Susan LaFlesche Picotte was the first native American woman to earn a medical degree, born on the Omaha reservation near Macy, Nebraska in 1865. She was the youngest daughter of Mary and Joseph LaFlesche. Mary was a daughter of Dr. John Gale and Ni-co-mi of the Iowa tribe. Joseph, also known as Iron Eye, was a son of Joseph LaFlesche, a French trader and his wife, a woman of the Ponca tribe. Iron Eye was the last recognized chief of the Omaha.
Susan attended school on the reservation from 1870-1879. At the age of 14, she enrolled in the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies at Elizabeth, New Jersey. There she studied philosophy, physiology, and literature. After she graduated in 1882, Susan worked at the Mission School on the Omaha reservation until 1884. Along with two of her sisters, she enrolled at Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia and studied there from 1884 to 1886.
Susan then entered Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, receiving financial aid from the Women's National Indian Association. In 1889, she graduated first in her class of thirty-six, with a medical degree. After interning for one year at Women's Hospital in Philadelphia, Susan returned to the Omaha reservation to become a physician at the government school. Later she became government physician for the Omaha Tribe. She was the only Indian ever appointed as a medical missionary by the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions.
In 1894 Susan married Henry Picotte. They had two sons. After her marriage, Dr. Picotte resigned from government school work and settled at Bancroft where she cared for her family and her ailing mother and also provided medical care for Indians and for her white neighbors.
Henry Picotte died in 1905, and the next year Dr. Picotte, along with her sons and her mother, moved to the new community of Walthill to live near her sister, Marguerite Diddock. The two sisters were very active in their community, sponsoring religious and community activities.
Dr. Picotte was also active in medical organizations. She was one of the founders of the Thurston County Medical Association. As county health officer, she was directly involved in public health issues. She lobbied the State Legislature for better public health laws.
As a member of the State Medical Association, Dr. Picotte worked to combat alcoholism among the Omaha, and lectured in support of temperance. Her father, Joseph LaFlesche, had worked for temperance among the Omaha for many years. In 1906 Dr. Picotte's work brought about a stipulation from Washington, D.C. that every property deed in communities on the Omaha reservation would prohibit the sale of alcohol.
Dr. Picotte was an excellent spokesperson for her people, stating she would cooperate with the Indian Agencies in anything that was for the good of the tribe. She battled government bureaucracy, worked for economic, social, and spiritual advancements of native Americans.
In 1912 a new hospital was opened in Walthill, built for Dr. Picotte with funds received
from grants and donations. After Dr. Picotte's death on September 18, 1915, the
hospital was named in her honor. The hospital operated until the late 1940s. Later it
was used as a care center for the elderly. The building was restored in 1989 and it
now displays photos and artifacts from Dr. Picotte's life. Named the Susan LaFlesche
Picotte Center, it's a tribute to Dr. Picotte's medical work and her life, dedicated
to the welfare of her people.
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