MSU Native American nursing students bond for success

09/14/2001 BOZEMAN -- Neva Tall Bear of Lodge Grass, a senior nursing student at Montana State University, thought she had all the ingredients for success: She was valedictorian of her high school class and had a deep desire and commitment to become a nurse. But she wasn't prepared for the culture shock of a huge university campus.

            "I had a hard time adjusting," said Tall Bear of the Crow and Southern Cheyenne tribes. "There were other Native American students in the nursing program, but they would quit or change their major."

            She relied on the support of her family to encourage her even when she found the going hard.

            Two years ago the MSU College of Nursing recognized the need to offer support and assistance to its Native American nursing students, such as Tall Bear, and added the "Bridge to Success" program as a component of the newly formed Native American Nurses Caring for Our Own project (CO-OP).

            The Bridge program brings in Native American nursing students in CO-OP to attend a one week seminar on the MSU campus in Bozeman before the start of fall classes. The idea is to create a "learning community" among the students.

            "We bring them together outside the normal stresses of the school year and get them acclimated to the program," said Kay Chafey the director of the Caring for Our Own Project at MSU. "They get to know their classmates and the nursing faculty. They learn about the libraries and labs. We sharpen writing skills and suggest study strategies. We help them learn to navigate the university system."

-more- nursing education opportunities for Native American men and women.

            Its goal is to recruit, retain and graduate increased numbers of Native Americans from the College of Nursing.

            "We call it the CO-OP program to emphasize the partnership of university nursing educators with tribal leaders, educators and native health professionals," Chafey said.

            The program has partnered with the Blackfeet, Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes in Montana and enlisted the help within those tribal areas of Native American nurses, public school and tribal community college leaders, Indian Health Service personnel and others to provide a support network. Nurse mentors, Gina Little Wolf Millegan and Millie Stewart of Lame Deer, talked to the Bridge participants about their nursing experiences and nursing opportunities.

            The program has proven to be successful. "We had a 100 percent retention in the program from last year," Chafey said. "A year ago at this time there were 13 students in the CO-OP, now there are 29, a 145 percent increase. Native American students now represent about six percent of the College of Nursing undergraduate population."

            "This program is a perfect partnership between the reservation and the university," said MSU president Geoffrey Gamble.

            "Bridge offers the support, the study skills and the people you can talk to and relate to," Tall Bear said.

            "I don't think I'd have made it through the program without it," said Juanita DuBray a member of the Blackfeet tribe and a junior nursing student from Browning.

            "We're teaching the students not to just survive in the program, but to thrive," Chafey said. "We teach them that it's a good thing to talk to a professor about grades or tests. Often these students haven't had the benefit of 'learning the ropes' from someone who has succeeded in college."

            The students meet twice a week on campus during the semester. The upper division students often talk about clinical assignments and succeeding in their course work and career possibilities. The lower division students talk about things such as surviving in large classes and budgeting their time.

            "It's an opportunity for other students to offer their support and help," Chafey said.

            "The Bridge program is making a difference for me," said William Smith, a junior nursing student from Great Falls. "I want to go on to graduate school." Smith is a Turtle

Mountain Chippewa.

            Chafey said that the faculty talk to the CO-OP students about graduate school from day one.

            For some students, becoming a nurse has been a dream for many years. Brenda Whittle, a Chippewa from Billings, has waited for 25 years. She comes to the Bozeman campus this fall and hopes that she'll become a nurse practitioner so that she can provide health care on a more affordable scale.

            "I was going to start when I finished high school in 1976 but I got pregnant," Whittle said. "I've been working so hard over the years to make enough money to go to college to get my nursing degree."

            For more information about the CO-OP program visit their website at: www.montana.edu/nanurse.

Local students attending the Bridge program include (listed by hometown, name, year, nursing campus, tribe):

Billings: Danielle Arnoux, prerequisites, Billings, enrolled member of the Crow  Tribe and mother is from Lodge Grass and father from Browning Hillary Corson, senior, Billings, Crow Dollie Tempel, senior, Billings, Navajo Brenda Whittle, sophomore, Bozeman, Chippewa         

Browning: Lanell "Ellie" Rides At The Door, senior, Billings, Blackfeet Quintina Carlson, sophomore, Great Falls, Blackfeet Juanita DuBray, sophomore, Great Falls, Blackfeet       Danielle Arnoux, prerequisites, Billings, enrolled member of the Crow  Tribe and mother is from Lodge Grass and father from Browning

Crow Agency: Kateri Gust, junior, Billings, Crow Natalie Little Owl, sophomore, Bozeman, Crow Brocade Stops, prerequisites, Bozeman, Crow

Fort Belknap: Cheyenne Limpy, sophomore, Bozeman, Northern Cheyenne, father is  from Lame Deer

Great Falls: Shauna Peek, sophomore, Great Falls, Little Shell William "Bubba" Smith, senior, Great Falls, Turtle Mountain Chippewa

Harlem: Samantha Allen, prerequisites, Bozeman, Assiniboine

Kirby: Amber Means, senior, Billings, grew up on Northern Cheyenne             Reservation, enrolled at Crow

Lame Deer: Cheyenne Limpy, sophomore, Bozeman, Northern Cheyenne, father is  from Lame Deer Angelica Rowland, prerequisites, Bozeman, Northern Cheyenne

Livingston: Melissa McCloud, prerequisites, Bozeman, enrolled in Umatilla Tribe

Lodge Grass: Danielle Arnoux, prerequisites, Billings, enrolled member of the Crow  Tribe and mother is from Lodge Grass and father from Browning Maria Brien, prerequisites, Bozeman, Crow and enrolled at Standing  Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota Sheila Eastman, sophomore, Billings, Crow, enrolled Northern Cheyenne  Neva Tall Bear, senior, Billings, Crow

Missoula: Alicia Bell Grimes, junior, Missoula, Cherokee Verlys Reddog, prerequisites, Missoula, Standing Rock Sioux

Valier:             Andrea Wellman, prerequisites, Bozeman, Blackfeet

Wolf Point: Bonnie Hohman, sophomore, Bozeman, Assiniboine/Sioux

Wyola:             Jada Dillon, prerequisites, Bozeman, Crow

Send questions or comments to Brenda McDonald: bmcdonal@montana.edu. Or you can send letters to Brenda McDonald, MSU Communications Services, 416 Culbertson Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717.

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