By Holly Morgan
The national nonprofit, We Are Healers, combines Indigenous storytelling, mentorship and financial support to help Native students become the healthcare professionals their communities need.
In many Tribal communities, seeing the same doctor twice is not something families can count on. That lack of continuity can make it harder to build trust, feel understood and receive care rooted in a patient’s culture and lived experience.
The numbers help explain why. Native American/Alaska Native/Indigenous people represent nearly 3% of the U.S. population, yet account for just 0.3% of the active physician workforce. We Are Healers is working to change that imbalance by helping Native students see themselves in healthcare and supporting them as they pursue careers that can bring greater trust, understanding and continuity to their communities.
A national nonprofit, We Are Healers combines Indigenous storytelling, mentorship, financial assistance and institutional partnerships to support future physicians, nurses, dentists, behavioral health providers, public health leaders and other healthcare professionals. For many students, the path is expensive, isolating and unfamiliar. We Are Healers makes it easier to see and far less lonely to navigate.
“Representation can change what a young person believes is possible,” says Caroline Davis, executive director of We Are Healers. “When Native students see people from their own communities working in healthcare, they begin to understand that they belong in those spaces, too.”
Founded by Dr. Erik Brodt, We Are Healers grew from his own experience becoming a physician and recognizing the barriers Native students often face long before an acceptance letter arrives.
Some of those barriers are financial. The MCAT alone costs about $350, with preparation materials averaging another $400. Students are often encouraged to apply to at least 15 medical schools, adding roughly $900 in application fees before interview travel and other expenses are considered. For students from lower-income families or those who are the first in their families to attend college, those costs can begin closing doors before the journey has truly started.
Other barriers are harder to see. Davis graduated from high school as salutatorian and planned to pursue veterinary medicine. Despite earning straight A’s in science, she found her first college biology courses far more difficult than expected. “That experience showed me how a student can be successful on paper and still arrive at college without the same foundation as their peers,” Davis says. “For Native students from underfunded schools, the challenge is not a lack of intelligence or ambition. Too often, it is a lack of access and preparation.”
Even after students enter professional programs, Davis says the distance can grow. Many move far from their families, Tribal communities and cultural support systems to attend demanding institutions that were not necessarily built to recognize Indigenous identities, values or approaches to wellness.
We Are Healers supports students through:
The Healers Community Circle. The 12-month program offers up to 15 Native students mentorship, peer connection, financial assistance and culturally grounded support.
Indigenous Storytelling. The “Our Stories, Our Medicine” video series features Indigenous healthcare professionals sharing their education, careers and the ways identity shapes their work. Videos also follow current and former Healers Community Circle students as they reflect on their own journeys.
Pathway Mentorship. Students connect with Indigenous professionals who understand the journey and can offer guidance through academic, personal and cultural challenges.
Financial Assistance. Support helps cover examination fees, preparation materials, educational programs, technology and school supplies. It can also help students return home and reconnect with family, community and culture.
Community-Based Projects. Participants receive funding to develop projects that reimagine community health and integrate Indigenous values into wellness.
Institutional Partnerships. We Are Healers works with higher education institutions and healthcare systems to change structures that were not designed with Native students or communities in mind.
“Storytelling is medicine,” Davis says. “It can be healing for the person sharing their experience, and it can show younger generations that they are capable, needed and not alone.” That philosophy has already helped turn possibility into practice. The organization’s first Healers Community Circle cohort began in 2020 with four Native medical students. Three are now practicing physicians, while the fourth supports students in a post-baccalaureate premedical program in Oregon. Two of those physicians currently serve Tribal communities.
We Are Healers has welcomed a new cohort each year since, growing to 15 students in 2025. Participants have shared that the organization’s videos inspired them to pursue medical school or helped them continue during some of the hardest moments of their education. Now, the nonprofit is preparing to reach more students in more communities.
A Growing Reach, A Broader Mission
Originally focused in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, We Are Healers is expanding into Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, as well as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota and North Dakota. Its work has also broadened beyond medicine to include nursing, dentistry, behavioral health, public health, allied health and other healthcare professions.
The next phase of the Healers Community Circle will reserve five spaces for undergraduate students early in their college journeys, allowing the organization to reach them before financial, academic or cultural barriers begin narrowing their options.
The larger goal is not simply to help Native students enter healthcare. It is to make sure they are supported once they arrive and empowered to broaden what culturally relevant care can look like.
“Native healthcare professionals bring more than medical training to the table,” Davis says. “They understand the culture, the community and the lived experiences behind the person they are treating. That kind of connection can build trust, improve care and help Native communities shape healthier futures for themselves.”
For more information about We Are Healers, its programs or ways to support its mission, visit wearehealers.org.