In the great forever that was, all the forest dwellers spoke Cherokee. When the earth was young, it was dark and cold. All the creatures cared for each other as kin. The animals saw their human relatives shivering in the cold and wanted to help keep them warm. They saw a far-off island, where lightning had struck a sycamore tree and started a fire, a gift from Creator. All the animals came together in council and decided they needed to bring the fire back to help their kin. The largest and strongest, Bear with his thick white fur coat, stepped forward to try. But when he got close to the fire, it singed his fur to black and he retreated. Each animal tried and failed, gaining a characteristic trait. Little Water Spider kept volunteering, but was discounted as being too small. Finally, the council gave her a chance. She quickly swam to the shore and formed a small clay pot with her many hands out of mud, tied it to her back with her web and put an ember inside. Being so small, she glided over the water back and gave the Cherokee people their first fire (Teuton & Shade, 2023).

Native American Heritage Month

As a nursing professional development (NPD) leader and Cherokee Nation citizen, I’m honored to share this Cherokee story with you as we pause to honor Native American Heritage Month this November. As NPD practitioners, we also know how powerful storytelling can be. It has long been a method of teaching, of transmitting information.

Through storytelling, we pass on a spark, the light of knowledge, much like the water spider shared her fire to illuminate the world. The water spider teaches us all with her ingenuity, knowledge, and courage. She teaches us to include everyone, no matter how small. Everyone has a purpose to contribute.

This month provides an important opportunity to celebrate the diverse history and vibrant living cultures, contributions, and experiences of Native American and Alaska Native peoples. One of the most harmful myths about Indigenous peoples is that we are relics of the past. In fact, there are 575 active, federally recognized tribes in the United States alone. We honor the many Tribal Nations, each with unique histories, cultures, and languages. We honor their strength and ability to thrive. We affirm their right to sovereignty and self-determination (United Nations Human Rights, 2008).

Honoring our Stories

We should recognize that, for many marginalized communities, healthcare and educational experiences may be shaped by generations of historical trauma, displacement, mistrust, cultural disruption, and inequities. For Native Americans, this history is long, such as with assimilation policies including forced removal, federal Indian Boarding Schools, sterilization without consent, and criminalized traditional cultural practices (up until 1978). As one salient example in nursing, Florence Nightingale, largely considered the founder of modern nursing and certainly a product of her time and place, was also a supporter of British colonialism who wrote that Indigenous lives were a small price to pay for the expansion of the British Empire. She believed that imposing British colonialism and assimilation were essential as anything else “would be simply preserving their barbarism for the sake of preserving their lives” (Nightingale, 1863, p. 16).

For NPD practitioners, this offers an important consideration: Every learner enters the educational environment with a history. Aligning with trauma-informed care, the culture, family, values, historical and previous experiences we all carry influence how we engage with learning and our practice.

Leading through Education

For many, education can also represent opportunity, resilience, and a way to strengthen not only the individual, but the community. I was raised with the conviction that “education is something no one can ever take away from you.” In fact, the first institutions my Tribe built after forced removal from our ancestral homelands, known colloquially as the “Trail of Tears,” were educational institutions: one for girls as well as boys. I carried this lesson forward in my educational pursuits and hope to role model the same.

As NPD practitioners, it is important to remember that knowledge uplifts. It has value because we share it. When we effectively lead, mentor, and facilitate change, we develop nurses who are more prepared to practice, teach, lead, advocate, and improve care. We support new graduate nurses, preceptors, and emerging leaders regularly. We know that a nurse who gains confidence during transition to practice can become an empowered future preceptor. A preceptor who develops leadership skills can become a strong future leader. A leader who understands the importance of mentorship can create an environment where others thrive. Our light shines outward through those we impact.

NPD Standard 9: Respectful and Equitable Practice

Standard 9 guides us to practice with cultural humility and inclusiveness (Harper & Maloney, 2022). We must recognize and celebrate the diversity of the individuals, groups, and communities with whom we work, incorporating this into our NPD practice. Requiring ongoing self-reflection, we should demonstrate respect, diversity, equity, and inclusion in our practice and learning environments, working toward cultural humility and meaningful action.

As NPD practitioners, we should ask ourselves:

• Whose experiences are represented in our educational content and whose perspectives are missing?
• What assumptions might we be making?
• Are we creating environments where people can bring their authentic identities and experiences to the learning process?

These questions are important during Native American Heritage Month and throughout the year.

Action Steps

Below are a few actions you can take to honor Native American Heritage.

1. Value the diversity and contributions of Native Nations. Native Nations have vibrant and ongoing cultures. They are modern, living nations that continue to contribute on a large scale, sometimes unrecognized. For instance, one seldom considered contribution I like to share: Abraham Maslow’s ubiquitous Hierarchy of Needs was likely significantly influenced by the six weeks he spent in 1938 with the Siksika Nation, part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He was impacted by their community values and interconnected collectivist social structures, sharply contrasted with Western individualism (Ravilochan, 2021). However, scholars from this community argue that Maslow did not fully understand their worldview that self-actualization is actually birthright rather than a goal to be achieved (Lawrence, 2025).
2. Aren’t sure which terms to use with a person or community? Ask them what they prefer. Desired terminology, such as “Native American,” “Indigenous,” and even “Indian,” vary by person and setting. Often in my experience, Indigenous peoples prefer their respective Nation’s name. I am Cherokee Nation, or Tsalagi.
3. Build relationships with your local Native Nations. Learn about their specific histories, priorities, and needs. Ask how you can support them and engage in respectful collaboration. Support Native-owned or led businesses, authors, artists, and nonprofit organizations.
4. Move beyond land acknowledgements. Land acknowledgments can offer an impactful moment for education and awareness. However, they can also be seen as rote or symbolic only. They are better paired with actions that support Native Nations. This could involve advocating for Native land rights, supporting Native-led projects, or donating to Native organizations that serve the needs of their communities. Consult with local Nations to ensure that land acknowledgments reflect their voices and take action by supporting Native-led initiatives.

• Find local federally recognized Nations: Tribal Leaders Directory
• Learn the land you are on: Native-Land.ca | Our home on native land

Keeping the Flame Alive

For NPD practitioners, this month can be an invitation to consider how our own identities and experiences shape the way we lead and develop others. It is a moment to look beyond cultural awareness and consider what respectful and equitable practice looks like in action. Remember that what we do today can strengthen our profession tomorrow. Our impact endures in the fire we spark in others.

One community value my Tribe upholds is that of gadugi: people working together to help one another. Together, we keep the flame alive. When we serve in any of our NPD roles, whether it be change agent, leader, or mentor, we remember that nothing can be accomplished effectively in isolation. Native American Heritage Month should be a time to learn about Indigenous peoples, histories, cultures, and contributions. It is also a time to remember that community requires participation, responsibility, learning, and service toward the common good.

We are Still Here

Native Nations have been here since time immemorial, with living languages, cultures, and governments that continue to thrive in our modern world. Each offers valuable and ongoing contributions, like the water spider keeping the flame alive.

I have heard it said that when we forget where we came from, stop speaking our language, stop practicing our culture, the fire within us will go out.

In Cherokee, we say si-o-tse-do-ha. We are still here.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ANPD.

References

Harper, M. G., & Maloney, P. (Eds.). (2022). Nursing professional development: Scope & standards of practice (4th ed.). Association for Nursing Professional Development.

Lawrence, A. (2025). Blackfoot education: What Abraham Maslow glimpsed in 1938. History of Education Quarterly, 65, 153-168. https://doi.org/10.1017/heq.2025.11

Native Land Digital. (n.d.). Native land digital. https://native-land.ca/

Nightingale, F. (1863). Sanitary statistics of native colonial schools and hospitals. London. https://archive.org/details/sanitarystatisti00nigh/page/16/mode/2up

Ravilochan, T. (2021). The Blackfoot wisdom that inspired Maslow’s hierarchy: How indigenous ways of life may offer us a way forward. The Esperanza Project. https://esperanzaproject.com/2021/native-american-culture/the-blackfoot-wisdom-that-inspired-maslows-hierarchy/

Teuton, C. B., & Shade, H. (2023). Cherokee earth dwellers: Stories and teachings of the natural world. University of Washington Press.

United Nations Human Rights. (2008). United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples: Adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007. United Nations. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/Declaration_indigenous_en.pdf

U.S. Department of the Interior Indian Affairs. (2026). Tribal leaders directory: A resource to help connect with Indian Country. https://www.bia.gov/service/tribal-leaders-directory