DezBaa Damon
Alaska
Bound
Damon and
some young friends in Alaska
DezBaa
Damon, Navajo, is a student at the Arizona School of Dental
and Oral Health who plans to practice in Barrow, Alaska,
one of the northernmost towns in the world. Like the other
Year 4 students Damon is spending weeks at a time doing 5
external rotations in underserved communities. When she is
back on campus, she cares for her panel of patients.
Damon’s first rotation was at Inscription House Indian
Health Services Clinic. Her second rotation was in Barrow.
She chose to go to Alaska because she had heard about the
great need for dental care and the controversies regarding
how best to provide that care. Damon enjoyed working in the
clinic with 3 full-time dentists. The dentists care not
only for the roughly 5500 people in
Barrows, but also for people in 5 remote villages that can
only be reached by plane. Clearly Damon was well regarded
by the director and staff. Towards the end of her rotation
the director offered her a job, which she accepted after
thinking about it when she got back home.
Damon
had an unexpected experience when she arrived in Barrow. “I
got to Barrow in time for the opening of the whaling
season. The first day out one of the crew caught a whale.
Everyone knew about it. The people gathered as the whale
was butchered.” Damon was impressed that the Alaskan Native
values are similar to the values of her nation and other
southwest tribes. “Like us, they make sure you need an
animal before taking it. Then you make sure that you use
all of it and appreciate it.”
Damon’s third rotation was at the Winslow Service Unit of
the Navajo Area Indian Health Care Center. Currently she is
at Sage Memorial Hospital in Ganado in the heart of the
Navajo Nation. Her last rotation will be in Bethel, Alaska.
“One thing I’ve taken away from all my rotations is how
much of a difference it makes being American Indian and
being a provider. People are receptive to me because I’m
like them. There’s an immediate understanding. Sometimes
they open up to me more than they would to someone who
doesn’t have an American Indian Alaskan Native background.
“I’ve been hearing Dr. Blue Spruce and others saying that
there’s a need for American Indian dentists. I didn’t
really take that in or feel it until I was on rotations.
Now I get it.
“Sometimes you don’t realize that you are making a
difference. At Inscription House, I had finished working
with a patient and was writing my notes when someone from
the front office called to say that the patient wanted to
see me again. I immediately thought something was wrong.
When I saw the patient she was smiling and asked,
“Is
it okay to take your picture?’ I was shocked. She
explained, ‘I want your picture so I can show my kids who
took care of me.’
A Fascination with Dentistry
“I was one of
the weird little kids that liked going to the dentist. The
instruments on the tray fascinated me. When I went to
Arizona State University, I was pretty sure that I wanted
to be a dentist, but I kept my options open. I knew that I
like to work with people and with my hands. I also like
solving problems. By the second year, I knew for sure that
I wanted to be a dentist so I started looking into dental
schools and into ways to make myself competitive as an
applicant.
Damon has enjoyed dental school. However, as a Navajo woman
she had to deal with the taboo against dissecting human
bodies. She worked this out with her family and with the
medicine man.
Advice
“Identify and
write down your short-term and long-term goals. Take the
initiative to find out what you need to do to meet your
goals. Don’t wait for others to do it for you. Be bold.
Search the Internet. Talk with people. Keep a list of
things you need to do. This can help keep you organized and
motivated.
This
article was originally published in the Spring 2007 issue
of
Winds of Change. (The cover
artist, Buffalo Gouge, Creek and Cherokee, works with
bright colors. Portraits are his main interest. For more
information visit .)