{"id":40200,"date":"2026-06-06T19:10:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T00:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/proposed-indigenous-medical-school-aims-to-boost-native-physician-numbers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T19:10:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T00:10:32","slug":"proposed-indigenous-medical-school-aims-to-boost-native-physician-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/proposed-indigenous-medical-school-aims-to-boost-native-physician-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposed Indigenous medical school aims to boost Native physician numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"From<\/a><\/p>\n

From left, Tim Ridgway, vice president of health affairs and Sanford School of Medicine dean, speaks with medical students including Tanner Smith and Tanner Berg, as well as South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, at the Canopy by Hilton in downtown Sioux Falls on Aug. 14, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber\/South Dakota Searchlight)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As of 2024, 0.3% of practicing physicians in the nation were Native American.<\/p>\n

A proposed Indigenous School of Medicine in Rapid City could help change that.<\/p>\n

The school would be the first of its kind in the nation, said Donald Warne, a physician, co-director for the Center for Indigenous Health at Johns Hopkins, and member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.<\/p>\n

Warne envisions weaving traditions, ceremonies and cultures into the accredited school and its curriculum. Rather than cramming students full of information within four years, the school would prioritize wellbeing and competency \u2014 which would allow students to take longer to complete the program if needed, Warne said.<\/p>\n

The approach allows students to bring their full cultural selves into their medical training, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is still a sense we have to check our culture at the door to become a cookie-cutter doctor as opposed to maintaining who we are,\u201d Warne said. \u201cThere are still students who feel they aren\u2019t adequately represented or supported in medical school.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed Indigenous School of Medicine received a $1 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to conduct a feasibility study and business plan, along with a $100,000 NDN Collective capacity building grant. Warne hopes to start enrolling students in 2030. The location within Rapid City has not been finalized.<\/p>\n

Tim Ridgway, dean of the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, said the state likely couldn\u2019t sustain two public medical schools. But he said the Indigenous school would complement \u2014 not compete with \u2014 USD\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could I not be part of this?\u201d Ridgway said. \u201cIt is, in essence, part of the mission of this school.\u201d<\/p>\n

The schools could collaborate on curriculum, share faculty, and work together to create residency programs tailored toward Indigenous students, Ridgway said.<\/p>\n

The school\u2019s presence in Rapid City could inspire young Native children to pursue medicine, Warne said, and help fill deep vacancies in rural and tribal health facilities with culturally adept physicians. South Dakota has one of the largest health disparities between Native Americans and white residents in the United States, according to a recent report from a foundation that advocates for equitable healthcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuality of care is improved when there is culture concordance between doctor and patient,\u201d Warne said. \u201cQuality of care and quality of communication are based on cultural competence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenzie Lindemann is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a medical school student at USD. Both her parents are physicians; her mother is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and practices on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Lindemann participated in the InMED program \u2014 a pipeline initiative through USD and the University of North Dakota to support Native students pursuing medical careers.<\/p>\n

Still, she\u2019s drawn to the idea of a school where a Native American student wouldn\u2019t constantly \u201chave to explain yourself\u201d \u2014 one surrounded by Indigenous peers, taught through the holistic, competency-based model Warne envisions.<\/p>\n

During observed standardized clinical encounters, Lindemann sets aside Native American jewelry or a ribbon skirt. The patient \u2014 who determines her grade \u2014 is usually non-Native.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t really change the way I look \u2014 my skin or my face shape \u2014 but if I can take away some level of unknown biases the standardized patient might have about Native Americans, I\u2019ll do that,\u201d Lindemann said.<\/p>\n

She sees the proposed school as a way to shift that dynamic.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy slowly but surely increasing the number of Native American physicians, maybe people won\u2019t see the stereotypes,\u201d Lindemann said. \u201cMaybe they\u2019ll just see us as physicians in the community.\u201d <\/p>\n

The post Proposed Indigenous medical school aims to boost Native physician numbers<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/div>

From left, Tim Ridgway, vice president of health affairs and Sanford School of Medicine dean, speaks with medical students including Tanner Smith and Tanner Berg, as well as South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, at the Canopy by Hilton in downtown Sioux Falls on Aug. 14, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber\/South <\/p>\n

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Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> June 6, 2026<\/p>\n

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