During Native American Heritage Month, we celebrate the contributions of our staff, faculty, trainees and students from American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Below, our colleagues share the importance of representation in healthcare, the pride they have in being a part of a living history, and their journeys to UW Medicine.
Joey Nelson, MD, (He, Him, His)
Assistant Professor, UW Family Medicine Residency Associate Program Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Director of the UW School of Medicine Indian Health Pathway, Department of Family Medicine
Tribal Affiliation: Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
Growing up, I learned a lot from my family. My mother, a fierce and protective parent, taught me how to gather roots, harvest mushrooms, and pick berries. My uncle showed me how to catch salmon from the Columbia River and hunt game on our reservation. And my grandmother, who was a master linguist for her tribe (Umatilla), taught me our Sahaptin language and encouraged me to go to the longhouse and honor life, death, and the many foods we were blessed with. I played basketball all over Indian Country, sometimes sleeping in gyms or hitching a ride just to make it to a tournament. I studied as hard as I could, hoping for a chance to go to college, something that is so rare for my community.
By doing these things, we hustled in our own way to find success in this world. We didn’t have any money. We didn’t have any support other than one another.
And today, I’m fortunate to be a physician at UW Medicine, where I can provide mentorship and support to Native American students, train Native American residents, and create meaningful change across Indian Country. I want to encourage our people and this institution to honor our heritage and lift us up, so that we as Indigenous people can continue to prosper and have a home at UW Medicine.
Alicia Finch, (She, Her, Hers)
Engagement Coordinator, Center for Indigenous Health
Tribal Affiliation: Spokane Tribe Descendent
It is an act of resistance to be healthy and well. From a very young age, I understood the power of medicine as I watched my family members struggle to have a healthy life on their ancestral homelands. My grandfather, a member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, died before I was born due to complications from a heart attack. His son, my dad, would have two heart attacks before 60. I’d read in the Spokesman Review that Spokane Tribal members die at higher rates of heart disease and cancer. There is an abandoned uranium mine on the Spokane Reservation poisoning the ground water, causing health complications. Now I work in spaces, professionally and personally, that prioritize the well-being of Indigenous people. Working for the Center for Indigenous Health is another iteration of that purpose.
I would like the UW Medicine community to understand the interconnectedness between the health of the land and the health of Indigenous peoples. Our histories are living. It’s powerful for those who live on Native land to understand how Tribes resisted and continue to resist colonialism to keep their people and traditional ways alive. As an Interior Salish person, I’m not just from eastern Washington. My family’s home is along the Columbia River, and we were relocated from our Arrow Lakes or Sinixt Tribal community to the Spokane Reservation where my grandfather was given membership to the Spokane Tribe of Indians. This is part of a larger story of displacement and assimilation that occurred and still affects people today. My father was born after 1953, or the termination era, meaning he didn’t qualify for Tribal membership. However, my dad made sure we understood the history of who we were and our ancestry.
The Center for Indigenous Health and Indian Health Pathway are beacons for people wanting to provide care to Tribal communities. I want a future where there are no barriers to culturally affirming health and wellness and where young people can become successful community members without having to sacrifice their traditions. lim lemxt (thank you/gratitude in the nsyilxcən language).
Victor Lopez-Carmen, MD, MPH, (He, Him, His)
Resident Physician, UW School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Tribal Affiliations: Enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux (Dakota), Yaqui Nation
In the seventh grade, while visiting my Yaqui family in rural Mexico, I was severely burned by fireworks, suffering third-degree burns that required emergent surgery. The care I needed wasn’t available in the remote villages of Mexico, so my family quickly drove me to the nearest hospital and then across the border to Arizona where I underwent skin-graft surgeries and was hospitalized for a month. This experience made me realize the consequences of healthcare inaccessibility for many from my Indigenous Nation and was my initial inspiration to do something about it.
I am a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe (known traditionally as the Hunkpati Dakota) on my father’s side and am Yaqui on my mother’s. After receiving my traditional name and baptism as a baby on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation, I attended traditional ceremonies every year of my life and remain an active cultural participant in my communities today. Growing up in the ceremonies and listening to the stories passed down from my elders helped me understand my responsibility to contribute to my Nations like my ancestors did.
I’m proud to come from two Indigenous Nations that are among the oldest continuing cultures, governments and languages on earth today. Our way of life is beautiful, and I’m grateful to be a community member every day.
To my colleagues, I recommend people find ways to honor Indigenous Peoples, especially those whose traditional lands the university sits on, throughout the entire year and not just during Native American Heritage Month and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Maggie Gilham (She, Her, Hers)
Patient Service Specialist Lead, UW Medicine Primary Care
Tribal Affiliation: Blackfeet Nation (Amskaapi Pikuni)
My mother taught me to work hard and be dedicated, responsible and trustworthy. Helping people has always been my motivation in life. I like working with people and making a difference. That’s why I chose to be in healthcare. I started my journey working with the Indian Health Service on the Blackfeet Reservation as well as the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority. Now, at UW Medicine, as the first person a patient sees, I set the tone for their healthcare experience.
At UW Medicine, if I’m helping Native people that are coming to us for care, it makes me feel good. There are a high number of health issues amongst our Native people, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer and auto-immune diseases. People travel to UW Medicine from Tribes near and far.
Family and friends often reach out to me for guidance as they try to navigate the healthcare system. They often look for resources available to them as they are so far away from home. Coming from the reservation to an urban area, I know firsthand the culture shock people have coming to our area. I’m happy to help them in any way I can. That’s what we, as Native people, do for each other, regardless of our Tribal affiliation. I just like helping people. All people.
Editor’s note: Responses were lightly edited for length, clarity and style. Any information or opinions shared in this article are personal views, and do not represent those of the University of Washington or UW Medicine in any way, shape, or form.
