Indigenous Perspectives in the Clinical Setting

Michelle ‘Chelle’ McIntyre-Brewer is a graduate student at Northeastern State University pursuing a Master’s Degree in American Studies, having recently graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha, obtaining a Master’s degree in Critical and Creative Thinking with dual concentrations in Cultural and Global Analysis and International Migration, Development, and Citizenship, as well as a minor in Native American Studies. Her Master’s research focused on Indigenous Medical Humanities, creating a toolkit for professionals in a clinical setting to have better relationships with Indigenous communities and individuals.  This work is a culmination of her own community and family experiences within the healthcare setting, especially impacted by experiences raising a child with a chronic/critical condition.  Her honors include the presentation of the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian merit in the United States, by President Barack Obama, was selected the inaugural US Military Spouse of the Year for the Department of Defense, the American Red Cross Military Award, the Susquehanna University Alumni Medal, and the University of Nebraska’s Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women Community Service Award, Red Cross Military Hero Medal, and the 2020 Helen Hansen Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Her passion for Indigenous research, particularly historic and intergenerational trauma, is attributed her own Cherokee heritage. Her work has been published by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Penn State College of Medicine, AUC Geographica, as well as others. She is a proud member of the Circle Legacy Center, the American Indian Society of Washington, DC, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.  Her work is especially dedicated to her children, both patients at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and her niece, Kenna Fay Brison.