Susan La Flesche Picotte

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Susan La Flesche Picotte (June 17, 1865 – September 18, 1915) was a Native American doctor from the Omaha tribe and a reformer who is widely considered the first Indigenous woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.

She was born on the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska into a family with strong leadership and cultural ties. Her father, Joseph La Flesche, was a principal Omaha leader, and her mother, Mary Gale, had Omaha and other Indigenous roots. She grew up speaking Omaha and learned English as well.

Picotte studied at the Elizabeth Institute in New Jersey and then attended the Hampton Institute in Virginia, where she graduated in 1886 as salutatorian. She went on to the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1889 as valedictorian. She received financial support from the Connecticut Indian Association and the Women’s National Indian Association to fund her medical education.

After finishing medical school, Picotte returned to the Omaha Reservation to work as the physician at the government boarding school. She cared for many patients, promoted hygiene and disease prevention, and spoke about temperance. She also helped Omaha people navigate land issues with the federal government and fought for their rights.

In 1894 she married Henry Picotte, and they had two sons, Caryl and Pierre. Henry died in 1905, but Picotte continued her medical work and advocacy. A hospital on the reservation in Walthill opened in 1913 and was later named in her honor—the first privately funded hospital on a reservation.

Picotte campaigned against alcohol use on the reservation and worked on public health topics such as tuberculosis prevention, school hygiene, and overall community health. She also challenged government policies on land and governance to better serve her people.

She died of bone cancer on September 18, 1915, in Walthill, Nebraska, and was buried in Bancroft, Nebraska.

Picotte’s legacy includes the hospital named for her and its recognition as a National Historic Landmark, along with various memorials and honors that celebrate her life as a physician and reformer who fought for her people’s health and rights.