Center houses 3 American Indian, PhD-prepared faculty mentors

The Center for Indigenous People, Health and Nursing of North America has the unique distinction of housing three American Indian PhD prepared nurse faculty: Margaret P. Moss, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN; Lisa Martin Rennike, PhD, RN, PHN, AHN-BC, FAAN; and Misty L. Wilkie, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Moss is a professor and associate dean for Nursing and Health Policy. Martin Rennike is a clinical associate professor, Indigenization Scholar, and Global Health Faculty Scholar. Wilkie is a clinical associate professor, director of Doctoral Education Pathway for American Indian/Alaska Native Nurses, director of the Center for Indigenous People, Health, and Nursing, and assistant director of Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity in the School of Nursing.

With so few American Indians with a PhD in nursing, the center is proud to have each of them also serving as faculty mentors for the American Indian/Alaska Native Pathway students. Their expertise is expansive and includes health policy, public health nursing, and student support program development in academia.

Pathway students have a unique opportunity to connect with their faculty mentor on a monthly basis (more or less often as needed). Students and faculty address topics ranging from personal and academic goal setting, preferred learning methods, cultural identity and values, career planning and colonization in higher education. These mentor meetings contribute to Pathway students’ sense of belonging, encourages cultural pride and minimizes social isolation.

The mentor meetings reciprocate benefits for both the student and faculty. American Indian/Alaska Natives are family and community centered. The consistent interactions encourage community-building for each. While both may expand their professional networks, it is also quite common for them to have mutual connections because Indian Country is a small world. The relationship established during the mentor meetings aids in student retention and persistence, and eventually leads to a lifelong professional connection.