Guided by the understanding that a community’s health improves when its healthcare workforce reflects the diversity of its population, the Niganawenimaanaanig (we take care of them) Indigenous Nursing Program at Bemidji State began as the vision of Dr. Misty Wilkie.
Nursing is the nation’s largest healthcare profession, with nearly five million RNs and LPN/LVNs, yet Indigenous nurses represent only 0.4% of the nursing workforce nationwide. As an Indigenous, enrolled tribal member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Wilkie sought to create a supportive framework that would increase the number of American Indian baccalaureate-prepared nurses in Minnesota and minimize health disparities affecting Indigenous communities.
In 2017, through HRSA Nursing Workforce Diversity funding, the Niganawenimaanaanig Indigenous Nursing Program began providing relevant, culturally grounded, support to Indigenous nursing students at Bemidji State. The program’s successful comprehensive model focuses on proven critical areas of student support - academic, financial, cultural, and social.

To date, Niganawenimaanaanig has graduated seventeen Indigenous nurses from fifteen different tribal nations, serving in communities throughout the United States!
Who is eligible for Niganawenimaanaanig?
Indigenous/American Indian/Alaska Native nursing students who have been accepted into Bemidji State’s pre-licensure four-year or online RN-BS nursing programs are encouraged to apply. Niganawenimaanaanig defines Indigenous as an enrolled tribal member of a tribal nation or a descendant of an enrolled member.
How do your gifts support the Niganawenimaanaanig program and students?
- Scholarships and monthly stipends for first year, pre-admit nursing students
- Niganawenimaanaanig graduation honor dinner and blanket ceremony for seniors
- Emergency fund for student needs
- Student food support and communal meals shared together as a program



