Chicago – Erica Bhatti doesn’t understand why healthcare services are in short supply Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Reservation In northern Wisconsin and the rest of Indian Country, she aims to do something about it.
“I know there are a lot of health disparities among indigenous communities,” she said.
Bhatti, 22, a citizen of the LDF Ojibwe Nation, graduated this month. University of Illinois at Chicago I have a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and will soon be pursuing a degree in medicine and a master’s degree in public health. During her graduation, she wore a traditional Anisinaabe (Ojibwe) stole.
Bhatti plans to return to the Lac du Flambeau Reservation to work in the settlement within three years, eventually hoping to work as the tribe’s full-time doctor.
“Growing up, I didn’t know another native doctor,” she said. “My dream is to come back and work as a doctor.”
Native Americans and Alaska Natives make up about 1.7% of the U.S. population, according to the United States. Census BureauHowever, there are only about 3,400 indigenous doctors, or about 0.4% of the workforce. American Medical Association.
Dr. Donald Warne, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, said it remains difficult to get American Indians into medical school, and that students face poverty, substandard housing, substance abuse, and high suicide rates in their families and communities. He said he faced problems such as .
Batty grew up near Milwaukee, but spent summers with his maternal family on the LDF reservation.
When I visited the college campus, I learned that UIC has an active Native American Support Program, and that the college offers in-state tuition to citizens of federally recognized tribal nations.
“I chose to go to UIC because it was leading in research, and I wanted to be a pre-med, so that was a big reason why I came and toured the campus. said Bhatti. “Then I found out there was a recognized Native American Support Program and in-state tuition.
She is president of the Native American and Indigenous Student Organization on campus and helps plan the annual UIC Powwow.
Bhatti studied Western medicine at UIC, but said she also realized that the traditional medicine knowledge she learned from her family would benefit the community on the reservation.
more:Native Americans are 15% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, and Wisconsin tribal communities view Alzheimer’s disease as part of the normal aging process.
more:When it comes to blood quanta, the famous Oneida doctor isn’t actually Oneida.
research for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services We found that the Native American community has the highest level of distrust of medical professionals. The study recommends recruiting and training more Native American community members to serve as liaisons to the health care system to address health inequities.
As a result of being forced onto reservations that typically had poor farmland, many Native Americans developed several diseases as a result of their poor diet.
Heart disease, cancer and diabetes are the top causes of death among indigenous peoples.
20% of Wisconsin Native American deaths were due to both heart disease and cancer. Wisconsin Department of Health.
Wisconsin Natives are more than three times more likely to die from diabetes than the white population, according to state agencies.
Frank Vaisvilas is a member of the Green Bay Press-Gazette-based Report for America corps covering Native American issues in Wisconsin.please contact him [email protected] or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter. @vaisvilas_frankYou can directly support his work with tax-deductible donations online. GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA Or send a check to The GroundTruth Project with the subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
