The American Academy of Family Physicians recognizes and honors Native American Heritage Month every November. Throughout the year, but especially this month, we honor the sovereignty of Native Americans, while also paying tribute to their diverse cultures. The AAFP also recognizes this time as an opportunity to honor and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Native American family physicians and highlight how family physicians can serve Native American communities.
"I'm very open about the fact that I struggled a lot with self-doubt when choosing medicine as a career. I honestly looked for anything else that I may want to do in life because I had never seen someone who looked like me. I'd never been treated by someone who looked like me in medicine. And so it was really difficult for me to think that I could be the person to do that. And so I think it's important for other family physicians to go out into these communities, especially Native American communities because we represent less than 1% of doctors today. And so I think seeing yourself in those roles is such a huge confidence booster. And I'm very thankful to have had great mentors who have helped me get to this point." – Madison Whitekiller, 2023 AAFP Health Equity Intern
"Ever since high school, I kind of had the idea of going into medicine. And then my first mentor in medicine was my own cousin, Dr. Terry Samuels. He was one of the physicians and one of the longest-standing medical directors for our tribe clinic. … I got to see the compassionate level of care that he provided and I wanted to emulate that. And I got to hear from the patients and I hear from those patients today now with me being in the position of providing that care. And, you know, us being tribe citizens, us being Native American, that's a big reason why many of our tribal patients will seek health care – they trust us. They see someone that they recognize in themselves. And so it makes a big deal in terms of breaking down the barriers and helping to address access to care – having that trust, and again, I cannot understate that." – Dr. Frank Animikwam, Medical Director, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Health Center