Indigenous Health and Wellness Day
Hąą! Boozhoo! Posoh! Bozho! Shekoli! Aquy! Hello!
Welcome to this year’s virtual Indigenous Health and Wellness Day event! We are so excited to bring you this self-guided virtual experience to participate in at your own pace, on your schedule. Use this page to access fun and enriching videos, activities, and to access great pre-college opportunities. Complete our virtual scavenger hunt (pdf) as you go.
Welcome and invocation

Alton “Sonny” Smart
Alton Smart is an Anishinabe educator who occupies many roles in native and non native communities. He is a member of the Band River Band of Chippewa of Wisconsin, where he was born into the Fish Clan. His spiritual names of Ozaawaa-na-quad (Yellow Cloud) and later a Menominee tribal name of Notnowgiishick (Center Sky), when he was adopted into a Menominee Tribal Family.
Keynote presentation

Shayna Powless
Shayna Powless is an Indigenous professional competitive cyclist raised in Sacramento, California, with family ties to the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. She is co-founder of the Dreamcatcher Foundation dedicated to empowering youth (with an emphasis on Native American youth) through sports.
College student panel
Piper Phillips
Hometown: Nashotah, Wisconsin
Tribal affiliation: Cherokee Nation Oklahoma
Year and school: Senior at UW–Madison
Program: Nursing with certificates in global health and gerontology
Plans: Pass the licensure exam and start working as a registered nurse somewhere throughout the country
Alexandra Jordan
Hometown: Kaukauna, Wisconsin
Tribal affiliation: Oneida Nation, Turtle Clan
Year and school: Second-year graduate student UW–Madison
Program: Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Plans: Work as a Physical Therapist following graduation
Elias Fox-Baker
Tribal affiliation: Colville Lakes band
Year and school: First-year at UW–Madison
Program: Undecided, possibly computer science
Plans: Work for the tribe after college
Kelli Miner
Tribal affiliation: Ho Chunk Nation
Year and school: Second-year at Madison College
Program: Liberal arts transfer
Plans: Travel and attend UW–Madison to continue education
Shayna’s virtual student activity
Resources and virtual scavenger hunt
UW–Madison
- American Indian Studies
- Resource materials (pdf)
- Native student organizations
- Center for Pre-Health Advising
- We Are Healers
- UW–Madison Physician Assistant Program
- UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
- UW–Madison Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program
- Wunk Sheek
- UW–Madison Multicultural Student Center
- Information Technology Academy
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Native American Center for Health Professions
- Success Through Recruitment/Retention, Engagement, and Mentorship (STREAM) program
Madison College
- Health Sciences at Madison College
- Madison College Emergency Incident Simulation
- In 2017, Madison College’s Health Simulation Center provided an interdisciplinary event providing students the opportunity to collaborate with other health and emergency medical service students. A total of six patients were created with various medical conditions to provide students with critical medical situations. Students from EMT, Paramedic, Nursing, and Respiratory Therapy programs worked together to medically manage the care of these patients as well as foster teamwork and effective communication skills. Watch the Simulation Center in action
- Madison College School of Health Sciences and School of Nursing
- Join Lisa Capelli, Assistant Director Nursing at Madison College as she tours the Simulation Center and sees ‘patients’. Hear from Nursing, Medical Lab Technician, and Medical Assistant faculty. You only get to see a snippet of our programs available at Madison College so we hope to see you in person soon but for now enjoy this brief virtual tour!
Great Lakes Native American Research Center for Health
- Overview
- American Indian Science Scholars Summer Research Internships
- AmericanIndian Science Scholars 10 day camp inMilwaukee (for grades 10, 11 and 12 high school students)
- Paid research internships for NativeAmerican college students (undergrad and graduate)
- Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council
Virtual scavenger hunt
Use this scavenger hunt to connect with the virtual recorded sessions and explore the resource content. Work together to find the answers throughout the page. Families can race to see who can complete the scavenger hunt first. There is no one way to use it!
Complete the scavenger hunt (pdf)
Survey
Please take a moment to fill out a survey about your Indigenous Health and Wellness Day experience.