I was preparing for a session at Wayne State with UNMC and Little Priest
Tribal College and remembered a photo that a drug rep gave me from a
Nebraska Physicians History exhibit that she had put together. The photo
was of Dr. Susan. The audience was 11 - 13 year old Winnebago teens.
Although many knew the name LaFlesche, none knew or admitted they knew
about Dr. Susan. They know about her now. The best solution for underserved
areas, in this nation or overseas, are people like Susan LaFlesche Picotte
that are dedicated young people from underserved areas who have a strong
desire to return and serve. They need appropriate education, support, role
model contact, and encouragement so that they can overcome all of the
obstacles to a professional career. They will face incredible stress as
they attempt to live in the medical world dictated by career choice, yet
still relate at a number of levels with native people, as family, friend,
translator of language and culture, encourager of others to follow in their
footsteps, educator, and leader.
Dr. Susan was born and raised at the Omaha reservation and schooled there
from 1870 ? 79. Her father was Iron Eye, last of the Great Chiefs of the
Omaha, also known as Joseph LaFlesche. Her mother was Mary Gale, daughter
of Dr. John Gale, the first army physician in Nebraska. Dr. Picotte had
both native and non-native medical influences in her family from birth. Her
parents set a priority on her education. She was sent with a sister to New
Jersey in 1879 to attend the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies. She
cared for anthropologist Alice Fletcher during an illness. Such strong
female professional contacts likely encouraged her to pursue medicine. She
next attended Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia 1884 -
1886. The school had an outreach program for native students. A key contact
at this time was Martha M. Waldron, M.D., the physician for the school. Dr.
Waldron assisted Susan with admission to medical school.
The decision to remain in the east and study medicine was not an easy
decision. All through this time her tribe was in turmoil over cultural
changes, diseases related to tuberculosis, alcohol, and nutrition, and
government inattention to the needs of native peoples. She felt this
personally through her brother who was busy documenting the traditions of
the faltering tribe. Disease and death took a heavy toll on those who had
been given charge of these traditions.
She attended Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1889
at the top of her class. She was a delight to students and faculty alike.
She received financial aid to attend from the Women's National Indian
Association. 5 She was pleased that Omaha people became US citizens during
this time. She did an internship at Women's College during the years from
1889 - 1893. She took a government position serving the tribe and was a
medical missionary during this time. She resigned her government position
in 1983. She constantly wrote to local, regional, and national officials,
asking for more support, more medical assistants, and more attention to the
needs of her people. Dr. Susan assumed full time duties as a physician at
the Omaha Reservation in 1984. Her home and medical office location was the
Omaha Agency school, but her duties frequently took her out across the
reservation and county by horseback or by buggy. She left a lighted lamp on
in her window, to welcome patients at any hour who might need help. 3
She realized that a primary problem was lack of knowledge in Washington DC
regarding the needs of the tribe. Dr. Picotte went on the lecture circuit
in the United States and Europe with her sister Suzette to inform the
public about the problems faced by Indian people. She pointed out that the
way of life of the Omaha people was destroyed by the slaughter of the
buffalo. She believed this was the root of many of the problems of the
Omaha people. She also campaigned against the trust system, in which tribal
property was held in trust by the federal government, because she believed
it was detrimental to Indian self determination 4
She married Henry Picotte in 1894 and moved to Bancroft in the southern
part of Thurston Co. She continued to care for natives and whites. She had
two sons, Caryl and Pierre. She lost her husband to alcoholism in 1905 and
returned with her sons to Walthill. In 1906 Dr. Picotte's temperance work
brought about a stipulation from Washington, D.C. that every property deed
in communities on the Omaha reservation would prohibit the sale of alcohol.
She was the only native ever appointed as a medical missionary by the
Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. 5
Dr. Picotte was also active in medical organizations. She was one of the
founders of the Thurston County Medical Association. As county health
officer, she was directly involved in public health issues. She lobbied the
State Legislature for better public health laws. 5 In addition to her
pioneering medical career, Dr. Picotte was a church and community leader,
public health advocate, and Indian rights activist. She translated at
church services. Her life was devoted to promoting health, healing illness,
serving community, and fostering respect between races. 3
She raised the $8000 in funds for the first hospital at the reservation
which opened in 1913. This was the first such hospital that was not funded
by the government. It was later named the Dr. Susan Picotte Memorial
Hospital and served natives and whites for over 30 years and then elders
another 20. She suffered from a painful and degenerative bone disease
that caused severe pain in her ear for about 20 years. She died a few
months after surgery to attempt to correct this condition. 3
"Susan truly had faced obstacles above and beyond those faced by
nineteenth century white women, yet she overcame every one and dedicated
her life to her grateful people. Her story is a litany of frontier
vignettes of which classic legends are made, and it needs no embellishment.
Dr. Susan could very well emerge as one of the more notable heroines in
American History." Dennis Hastings, Omaha Tribe Historian From the
foreward of Native American Doctor, the Story of Susan LaFlesche Picotte,
by Jeri Ferris, 1991. More about her including partial genogram at
http://www.unmc.edu/Community/ruralmeded/susan_la_flesche_picotte.htm
References:
1.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/if_you_knew/if_you_knew_12.html
2.
http://www.americanwest.com/pages/picotte.htm
3.
http://www.cfra.org/center/picotte.htm at the Center for Rural Affairs
site
4.
http://www.nativenashville.com/History/susan_laflesche.htm
5.
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/thurston/susan.html
Robert C. Bowman, M.D., Co-Chair Rural Medical Educators rbowman@unmc.edu
Education - the entire pipeline