Elective Outreach course prepares students to be culturally competent providers

A new elective course prepares learners to be culturally competent providers in Indigenous communities.

Angela Hastings, DMD, director of the Division of Community Outreach and Engagement, identified a pattern in conversations with Indian Health Services and Tribal Clinics—in particular, Min-No-Aya-Win and Cass Lake. These sites, which partner with the School of Dentistry to provide Outreach opportunities for students, shared with Hastings “the importance of assigning students who had received cultural humility training” to the clinics.

“I wanted the students to have a deeper understanding of the culture of the patients they would be serving at our Indian Health Service and Tribal dental clinics before their first day on the job,” she explained. A white woman herself, Hastings also knew that she wouldn’t be able to develop the course alone. “Guided by the saying ‘nothing about us without us,’” Hastings sought consultation from Victoria Gokee, DDS ’22, general dentist at the Bad River reservation in Wisconsin.

Gokee, who hails from the Red Cliff Tribe of Ojibwe, served as a cultural consultant for the course. “I suggested ways to help shape the course to have cultural humility, and to help prepare students for working in Indigenous communities with a healthy and respectful mindset,” she explained. “I wanted to make sure an Indigenous perspective would be included, since the students would be going to Indigenous communities.”

The elective course invited six students to participate in monthly assignments developed by Miamon Queeglay, former assistant director of outreach, discussions, a panel discussion and opportunities to engage with the Indigenous community prior to the start of their rotation in the clinics. Participants experienced the Hoċokata Ṫi Museum in Shakopee, to gain a better understanding of the history and cultural context of the Dakota Sioux people. They enjoyed a lunch and focus group at Owamni to experience decolonized food, followed by a visit to Birchbark Books and Native Arts. They attended a panel discussion with alumni dentists who either are Indigenous or work at Indian Health Services clinics to gain further perspective on the work.

Before their two-week rotations, students at Min-No-Aya-Win participated in a "cultural week," immersing themselves in the culture, building trust with the community and participating in a "Back Tooth School" event. At Cass Lake, students volunteered at a Healing pow wow and enjoyed a walleye feast.

The course and its work sought to prepare learners to enter Indigenous communities humbly, prepared to serve.

“In order to achieve positive health outcomes, especially when patients and providers identify with different cultural backgrounds, it is important that health care professionals better understand their patients’ unique beliefs, values and behavior,” explained Hastings. “When patients come from a historically marginalized group, and especially when their healthcare providers come from the group who caused the historical trauma, it can be challenging to build trust between the patient and provider. Giving our students the tools to better build a cultural bridge will benefit the overall health and wellbeing of our community at large.”

Gokee was excited to “facilitate a course that helps students reflect on coming into a community without a savior complex,” especially by providing them with a safe space to dialogue with and ask questions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous providers.

The pilot version of the course was successful, with dentists in the clinics sharing that “these students had a good understanding of public health dentistry, and that our students treated their patients with the respect they deserve,” according to Hastings.

And the course made a deep and lasting impact on students. “Through community engagement, I grasped values of the Ojibwe people first hand in a way that textbooks could never teach,” reflected Isaac Tade, DDS ’25, who was placed at the Min-No-Aya-Win clinic. “The course did a fantastic job of helping me understand the history of Indigenous peoples that contributes to health disparities today. It opened up a world of public health awareness and thinking that I am incredibly excited to continue exploring, beyond Indigenous communities and beyond dentistry.”

Kate Topuz, DDS ’25, appreciated the comprehensive historical education she received and how it impacted her experience providing care at White Earth Health Center. “I became more aware of the cultural significance of oral health practices and the importance of respecting traditional healing methods alongside modern dentistry,” she explained. “These experiences taught me that cultural competency is not just about knowledge, but also empathy and humility. The knowledge and skills I gained will be invaluable in my future career.”

In the future, Hastings and Gokee hope to expand the course and reach more students, ensuring excellent preparation to work with Minnesota’s Indigenous communities.

“I hope this course can grow in a meaningful way,” said Gokee. “The more we expose students to these communities, the better chance we have to build meaningful relationships, and try to recruit and retain providers in these communities with significant oral health disparities.”

Hastings agrees. “Indigenous communities have some of the greatest oral health disparities in the country,” she explained. “It is imperative that our students are educated on the need for improved access to care, and how to offer individualized care based on the different communities they serve.”