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Past Warriors |
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Susan LaFlesche, a member of the Omaha Tribe, was the first American Indian woman to receive her medical degree. She graduated first in her class in 1889 and went on to practice medicine in Nebraska until she died in 1915 at the age of 49. Her persistence in getting an education and using her skills to benefit the people around her more than qualify her for Warrior of the Month.
Susan LaFlesche Picotte 1865 - 1915 Susan LaFlesche overcame incredible odds to become the First Native American woman doctor in the United States. Born to Iron Eye (half native and half French), chief of the Omahas, and The One Woman in 1865, Susan LaFlesche began her life at a time when her people's culture was near its end. As a child on the prairie she helped with all of the family chores. She followed her father often and learned from him many things - from herding to the wisdom he imparted to other tribesmen. But her father wanted her, and all the tribe’s children, to be educated and to know her way around the white man's world which was quickly engulfing every native tribe in North America.
She had a good heart, a thirst for knowledge and liked to take charge of things from her early years. As a young woman she was always helping and sharing with others. She loved to ride her pony over the rolling hills and along the Missouri River. She observed the white doctor on the reservation - sometimes he was slow; sometimes he seemed not to care. Realizing "...the difficulty of being in between worlds," she often wondered how to best help her people.
In 1879 Susan and her sister, Marguerite, went to the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies in New Jersey, returning to the reservation in 1882. Back home, learning the new ways was discouraging for all. While attending to the needs of an ill Alice Fletcher, an anthropologist, Susan began to wonder if she could learn the skills necessary to help people medically. In 1884 she left to study at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. There she met the school doctor, Dr. Martha M. Waldron. With her aid she entered the Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia in 1886. She had a gentle nature which helped her get along with everyone—roommates, classmates and instructors. The next year she was gladdened when all Omahas became United States citizens. Susan had time for cultural pursuits in Philadelphia, attending social events, museums, and concerts. She knew her half-brother was busy documenting the traditions of the Omaha and longed to help her people through this very trying time. In March of 1889 she completed her medical studies and returned home.
The Omaha Agency school in Macy was her home and office. From there she not only doctored on horseback, later a buggy, through days that were often 15 hours long - but also helped her people through the cultural changes. She resigned as the government doctor in 1893. In the summer of 1894 she was wed to Henry Picotte. They had two boys, Caryl and Pierre. In 1905 Henry died of alcoholism (a problem on the rise on most reservations). Susan and her sons moved from Bancroft back to Macy. One of her dreams, that of a hospital on the reservation, finally came true in January of 1913 when the Dr. Susan Picotte Memorial Hospital was completed in Walthill, Nebraska (this was put on the National Register of Historic Places in1989). She had an operation for ear and head pains from which she suffered for years. A few months later, Susanh LaFlesch Picotte died. The outpouring of kind words for her was extensive. "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 foreword of Native American Doctor, the Story of Susan LaFlescyhe Picotte, by Jeri Ferris. |
