Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865-1915) was the first Native American to earn a medical degree. She dedicated her life to helping her people and attempted to bridge divides between cultures.
Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865-1915) was the first Native American to earn a medical degree. She dedicated her life to helping her people and attempted to bridge divides between cultures.
History classes can get a bad wrap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Sundus Hassan, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, and Ale Tejada. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at pod@wondermedianetwork.com.
Investing Involves Risk. Consider the Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus and the statement of additional information include this and other relevant information about the Funds and are available by visiting EQULetf.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. IndexIQ® is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC and serves as the advisor to the IndexIQ ETFs. ALPS Distributors, Inc. (ALPS) is the principal underwriter of the ETFs. NYLIFE Distributors LLC is a distributor of the ETFs. NYLIFE Distributors LLC is located at 30 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302. ALPS Distributors, Inc. is not affiliated with NYLIFE Distributors LLC. NYLIFE Distributors LLC is a Member FINRA/SIPC.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Womanica.
Today we’re talking about a woman who dedicated her life to helping her people, and attempted to bridge divides between cultures. She worked tirelessly to fight for quality care and good health in her community.
Let’s meet Susan La Flesche Picotte.
Susan La Flesche was born in June, 1865, in the Omaha Indian territory that is now northeast Nebraska. She was the youngest of four daughters.
Her father, Joseph La Flesche, was chief of her tribe. He was appointed to the role after the previous Chief, Big Elk, saw the influx of white settlers and the rise of their culture, and decided his people would have to adapt. He chose Joseph, a man of French and Indian ancestry, to succeed him.
Joseph passed the values of cultural knowledge and diversity to his tribe -- and his daughters. However, balancing the preservation of Omaha culture with societal assimilation was not easy. The Omaha split into factions: the “Young Men’s Party” was open to adopting some white customs, while the “Chief’s Party” refused. The Young Men’s Party built log cabins, roads, and plots of farming land -- and the “Chief’s Party” adhered to tradition, mocking the others for mimicking the white people.
Susan grew up in one of those log cabins, appreciating all-too-well how difficult it would be to balance staying true to her heritage, and adapting to changing times.
At 14 years old, she traveled to New Jersey and attended the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies. Then, in 1884, she went to the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia -- now known as Hampton University. There, Susan learned alongside other indigenous people, as well as Black people. She graduated second in her class.
Susan took her mission of cultural literacy very seriously. She spoke four languages -- Omaha, English, French, and the Otoe language. She was very familiar with scripture, Shakespeare, the art of Europe and the customs of the Omaha people. She practiced painting, playing the piano, cooking, sewing, and even handling horses.
However, Susan had one final pursuit in mind: she wanted to become a doctor.
She vividly remembered an experience from childhood: When she was just eight years old, she sat by the bedside of an older woman who was in great pain. Her family had called for a white doctor multiple times, but he never arrived.The old woman died by morning. Susan felt that white doctors simply did not care about the lives of Native Americans.
So, in 1886, Susan traveled to Philadelphia to attend the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. It was the first medical school in the U.S. created for women. After three years of schooling, Susan graduated at the top of her class in 1889.
But Susan would face an uphill battle. Society already considered women doctors unfit, and Susan was the very first Native American doctor too. She couldn’t vote because of her gender, and she wasn’t a U.S. citizen because of her status as a Native American. Nonetheless, she was determined to help her people.
Susan went back to the reservation where she grew up to work as a physician for the Omaha Agency. She treated patients sick with diseases like tuberculosis and cholera -- but she also acted as a legal consultant, accountant, priest, and cultural liaison.
The white doctor that helped Susan at the Agency quit, leaving Susan the only doctor to service the entire reservation. It was 1,200 patients, spread over 1,350 square miles.
For 16 years, Susan did everything it took to help her people as their doctor. She traveled for hours by horse in any weather condition to reach a single patient if she had to. However, the cultural conflict from her childhood continued to return. Some patients would refuse to believe a diagnosis based in non-traditional medicine.
But Susan continued to advocate for -- sometimes unpopular -- health measures, like banning alcohol, which she saw as a rampant problem in her community.
In 1894, Susan married Henry Picotte, a Yankton Sioux who performed in Wild West shows. Together they had two boys, who Henry would look after while Susan went on long journeys to treat her patients.
Henry died young in 1905 after battling tuberculosis, made worse from alcoholism.
After her husband’s death, she and her family moved to Walthill, Nebraska. There, Susan continued working hard for her people, even as she fought serious pain caused by what would later turn out to be terminal bone cancer. In 1913, she achieved her longtime dream: opening a hospital on the reservation. She raised more than $9,000 to build it, and it became the first private hospital on any Native American land.
Susan La Flesche Picotte passed away in 1915 in her home in Walthill, Nebraska. She was 50 years old.
Long after her death, a movement arose to restore the hospital Susan fought so hard to build, and turn it into a community center and wellness clinic. The restoration began in September 2020, carrying on Susan’s legacy and memory for generations to come.
All month, we’re honoring the legacies of Indigenous women.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!