Susan LaFlesche Picotte, born on the Omaha reservation in northeastern Nebraska in 1865, was the first Native American woman in the United States to receive a medical degree. She later became a physician for the Omaha Tribe.
Before her time, the medical caregivers in her tribe had only been men, and she boldly risked rejection by her own people in order to gain her education. Furthermore, she then took advantage of her education in order to advance the health of her tribe, spending her life tending to their well-being.
- When has someone shown kindness to you when you least expected it?
- Has someone ever doubted your capacity to care for them?
- When have you sacrificed your own comfort in order to help another?
Healing God, help me to be a bold caregiver, sharing the bounty with which you have showered me so that others may aspire to reach their fullest potential as well.
This message was adapted from the “I Am She” resource available from the Women of the ELCA website.