By Rod Pocowatchit
Nowah! That is Pawnee for hello. I am Pawnee, Shawnee and Comanche.
As of February 26, I will have been with Hunter Health for one year, as its Social Media Content Specialist.
But my ties to Hunter Health go even farther back.
I remember going to the clinic at the Central and Grove location in a strip mall when it first opened. It was a humble beginning, but a major one – the first facility to provide health care for Native Americans in Wichita.
That location opened in 1978, after Initially operating out of a room at the Mid-America All-Indian Center. It was founded and run by Dr. Vernon Dyer, a Choctaw and Prairie Band Potawatomi OB/GYN physician. He had no idea what the scope of his vision would become.
By 1980, the clinic was able to expand its services with federal funding that set it apart as the first program of its kind in Kansas. In recognition of this, and to emphasize its dedication to the Native American community, the clinic took on the name “Hunter Health” in 1985, in honor of Jay and Vera Hunter — revered Native American elders and educators.
I remember them fondly. I didn’t know Jay very well, but Vera was a dear, good friend of my grandmother, Lena Squirrel, so I remember Vera well. She was kind, gracious and regal.
Hunter Health thrived and slowly expanded to more space in the strip mall, eventually completely taking it over.
Along the way, Hunter Health named examination rooms after prominent local Native American couples to honor the Native American community. My grandparents – Lena (she was Pawnee) and Rufus (who was Shawnee) — were one of the couples.
Others that were honored included Moses (Kiowa and Apache) and Sherry Jaynesahkluah, Charles (Shawnee) and Ila Greenfeather (Cherokee), John Williams (Ponca) and Ruby McKenzie Williams (Kiowa), and John and Mae Woosypiti (both Comanche).
I remember there were framed pictures of each couple and a plaque with their names and tribal affiliations in each exam room. When Hunter Health moved to its location at 527 N. Grove, it took the photos with it, and they are now proudly displayed on a wall in the clinic near the waiting room. The individual pictures of the couples are placed around a large, beautiful portrait of Jay and Vera (the image was recently featured on Hunter Health’s holiday cards). There is no explanation for the pictures, they are simply just there.
I didn’t realize that the photos were on display there until sometime after the new location opened. But when I did see it, I remember a wash of memories came over me.
I was so very proud of my grandparents, but I also know that they would be proud of me, now working at Hunter Health. It kind of feels like I’m carrying on their legacy, in a way.
Thanks, grandpa and grandma, for all that you did and all that you were. You taught me to believe in the good in the world – to work hard and make a difference. I try every day.
