Monday, August 24, 2026 — Native in the Spotlight: Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord

(https://www.nativeamericacalling.com/monday-august-24-2026-native-in-the-spotlight-dr-lori-arviso-alvord/)

Even after learning her clinical skills at Stanford School of Medicine and becoming a practicing surgeon, Lori Arviso Alvord (https://www.astria.health/provider-directory/provider/lori-alvord) (Diné) realized she had more to learn about being a healer. She sought out the wisdom of her tribe’s cultural healers to help her understand how to treat the whole person. That guidance remains one of the driving factors in her current surgical practice near the Yakama Nation in Washington. Her groundbreaking story as the first female Navajo surgeon is recounted in her memoir, “The Scalpel and the Silver Bear (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/2709/the-scalpel-and-the-silver-bear-by-lori-arviso-alvord-md-and-elizabeth-cohen-van-pelt/) “, and is an inspiration for the generations of prospective Native American medical practitioners.

Written by Native Voice One