Renamed Center Honors Arizona’s First Native American Doctor
Jennie Joe, PhD, MPH, professor emerita, Family and Community Medicine, smiles after revealing the sign for the newly named Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health in late October.
The University of Arizona’s Native American Research and Training Center was recently renamed to honor Arizona’s first Native American physician, Wassaja Carlos Montezuma. The renaming ceremony included a Native American blessing ceremony led by Carlos Gonzales, MD, assistant dean of curricular affairs, associate professor of Family and Community Medicine, and advisor for Traditional Indian and Western Medicine Collaboration.
Dr. Montezuma was born into the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in Four Peaks, Arizona, in 1866. His name, Wassaja, means “to signal” or “to beckon,” and Dr. Montezuma did just that as one of the first Native American advocates for tribal self-determination and land protection in the United States. He died from tuberculosis on Jan. 31, 1923.
The Native American Research and Training Center was established in 1983 to support health-related research and training for Native American students pursuing health care professions. The center is housed in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the UArizona College of Medicine - Tucson.
Nathan Levi Esquerra, University of Arizona senior vice president for Native American advancement and tribal engagement, speaks during the renaming ceremony for what is now the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health.
Ann Mathias, DO, interim chair, vice chair for clinical affairs, clinical assistant professor (left) and Jennie Joe, PhD, MPH, professor emerita, Family and Community Medicine, prepare to remove the covering over the new signage during the renaming ceremony for the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health.
Teshia G. Arambula Solomon, PhD, associate professor, Family and Community Medicine, speaks during the renaming ceremony for what is now the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health.
Carlos Gonzales, MD, assistant dean of curricular affairs, associate professor of Family and Community Medicine, and advisor for Traditional Indian and Western Medicine Collaboration, says a prayer to the Seven Sacred Directions during the renaming ceremony.
Carlos Gonzales, MD, performs a smudging ceremony, where he blesses each person with the smoke of the sacred cleansing and blessing herbs, which is burned in an abalone shell.
Jennie Joe, PhD, MPH, professor emerita, Family and Community Medicine, speaks during the renaming ceremony of the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American.
Family and Community Medicine Executive Director for Community Engagement, Ron Sorensen, speaks during the dedication ceremony celebrating the renaming of the Native American Research and Training Center to the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health.
Carlos Gonzales, MD, performs a blessing ceremony using a prayer to the Seven Sacred Directions. This blessing involves recognizing the four cardinal points, plus above us (father sky), below us (mother Earth) and the center (the creator).
Family and Community Medicine’s Ann Mathias, DO, interim chair, vice chair for clinical affairs, and clinical assistant professor, speaks during the dedication ceremony celebrating the renaming of the Native American Research and Training Center to the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health.
Attendees visit after the ceremony celebrating the renaming of the Native American Research and Training Center to the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health.