A Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte Barbie Inspires Native Healers

The new Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte Barbie gives young Native people a doll that looks like a healer from their own communities, and Ellsworth thanks Barbie for honoring a true healthcare hero from Indian Country.

Who Was Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte?

Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte, an Omaha Tribe member, graduated at the top of her class from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1889, becoming the first Native American woman physician recognized by the National Library of Medicine. She then served the Omaha Reservation, often through house calls, and the Flatwater Free Press reported that she treated patients across 450 square miles.

The Barbie Signature doll, available at Target at $37.99 with a November 9, 2026 release, wears an Omaha Nation shawl and carries a medical bag inspired by her bronze statue in Nebraska.

Homegrown Healers Still Answer Her Call

Her legacy lives on in Nebraska. Leo Adam Biga of the Flatwater Free Press profiled her descendants Roslyn Saunsoci, an emergency nurse, and Ashleen Blackbird, a nurse practitioner, both at Twelve Clans Unity Hospital in Winnebago.

“In my lifetime, I have never seen another Indian provider working for my healthcare,” Blackbird told the Free Press. The gap remains wide, with Native people making up 0.5 percent of nurses in a 2024 survey and less than 1 percent of medical school enrollees in 2025.

Ellsworth, a Native-owned healthcare staffing company serving IHS, Tribal and 638, and rural facilities, believes representation like this helps young people picture themselves in scrubs, caring for elders and families close to home. Scholarships, mentors, and Tribal career pathways can turn that early spark into a lasting career. Read about another pioneer in our story on Dr. Victoria Stevens and Native women in medicine.

Parents, aunties, and grandparents, please share Dr. Susan’s story with the young people in your life. Thank you, Barbie, for honoring a healer rooted in Indian Country.