; the ANA does not seek dominance over any other group but seeks to protect its doctors from unfair infringements to their practice.