Post by blackcrowheart on Mar 20, 2006 16:28:43 GMT -5
American Indian dentist awarded for good works Dr. Rickert has made a
career helping others By TOM CARR
www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/19rickert.htm INTERLOCHEN —
When Jessica Rickert attended the University of Michigan School of
Dentistry in the early 1970s, she was the only American Indian in a
class of about 150. While Rickert said she is recognized as being the
first American Indian woman to become a dentist, it was also unusual for
a woman — any woman — to become a dentist when she did. "In
1975, it was a surprise to people that I was a lady dentist," said
Rickert, who was one of only five women in her graduating class. "I
always put my full name out there so they would know." Rickert, 55, who
has practiced dentistry in Interlochen for 24 years, has never let other
people's attitudes get in her way. Last year she received the American
Dental Association's 2005 Access Recognition Award for leadership in
helping people in need gain access to dental care. "She's always been
very willing within our local dental society to pitch in and it seems
Jessica is always there to help people out," said William Northway, a
Traverse City orthodontist who nominated her for the award. When she
was starting out as a dentist in Birmingham, where she worked for seven
years, she offered dental services to the Children's Aid Society in
Detroit. She was also on the board of directors for the Michigan Urban
Indian Health Council, which set up dental clinics for American Indians
in Detroit. Now, she writes a monthly column for no pay called "Ask the
Dentist" that runs in several Native American newspapers throughout the
country. Rickert is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation,
based in Mayetta, Kan. Potawatomi were originally from the lower Great
Lakes region, but were removed from the area under the 1830 Removal Act
and eventually located in Kansas. Rickert's grandfather, Levi
Whitepigeon, was still in Michigan and rode a horse to Kansas, marrying
her grandmother Ellen. Together, they rode the one horse back to
Michigan. Rickert grew up in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming. In his
nomination letter, Northway wrote of Rickert's work educating American
Indians on dental care and encouraging them to pursue careers in the
field. Today, her patients represent a conglomeration of ages, income
levels and national origins, she said. She is the only dentist in the
practice and she employs two hygienists, two assistants and two office
staffers. The cheerful treatment and consultation rooms each have a
different theme. One is decorated in Native American designs. Another is
the sailboat room to reflect her and husband Bill Strait's love of
sailing. Yet another has sheet music on the walls; Rickert plays the
flute to relax. Rickert knew at a young age that she wanted to be a
professional of some sort. "I was inspired by the doctors and dentists
that took care of us," she said. When she was young, she didn't get a
lot of encouragement from society to do what she wanted to do.
Sometimes, when she told other American Indians she was going to dental
school, they said, "What makes you think you'll get in?" "I'd say,
'No, I'm going right now,' and they'd just look at me like, 'How'd that
happen?'" The worst of it came at dental school. Once as her car was
stuck in the snow while she needed to pick up her daughter from day
care, she asked other dental students to help. "They said, 'If you
think you can be a dentist, push your own car out,'" she said. There
were few other American Indians she could share her experience with.
"Sometimes I felt alone and didn't have that ease that there were more
Native Americans around," she said. She did get some encouragement,
though. "The women in our class stuck by each other," she said. Most
of all, she received support from her family and husband. "My uncle was
a teacher and another uncle was a CPA, and some of my brothers and
sisters went to college," she said. "So in my family, it wasn't
considered unusual to go to college. But in the Native American
community at large, it was unusual."
career helping others By TOM CARR
www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/19rickert.htm INTERLOCHEN —
When Jessica Rickert attended the University of Michigan School of
Dentistry in the early 1970s, she was the only American Indian in a
class of about 150. While Rickert said she is recognized as being the
first American Indian woman to become a dentist, it was also unusual for
a woman — any woman — to become a dentist when she did. "In
1975, it was a surprise to people that I was a lady dentist," said
Rickert, who was one of only five women in her graduating class. "I
always put my full name out there so they would know." Rickert, 55, who
has practiced dentistry in Interlochen for 24 years, has never let other
people's attitudes get in her way. Last year she received the American
Dental Association's 2005 Access Recognition Award for leadership in
helping people in need gain access to dental care. "She's always been
very willing within our local dental society to pitch in and it seems
Jessica is always there to help people out," said William Northway, a
Traverse City orthodontist who nominated her for the award. When she
was starting out as a dentist in Birmingham, where she worked for seven
years, she offered dental services to the Children's Aid Society in
Detroit. She was also on the board of directors for the Michigan Urban
Indian Health Council, which set up dental clinics for American Indians
in Detroit. Now, she writes a monthly column for no pay called "Ask the
Dentist" that runs in several Native American newspapers throughout the
country. Rickert is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation,
based in Mayetta, Kan. Potawatomi were originally from the lower Great
Lakes region, but were removed from the area under the 1830 Removal Act
and eventually located in Kansas. Rickert's grandfather, Levi
Whitepigeon, was still in Michigan and rode a horse to Kansas, marrying
her grandmother Ellen. Together, they rode the one horse back to
Michigan. Rickert grew up in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming. In his
nomination letter, Northway wrote of Rickert's work educating American
Indians on dental care and encouraging them to pursue careers in the
field. Today, her patients represent a conglomeration of ages, income
levels and national origins, she said. She is the only dentist in the
practice and she employs two hygienists, two assistants and two office
staffers. The cheerful treatment and consultation rooms each have a
different theme. One is decorated in Native American designs. Another is
the sailboat room to reflect her and husband Bill Strait's love of
sailing. Yet another has sheet music on the walls; Rickert plays the
flute to relax. Rickert knew at a young age that she wanted to be a
professional of some sort. "I was inspired by the doctors and dentists
that took care of us," she said. When she was young, she didn't get a
lot of encouragement from society to do what she wanted to do.
Sometimes, when she told other American Indians she was going to dental
school, they said, "What makes you think you'll get in?" "I'd say,
'No, I'm going right now,' and they'd just look at me like, 'How'd that
happen?'" The worst of it came at dental school. Once as her car was
stuck in the snow while she needed to pick up her daughter from day
care, she asked other dental students to help. "They said, 'If you
think you can be a dentist, push your own car out,'" she said. There
were few other American Indians she could share her experience with.
"Sometimes I felt alone and didn't have that ease that there were more
Native Americans around," she said. She did get some encouragement,
though. "The women in our class stuck by each other," she said. Most
of all, she received support from her family and husband. "My uncle was
a teacher and another uncle was a CPA, and some of my brothers and
sisters went to college," she said. "So in my family, it wasn't
considered unusual to go to college. But in the Native American
community at large, it was unusual."