1889: First American Indian woman graduates from medical school

The Omaha healer Susan La Flesch (later Picotte) graduates from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. She is not only the first female American Indian doctor but also the only American Indian woman to become a doctor during the 19th century. She provides medical care to the Omaha people and opens a hospital in Walthill, Nebraska.

Susan La Flesch Picotte (b. 1854–d. 1915) was the daughter of Omaha Principal Chief Iron Eye. In 1989, the hospital she founded, the Dr. Susan Picotte Memorial Hospital in Walthill, Nebraska, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Theme

Medicine Ways

Region

Great Plains