As a part of Native American Heritage Month, today we are celebrating the impressive achievements of Dr. Lori Alvord. Dr. Alvord is a renowned surgeon and author. A member of both the Dine’ and Tsinnajinne’ clans, Dr. Alvord is perhaps best known for being the first Dine’ woman to become a certified surgeon and has worked throughout her career to bridge the gap between Western Medicine and traditional Navajo healing methods.

From New Hampshire Public Radio:

Lori Arviso Alvord, MD, a Navajo, was raised on the reservation in Crownpoint, New Mexico. Dr. Alvord left to attend an Ivy League institution; she completed medical school and became a surgeon. Dr. Alvord returned to the reservation to provide surgical care, and develop a model of health care that was acceptable to Navajo people. Her award winning book, “The Scalpel and the Silver Bear,” an autobiography, has sold over 50,000 copies.

You can listen to one of her lecture’s here.