Show Dr Alvord inspires students r M 1 t i 1 tk w h i Dr Alvord signs her book after delivering her speech at Jennifer Morgan The Globe Dr Lori Aviso Alvord came to with the intent intend to talk to her audience about how valuable our culture and ceremonies are to our healing but felt like s she e needed to give another message The more important message Im I'm hearing from inside myself and from those Ive I've talked to once I got here is how I got to where I amand am amand amand and where I came from she said Which is hard because I dont don't like to talk about myself Native Americans arent aren't supposed to bring a lot lotof lotof lotof of attention to themselves Alvord overcame incredible odds in order to too S1 EI o become the first female Navajo surgeon to 5 combine western medicine and traditional g healing 1 Growing up I never met a Native American 2 attorney or engineer said Alvord Most Native Americans grow up to be sheepherders or work for the government In order to be successful in American schools you must jump through hoops and its it's on their terms Alvord said Even though she had all As A's in high school she was totally unprepared for college Alvord commented how we usually have Sundays off because the culture performs ceremonies then but when Native Americans go home for ceremonies they often fall behind in their academics All rules are made for and by the dominant culture said Alvord She argued that school systems should accommodate Native Americans students so they could attend the annual Gathering of Natives in New Mexico which is the largest Native American gathering Diversity needs to include the values and needs of others she added Alvord describes how one day she met a Navajo student who was attending Princeton and the conversation they had Have you ever Alvord Cont on Page 2 Alvord Cont if from front thought of going to Princeton he asked her When she questioned questioned questioned ques ques- him about how many Native Americans there were at Princeton he responded five Her immediate reaction was No Noway Noway Noway way So he asked What about Dartmouth They have over 35 Native American students This got her thinking and eventually led to Alvord applying for and enrolling at Dartmouth College It was there that her interest in becoming a doctor was fostered She began working with a Native American surgeon and saw how respectful he was to his patients It became obvious to tome tome tome me what I wanted to do she said He actually tried to talk me out of it but once he saw I couldn't could could- nt be swayed he trained me for what lay ahead The beauty of the mind comes through the hands said Alvord She found it comforting to work in a profession where she could use her hands Normally Navajos dont don't touch dead bodies but her desire to help people helped her to get over the stigma I already came from an untraditional family and I figured if I could save lives it was worth it My family is very proud kind of like a pioneer paving the way said Shirlee Silversmith of the Utah State Office of Education Silversmith feels there are more Native Americans in mainstream occupations occupations occupations due to people like Dr Lori Aviso Alvord a good role model for young people wanting to go into medicine Lilliana Tsosie Jensen is a counselor at Murray High School and from the same clan as Dr Alvord Jensen became emotional emotion emotion- al when she came face to face with Lori I was always looking for someone the same color asme asme as asme me growing up so it was a little overwhelming Jensen said Jensen accompanied 19 Native American students from ona on ona ona a field trip of sorts after they'd all received a copy VA pj Jensen can relate to the thc dance between Native American culture and American culture because she's done it too She introduced man to Dr Alvord one young during the book signing who is interested in pursuing medicine Dr Alvord wrote The Scalpel and the Silver Bear along w with th Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt I said to myself Im going to write S whatever I want because no ones one's ever going to read it anyway In fact 6 publishers bid for her book and it was even given as a present to the entire graduating class of one medical school I guess Im I'm ok with that because I have people peo peo- pIe email me asking for foi advice because they are seeking seeking seeking seek seek- ing a sin similar lar path If you think medical school takes long consider this To be a a healer in hi the Navajo culture you have to train about 22 years Alvord isn't the only one combining combining combining ing Western medicine with nontraditional nontraditional nontraditional non- non traditional medicine There are hogans outside of Indian Health Services Santa Fe has worked hard to integrate Native American values Northern Pueblos are working on a huge holistic center And the University of Arizona known for their medical program offers to perform a cleansing ritual for Native Americans This Ibis is really what needs to happen Combining the traditions traditions traditions of American Indian people with Western medicine said Forrest Cuch director of Indian j Affairs Even if it looks like you wont won't 1 get ahead dont don't give up said AI Alvord vor j |