IN THIS ISSUE

By Thomas E. Kottke, MD, MSPH Editor-in-Chief, MetroDoctors

Sharing Medicine Ways

I was a second-year medical student in 1971. In an obstetrics class the lecturer asserted that Minnesota had the world’s best birth outcomes. I raised my hand and asked how he could say that when the birth outcomes for Native peoples living in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis were considerably worse than even those on the reservations. His response? “Well, if you don’t count those…” Fifty years on, Dr. Mary Owen (Tlingit) and I have asked a group of Native authors to tell MetroDoctors readers how Minnesota Native communities have organized health and well-being programs in response to indifference, hostility, and violence. Among other roles, Dr. Owen is a clinician, Director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health, UMN Medical School, Duluth Campus, and President of the Association of American Indian Physicians. Her Colleague Interview tells much more. For those seeking a retrospective of the physical and cultural violence Native people have endured from first contact, Dr. Owen recommends David Treuer’s, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. Those seeking an autobiographical account of the American Indian Movement will want to read The Thunder Before the Storm, by the late Clyde Bellecourt, and I would add Louise Erdrich, another internationally recognized Native author living and working in Minneapolis. Those wanting to review the health statistics of the Minnesota Native population should turn to the Minnesota Department of Health Center for Health Statistics reports. In the same year that I was a second-year medical student, a young Native woman, Gloria, died of hepatitis in the Phillips neighborhood when she could not find a physician willing to treat her. This event led to the organizing of the Indian Health Board (IHB). Its 50-year history and vision for the next 50 is described by Dr. Angela Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe). Knowing who we are, why we’re here, and where we came from is critical for a positive sense of self. In his article, Thomas

Peacock (Anishinaabe Ojibwe) describes how he co-founded Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing to produce the books that help Native children develop the positive self-image fundamental to health and well-being. So, how can those of us who are not Native help? Certainly, neither by stepping in to take control nor by disengaging. Rather, it might be by asking, “How would you like me to help?” If the answer comes back, “Just step back and let us sort this out ourselves,” respect it. But always help when asked. Helping might mean advocating in St. Paul and Washington or in your own city or county. Helping always means challenging the systematic racism, false narratives, and biases that run deep in Minnesota society. Before I close, I want to thank Dr. Angela Erdrich for painting the cover art, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Mangan Golden, Research Coordinator, the Center of American Indian and Minority Health, UMN Medical School, Duluth Campus, for her assisThe Bears Meet to Share Medicine Sarah Agaton Howes, artist tance in producing this issue of MetroDoctors. Wait—we’re not done! Please head to the TCMS Blog page (metrodoctors.com/tcms-blog) to read an article by John Hunter (Winnebago, Ojibwe, Creek), co-founder and director of Twin Cities Native Lacrosse, on how this Native-inspired sport, also known as “Creator’s Game” remains a tradition, but differs from today’s games played in high schools. Finally, I want to say, “Welcome!” to my long-term colleague, Dr. Ed Ehlinger, and a new one, medical student Clare Buntrock, as they join the MetroDoctors editorial board. Best wishes, Tom