Indigenous leaders bridge ancestral wisdom, modern health care

In a time when the rest of the world is re-learning the value of Indigenous knowledge, we are celebrating what Indigenous communities have always known: that Mother Earth and caring for one another are inseparable. Our health is deeply connected to the land, the water, the air, and the relationships we nurture within our families and communities. This wisdom is not new; it is ancestral and essential to the health of the next seven generations.

Our Native American Heritage Month speakers exemplify Indigenous ways of knowing and doing. Whitney Johnson, MSN, PHN, PMHNP-BC, an Oglala Lakota nurse whose work bridges traditional and contemporary practice, offered a powerful reflection on what it means to be a Lakota nurse in today’s health care landscape. Drawing on Tribal teachings of harmony and balance, Johnson illustrated how Indigenous worldviews inform holistic care, strengthen relationships with patients, and nurture resilience in clinical environments that have historically marginalized Indigenous peoples. Her leadership is one of humility, cultural affirmation, and healing — a testament to the profound difference Indigenous nurses bring to health systems.

Complementing this work, Nicolle Arthun, MSN, CNM, FACNM, a Dine’ nurse-midwife and former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Policy Fellow, shared her efforts to address the unacceptable rates of maternal morbidity and mortality among Indigenous families. Through policy engagement, community partnerships, and clinical innovation, Arthun advances models of care that honor sovereignty, dignity, and the unique needs of Indigenous birthing people, bringing Indigenous perspectives into policy spaces where such voices are too often absent.

In a testament to the school’s national influence, Clinical Professor Misty Wilkie, PhD, RN, FAAN, alongside two Pathway to Doctoral Education students, Mary Rattler-Laducer BSN, RN, ACRN, and Sara Kernell, MSN, RN, CDES, were invited to participate in the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative for Building Trust in Health Science. Their inclusion underscores the critical role Indigenous scholars play in shaping equitable research and strengthening community trust.

Since the last column, we have celebrated and honored the newest graduates of our Pathway initiative: Donna Dineyahze, DNP, CNM, Theresa Tsosie-Robledo, DNP, RN-BC, and Kerena Saltzgiver, DNP, CNM.

Together, each of these leaders is not simply advancing nursing — they are redefining what it means to care, to lead, and to heal in service of Indigenous nations and beyond.