Lillie Rosa Minoka Hill facts for kids

Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill (1876–1952) was an amazing Native American doctor. She was from the Mohawk Nation. Lillie's birth name was Minnetoga. Her name changed three times during her life. One change happened when she was adopted by the Allen family. Later, she received an Oneida name, which she loved the most. This name showed the great honor she earned by helping everyone in Oneida.

After her mother passed away, Lillie was adopted by Joshua Allen, a Quaker from Philadelphia. She later graduated from the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. This made her the second Native American woman to become a doctor in the United States. The first was Susan La Flesche Picotte from the Omaha Nation. Lillie lived during a challenging time. There was a lot of unfair treatment against women and people of color, especially in medicine.

In 1905, she married Charles Hill, an Oneida man. They moved to his reservation in Wisconsin. For many years, she ran a "kitchen clinic" from her home. She cared for the Oneida people on the reservation. In 1934, she got her medical license in Wisconsin. Later in life, she was honored for her important work in rural healthcare. In 1946, a heart attack made it hard for her to visit patients' homes. But her kitchen clinic stayed open. In 1947, the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin adopted her. She was the only person to receive this honor in the 20th century. They gave her the name Yo-da-gent, which means “she who saves” or “she who carries help.” Lillie Minoka-Hill faced many difficulties but never stopped helping people.

Early Life and Education

Lillie Minoka was born on August 30, 1875. She was born into the Mohawk Nation on the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation. This place is also called Akwesasne in northern New York. This information comes from family stories, as birth records were not always kept for Native Americans back then.

Lillie's mother died soon after she was born. Her mother's Mohawk family raised Lillie. However, Lillie was not told much about her Mohawk mother. Because of past conflicts between Native American and European-American cultures, Lillie's life had some mysteries and challenges.

When Lillie was about five, she was adopted by Joshua Allen and his wife. They brought her to Philadelphia in 1881. Joshua Allen was a Quaker doctor. He and his wife promised to educate Lillie. He named her Rosa because he thought she looked like "a little rose." Lillie went to school in Philadelphia. She felt different from her new family. She described herself as a "little wooden Indian who hardly dared look right or left." She attended the Grahame Institute. This was a Quaker boarding school for girls in Philadelphia.

In 1895, Lillie graduated. She then went to a Catholic convent in Quebec, Canada, for a year. There, she learned French. After high school, she first decided to become a nurse. But soon after starting her own practice, she chose to go to medical school. Lillie attended the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania. This school is now part of Drexel University. She earned her medical degree in 1899. Lillie was the second Native American woman in the United States to become a doctor.

Spirituality and Beliefs

Even though Lillie Minoka-Hill was raised Catholic, she also followed traditional Native American spiritual practices. She likely learned more about Native American spirituality when she started working in Oneida. Most people there practiced their traditional religion. They also spoke their language and used herbal remedies. This helped Lillie connect with a culture she could relate to, even though she was Mohawk.

Starting Her Career

In 1900, Lillie worked at the Lincoln Institute in Philadelphia. This was a charity school for Native American girls. There, she met Anna Hill, an Oneida student from Wisconsin. Anna introduced Lillie to her brother, Charles Abram Hill. Lillie and Charles later married in 1905.

After graduating, Lillie worked at the Lincoln Institute for five years. She also worked as an intern at the Women's Hospital in Philadelphia. There, she cared for women and children. After her internship, she opened a private practice with a friend, Francis Tyson. They worked at the Lincoln Institute. During World War I, her medical skills were greatly needed on her reservation.

Marriage and Family Life

In 1905, Charles Hill asked Lillie to marry him. He wanted her to join him on his tribal reservation in Oneida, Wisconsin. Lillie knew life would be tough in the countryside, but she agreed. Charles wanted a farmer's wife, but Lillie wanted to continue her medical practice. They found a way to make it work. She became the only doctor in Oneida while also taking care of their home and children. They had six children together: three boys and three girls.

In 1916, Charles suddenly died from appendicitis. Their twin babies were only five months old. The farm and animals were mortgaged, and Lillie had to manage the debt. She had six young children, from 5 months to 9 years old. The farm had no running water or electricity. Lillie could have gone back to Philadelphia for help from her family. But she stayed in Wisconsin. She felt it was her calling to help Native Americans.

In 1918, her children caught the influenza during a worldwide sickness. Luckily, all of them survived. In 1922, her daughter Rosa Melissa Hill died from typhoid fever. Lillie saw most of her patients after her husband passed away.

Her Medical Practice

On the reservation, Lillie Minoka-Hill ran a “kitchen clinic” for 40 years from her house. She used simple tools: a wood-burning stove and water carried from a hand-pump. After 1946, she got an electric refrigerator for medicines. She also used herbal remedies she learned from Oneida medicine men and women.

She often visited patients at their homes. She taught people about healthy eating, cleanliness, and how to prevent sickness. If she needed to make a house call, her family or community members would give her rides. If a ride wasn't possible, she would walk to the houses. Money was scarce, so she often accepted food, like chickens, as payment. She changed her fees based on what patients could afford. Sometimes she charged $15 for delivering a baby, or two chickens, or $9, depending on the family.

Both white and Oneida patients liked Lillie. She earned the trust of local Oneidas who felt uncomfortable with white doctors. Other local doctors supported her work. She worked with a midwife named Priscilla Manders until the 1940s. Priscilla lived in the Oneida village and spoke the language. She was very important in helping Lillie understand Oneida culture and medical practices.

During World War I in 1916, the only official government doctor on the Oneida reservation left to serve in the military. After that, Lillie's help became even more important. She took care of almost all the tribe's medical needs. She often spent whole nights by patients' bedsides. She carried her heavy medical bag and walked for miles on dirt roads. In winter, she used snowshoes. Lillie practiced medicine on a poor reservation. She faced many illnesses like influenza, pneumonia, and tuberculosis, which took many lives.

In 1929, her trust fund, set up by her father Joshua Allen, was lost. This happened during the Stock Market Crash that started the Great Depression. The government opened a Relief Office in Oneida. But they couldn't send patients to Lillie or pay her. This was because she had never taken the time to get a Wisconsin medical license. Despite this, Lillie Minoka-Hill kept her “kitchen clinic” open for the rest of her life.

In 1934, local doctors loaned her $100 for the application fee to get her medical license. Being licensed meant she could admit patients to the hospital. She passed the tests and got her license. She continued to charge low prices to help the low-income people on her reservation. She also believed that charging less would help her get into heaven. At 58 years old, 35 years after medical school, she finally received her Wisconsin license.

In 1939, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, a public health nurse and a government doctor were sent to the reservation. The government also started providing food to help with poor nutrition.

In 1946, a heart attack forced Lillie into semi-retirement. But she still ran her “kitchen clinic.” She also started a boarding school to help poor Native American children. In her later years, many groups honored her. These included the University of Wisconsin, the State Medical Society of Wisconsin, and the American Medical Association. The Indian Council Fire of Chicago and the Oneida Nation also recognized her. They honored her for her contributions to the health of the Oneida people. She even attended the American Medical Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for her recognition. She continued to provide medical services as much as her health allowed. She passed away in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on March 18, 1952.

Legacy and Honors

• 1947: She received the Indian Achievement Award from the Indian Fire Council of Chicago. This was for her personal achievements and helping her people.
• 1947: On Thanksgiving Day, the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin adopted her. She was the only person in the 20th century to be officially adopted by them. They gave her the name Yo-da-gent, meaning “she who saves” or “she who carries help.” At the ceremony, Minoka-Hill said:

  “It was 42 years last June since I came here to live. I was the bride of one of your tribe. I found I was to have good friends and kind neighbors. It has been a privilege to be helpful to those in need of help and to do it cheerfully and as promptly as I could. Because I felt it was the Master’s work assigned to me I must therefore be a willing worker ---though sometimes a very weary worker. Today you have honored me in a special way by taking me for your ‘almost sister’, now I can say to many of you ‘daughter’, ‘son’, ‘grandchild’. And you can say to me Hocsote. Let me express my hearty thanks for your recognition and adoption."

• 1948: A monument was built in Oneida, Wisconsin to honor her.
• 1948: The University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture recognized her for helping rural people.
• 1949: The American Medical Association honored her at its yearly meeting in Atlantic City.
• 1949: The Wisconsin Medical Association gave her a lifetime honorary membership. When she got the letter, she said, “As much as I appreciate kind thoughts, I do not relish too much publicity!”
• 1952: A granite monument was put up near Oneida in her honor. The words on it say: “Physician, Good Samaritan, and friend of People of all religions in this community, erected to her memory by the Indians and white people.” It also includes: “I was sick and you visited me.”
• 1959: Haskell Indian College named a new girls' dormitory “Minoka Hall” after her.
• 1975: Her son Norbert Hill started the Dr. Rosa Minoka Hill Fund. This fund gives college scholarships to Native Americans.
• Her granddaughter, Roberta Hill Whiteman, became a poet and professor.