Margaret Moss, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN, FADLN

Dr. Margaret P. Moss is a trailblazing figure in nursing, health policy, and Indigenous health advocacy. An enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation with Dakhóta lineage, she holds the distinction of being the first and only American Indian to possess both Nursing and Juris Doctorates. Currently serving as a Professor and the inaugural Associate Dean for Nursing and Health Policy, Advocacy, Access, and Ethics at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, Dr. Moss brings 34 years of nursing experience and 23 years in academia to her role.

Throughout her career, Dr. Moss has made significant contributions to healthcare policy and Indigenous health. Her work includes serving as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, contributing to the development of the National Alzheimer's Project Act, and authoring the first nursing textbook on American Indian health. Her expertise has been recognized globally, with positions at institutions like Yale University and the University of British Columbia. Recent accolades include being named to the inaugural Forbes 50 over 50 Impact List in 2021, induction into the National Academy of Medicine in 2023, and selection as a Fellow in the newly established Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing by the National Black Nurses Association.

Dr. Moss is recognized as a leader in health policy, legal issues, Indigenous health and health disparities and is asked to advise, program plan and speak on educational issues in these spaces.  Dr. Moss’ teaching philosophy is to:

Foster a teacher-student relationship where mutual respect is the basis from which quality learning is an end product.  In the short term, optimum learning environments and opportunities should be sought and provided.  In the long term, student transformation should take place through re-visioned implicit and explicit values, attitudes, motivations and acquired knowledge.  Inclusion of diversity of thought stemming from other disciplines, settings and perspectives from Indigenous and minority knowledge will add to these goals.

As a Hidatsa/Dakhóta woman, and a nursing and legal/policy scholar Dr. Moss is often called to leadership roles, and therefore has a blended academic record. As the only American Indian to have earned both nursing and juris doctorates, her scholarly work product is unique with traditional scholarship, professional contributions (often legal-focused), and importantly, reconciling Indigenous knowledge and evidence in this work.  Through blending the of lenses of Indigenism, nursing, law and leadership, Dr. Moss has focused on Indigenous populations both urban and reservation-based, using varying methods such as focused ethnography, Geographical Information Systems and Science (GIS), survey, qualitative interview, and legal and policy analyses. Importantly, concepts including-inherent sovereignty, historical trauma, Indigenous-focused genocide/racism, Mitákuye Oyasin (we are all related), the Medicine Wheel and Seven Generations are imperative to understanding that health is not in isolation of these historical and contemporaneous contexts. 

JD, Hamline University School of Law

PhD, University of Texas
Major: Nursing

BS, Washington State University
Major: Biology

AS, Portland Community College
Major: Nursing

• Faculty Fellow Inclusive Excellence, University at Buffalo
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, United States Senate Special Committee on Aging

• Fellow, Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing, 2024
• Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine, 2023
• Forbes 50 over 50 Impact List, 2021
• Fellow, American Academy of Nursing, 2008

• Moss, M. P. (Writer). (2024). Skeleton crew [Short film].  Wrote short film on context of a night shift in a remote Indian Health Service Hospital - Script reading at FilmSparks Film Festival in St. Paul, MN.
• Fuller, A. (Executive Producer). (2024). Mastermind: To think like a killer," [TV series]. Hulu. Outside contributor/interviewee on MMIWG aspect.
• Krebs, C., & Oyedele, O. (Hosts). (2024, January 12). What I never learned in nursing school (no. 25). [Podcast episode]. In Body Banter. Podcast episode guest. http://bodybanter.ca/podcast25_MM.html
• Tayyeb, A. R. (2023, November 21). Special topics: Diversity in nursing (no. 7). [Podcast episode]. In RN-Mentor Podcast. Podcast episode guest. https://www.alirtayyeb.com/rnmentor-podcast/mmoss
• Corbie, G. (2021, May 25). Never give up; never give up; never, never, never give up (no. 2). [Podcast episode]. In A Different Kind of Leader. Podcast episode guest. https://adifferentkindofleader.buzzsprout.com/808817/episodes/8581057-never-give-up-never-give-up-never-never-never-give-up-interviewing-dr-margaret-moss
• Thompson, D. (2021, February 28). The surprising key to combatting vaccine refusal: It's not just one problem—and we're going to need a portfolio of approaches to solve it. The Atlantic. Interviewee.  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/vaccine-hesitancy-isnt-just-one-thing/618164/
• Moss, M.P. (2021, January 27). Challenge of our time: Bringing a safe and efficacious Covid 19 Vaccine to the planet [Panel]. The Hill. Panel guest.   https://thehill.com/event/533788-challenge-of-our-time-bringing-a-safe-and-efficacious-covid-19-vaccine-to-the-planet
• Moss, M.P. (2020, December 10). Prioritizing equity: Trustworthiness & vaccines. [Webinar]. American Medical Association. Webinar panel guest. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/health-equity/prioritizing-equity-video-series-trustworthiness-vaccines
• Thomas, K. (2020, February 27). Health equity: What does it mean for nursing? Daily Nurse. Interviewee. https://dailynurse.com/health-equity-what-does-it-mean-for-nursing/

Dowdell, E. B., Gonzalez-Guarda, R. M., Kelley, S. J., Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Hallowell, S. G., Moss, M. P., & Melendez-Torres, G. J. (2025). Exploring intimate partner violence in women of color through a scoping review of qualitative evidence synthesis. Health Care for Women International, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399332.2025.2514228

Moss, M. P. (2025). Invisible by design. In D. E. Dawes, N. J. Dunlap, & O. N. Martinez (Eds.), Mental health equity. Springer Publishing. 

Moss, M. P., & Phillips, J. M. (Eds.). (2020). Health equity and nursing: Achieving equity through policy, population health, and interprofessional collaboration. Springer Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826195074 

Phillips, J. M., & Moss, M. P. (2020). Introduction: Health equity does not mean health equality. In M. P. Moss & J. M. Phillips (Eds.), Health equity and nursing: Achieving equity through policy, population health, and interprofessional collaboration (pp. 3-6). Springer Publishing.

Moss, M. P. (2020). Structural determinants of health: An American Indian exemplar. In M. P. Moss & J. M. Phillips (Eds.), Health equity and nursing: Achieving equity through policy, population health, and interprofessional collaboration (pp. 143-158). Springer Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826195074.0009 

Jones, E., Haozous, E., Laarson, L., & Moss, M. P. (2019). Perspectives on conducting research in Indian Country. Nursing Research, 68(6), 488-493. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0000000000000379 [Written as National Program Mentor to a RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar]

Moss, M. P., & Forman, H. (2015, March). The most frequent and costly triggers of litigation for nurses in radiology settings. Journal of Radiology Nursing, 34(1), 25-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jradnu.2014.12.001 

Moss, M.P. (2010). American Indian health disparities: By the sufferance of Congress? Hamline Journal of Public Law and Policy, 32(1), 59-81.

Moss, M. P. (2007). The impact of diversity in schools of nursing. Creative Nursing, 13(1), 6-8. https://doi.org/10.1891/1078-4535.13.1.6 

Moss, M. P. "Historical Determinants of Health," American Public Health Association Panel on American Indians. Minneapolis, MN. (November 2024). Invited.

Moss, M. P. "Indigenizing Health Professions Education: One Path to Health Equity," Lubbock Christian University Distinguished Speaker Series, Lubbock, TX. (October 2024). Invited. 

Moss, M. P. "Closing the Gap of Understanding Health and Healthcare between Providers and AIAN Patients," Indian Health Service Nurse Leadership Summit, Miami, FL. (October 2024). Invited.

Moss, M. P. "Equity Amplified: Uniting Toward Social Mission Transformation," Duke University Social Mission Alliance, Raleigh, NC. (April 2024). Invited. 

Moss, M. P. "Impact of Past and Present Federal Legislation on the Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous Communities," American Association of Colleges of Nursing Diversity Symposium, Virtual. (March 2024). Invited. 

Moss, M. P. "Federal American Indian Law and Policy: Why Nurses Need to Know," National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations Annual Policy Summit, Los Angeles, CA. (March 2023). Invited.

Moss, M. P. "Federal Legislation Affecting the Health and wellbeing of Indigenous Communities," Transcultural Nursing Society Annual Conference, Louisville, KY. (November 2022). Invited.

Moss, M. P. “Nursing, Indigenous Health and Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism," First Nations Health Authority Interprofessional Health Care Education Forum, Vancouver, BC, Canada. (November 2022). Invited. 

Moss, M. P. "Courageous Careers: Stepping Out, Bringing All In​," American Academy of Nursing Health Policy Conference, Washington, DC. (October 2022). Invited. 

Moss, M. P. "Indigenous Nursing Experiences," American Academy of Nursing Health Policy Conference, Washington, DC. (October 2022). Invited. 

Award: The Intersections among Work, Social Inequality, and Health Disparities in Multi-Ethnic Registered Nurses
Principal Investigator: Nam, Soohyun
Sponsoring Organization: National Institutes of Health
Award Dates: 2023

Award: Indigenous Campus Living Laboratory at xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden
Principal Investigator: Jovel, Eduardo
Sponsoring Organization: University of British Columbia
Award Dates: 2023

Award: Migrant Integration in the mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides
Principal Investigator: Triandafyllidou, Anna
Sponsoring Organization: Canada First Research Excellence Fund
Award Dates: 2023 - 2029

Award: Developing a Distance Education System to Train Savvy Caregiver Program Interventionists
Principal Investigator: Hepburn, Kenneth
Sponsoring Organization: National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Aging
Award Dates: 2018 - 2022

Award: Indigenous Undergraduate Research Experiences
Principal Investigator: Jovel, Eduardo
Sponsoring Organization: University of British Columbia Indigenous Undergraduate Research Experiences
Award Dates: 2019 - 2021

Award: Behavioral Health Integration in a Native American Primary Care Clinic
Principal Investigator: Chang, Yu-Ping
Sponsoring Organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
Award Dates: 2017 - 2018

Award: Partnering to Increase Access to Primary Care for Native Americans
Principal Investigator: Paine-Hughes, Linda
Sponsoring Organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
Award Dates: 2016 - 2019