Lillie Rosa Minoka Hill

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Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill
Lillie Rosa Minoka Hill, unknown year
Born(1875-08-30)August 30, 1875
Uncertain[a]
DiedMarch 18, 1952(1952-03-18) (aged 76)
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
EducationWomen's Medical College of Pennsylvania (now part of Drexel University) (1899)
OccupationPhysician
Spouse(s)Charles Hill, m. 1905, d. 1916
Parents
  • Joshua Gibbons Allen, physician and obstetrician (father)
  • Mohawk woman (mother)

Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill (August 30, 1875 – March 18, 1952) was an American physician of self-identified Mohawk and Quaker descent.[2]

For decades she operated a clinic at her house, on the Oneida reservation. Her husband died in 1916, leaving her the family provider, care giver for her children, and farm operator.

She gained her state medical license in Wisconsin in 1934 and, in her later years, was honored for her contributions to rural medical care. In 1947 she was adopted as an honorary member by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, the only person so honored in the 20th century. They gave her the name Yo-da-gent, meaning "she who carries aid" or "she who serves".

Early life and education[edit]

Lillie Minnetoga, that she later changed to Minoka,[3] was born August 30, 1875.[4] Ewen states that Lillie Minnetoga was born on the Mohawk Nation on the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation (also known as Akwesasne) in northern New York along the Saint Lawrence River,[1] but she was under the care of Dr. Joshua Allen. She was removed from her home at five years of age.[5] Apple states that she was taken to the home of Joshua Allen and his wife to be adopted and live at their Philadelphia home.[6] Joshua Gibbons Allen (1832-1903) was a Quaker physician, obstetrician, and gynecological expert who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Medical School in 1856. For 23 years, he was the Physician-in-Chief at the Lying-in-Charity in Philadelphia.[7]

Her mother died at childbirth. Her name of her mother, said to be a Mohawk woman, is unknown.[5][4][1] Joshua Gibbons Allen, who let people believe that he was her benefactor, brought her books of Native Americans[8] and taught her about the Mohawk people, and what he knew about their history and lifestyle.[9] She learned that Quakers valued caring and kindness.[9] Minoka studied French in Quebec for one year when she was thirteen.[10] After she returned to Philadelphia, Minoka-Hill converted to Catholicism. Her father respected her decision.[2]

In 1895, when Minoka was 18, Allen let her know that he was her father and that she was not misbegotten. He would not tell her about her mother, though.[11] Allen was a Quaker, obstetrician, and a bachelor,[1] and unknown to her throughout her childhood, he was her father.[11]

Minoka-Hill was not a citizen of any Native American tribe.[12]

Medical school and early career[edit]

Minoka decided to become a nurse after graduating from high school, but her father said that she should be a physician because of the education she had received[5] and he paid for her education.[2] Minoka attended the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (now part of Drexel University).[13] She earned her degree in 1899.[13]

After she and her friend Frances Tyson graduated, they also setup a private practice for walk-in patients.[5][11] Minoka provided medical care for Native American students at the Lincoln Institute boarding school.[5] Minoka made friends with the students there, like Anna Hill, an Oneida student at Lincoln Institute from Wisconsin. Anna introduced Minoka to her brother Charles Abram Hill.[14] She secured her internship at the public Woman's Hospital in 1900.[5][4] At the Women's Clinic, she treated poor women.[2]

Her father died in September 1903, but not before declaring that Minoka was his daughter in a newspaper notice. She was left his estate valued at about $50,000 (equivalent to $1,695,556 in 2023) in the form of a trust fund.[15][16] Feeling insecure, she shared the information about her father, her mother, and her birth.[clarification needed][15]

Marriage and family[edit]

In June 1905, Minoka-Hill married Charles Hill in Philadelphia, and they lived in Oneida, Wisconsin on his farm alotment on the reservation.[12][15] Charles established a farm and built a two-story house.[15] He wanted a farmer's wife, though she wanted to stay active in her medical practice.[5]

She learned traditional Oneida medical practices from Charles' grandmother, like the curative powers of plants, wildflowers, and roots.[15] She integrated that information with the medical training that she received and her clinical experiences. Without a Wisconsin medical license, Minoka-Hill worked without pay for family and friends, which prevented legal issues.[17]

Minoka-Hill and Charles had six children,[12] Rosa Melissa, Charles Allen, Norbert, Alfred Grahame, and twins, Jane Frances and Josephine.[18]

In 1916, Charles died on Easter Sunday of a appendicitis. She was left with the responsibility of raising six children, five of whom were less than six years old, and taking care of the farm and its animals.[19] The winter of 1917–1918, their children contracted influenza during the international epidemic, but all survived. She took care of her neighbors and friends and relied upon their payments in food for her family.[19]

Medical practice[edit]

The reservation's physician, Dr. Josiah Powless served during World War I and she was the lone remaining physician in 1916[12] or 1917.[4] Powless died just before the end of the war.[12] After that, Minoka-Hill's services were even more critical; she tended to nearly all the tribe's local medical needs. She often spent entire nights at bedsides.[19]

In 1929, her trust fund, established by her father Joshua Allen, collapsed in the Stock Market Crash that began the Great Depression.[20]

In 1934, Minoka-Hill gained her medical license.[4] Being licensed allowed her to admit patients to the hospital, charge fees, and prescribe medicine.[5][20] She received her Wisconsin license and attained a job as a local health officer. With an office in town she saw white and Native American patients.[20]

A heart attack in 1946 forced Minoka-Hill into semi-retirement, though she continued her kitchen clinic.[4] She continued to practice medical services in her home, until her death in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on March 18, 1952[5][4] of a heart attack.[2]

Legacy and honors[edit]

  • 1947, she received the Indian Achievement Award from the Indian Fire Council of Chicago, for personal achievement and humanitarian service to her people.[4]
  • 1947, she was adopted as an honorary member by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. They gave her the name Yo-da-gent, meaning "she who carries aid"[4][12] or "she who serves".[5]
  • 1948, a monument was erected in Oneida, Wisconsin in her honor.
  • 1948, the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture recognized her for service to rural people.
  • 1949, she was the honoree of the American Medical Association at its annual conference, held that year in Atlantic City.[21]
  • 1949, the Wisconsin Medical Association voted to award her a lifetime honorary membership.[4]
  • 1954, a granite monument was erected near Oneida in her honor.[4] The inscription reads: "Physician, Good Samaritan, and friend of People of all religions in this community, erected to her memory by the Indians and white people." It includes: "I was sick and you visited me."[5][22]
  • 1959, Haskell Indian College named a new girl's dormitory as “Minoka Hall” in her honor.
  • 1975, her son Norbert Hill established the Dr. Rosa Minoka Hill Fund, which grants college scholarships to Native Americans.

The historical figure, Charlie Hill, an Oneida comedian was the grandson of Dr. Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill.[4] A granddaughter, now known as Roberta Hill Whiteman, became a poet and professor.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Ewen states that Lillie Minnetoga was born on the Mohawk Nation on the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation (also known as Akwesasne) in northern New York along the Saint Lawrence River,[1] but she was under the care of Dr. Joshua Allen. [1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Anderson 2004, p. 78.
  2. ^ a b c d e Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah, eds. (2001). Women in world history : a biographical encyclopedia. Waterford, Connecticut: Yorkin Publications. pp. 154–155. ISBN 0-7876-4069-7.
  3. ^ Anderson 2004, pp. 78–79.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ewen, Alexander; Wollock, Jeffrey (2015). Encyclopedia of the American Indian in the twentieth century. Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-0-8263-5595-9.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Little Rosa Minoka Hill". Changing the Face of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine. June 3, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Apple, Rima D. (February 26, 1980). "In Recognition Of: Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill (1876-1952)". Women & Health. 4 (4): 329–331. doi:10.1300/J013v04n04_01.
  7. ^ Chamberlain, Joshua Lawrence; Cheyney, Edward Potts; Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson (1902). University of Pennsylvania; its history, influence, equipment and characteristics; with biographical sketches and ports. of founders, benefactors, officers and alumni. Editor-in-chief: Joshua L. Chamberlain. Special editors: historical: Edward Potts Cheyney; biographical: Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer. Introd. by William T. Harris. Boston: R. Herndon. pp. 79–80.
  8. ^ Anderson 2004, pp. 79, 80.
  9. ^ a b Stille 1997, p. 187.
  10. ^ Anderson 2004, p. 79.
  11. ^ a b c Anderson 2004, p. 80.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Vaisvilas, Frank (November 2, 2022). "When it comes to blood quantum, celebrated Oneida doctor wouldn't actually be Oneida. Inside the blood quantum dilemma facing First Nations". Green Bay Press Gazette. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Drexel University College of Medicine". Our Diverse History.
  14. ^ Anderson 2004, pp. 80–81.
  15. ^ a b c d e Anderson 2004, p. 82.
  16. ^ "Wills Probated". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 8, 1903. p. 4. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  17. ^ Anderson 2004, pp. 82–83.
  18. ^ Anderson 2004, p. 83.
  19. ^ a b c Anderson 2004, p. 84.
  20. ^ a b c Anderson 2004, p. 85.
  21. ^ Anderson 2004, p. 86.
  22. ^ Buchanan, Paul D. (September 16, 2015). Race Relations in the United States: A Chronology, 1896-2005. McFarland. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-4766-1842-5.

Bibliography[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Hill, Roberta Jean (1998). Dr. Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill: Mohawk Woman Physician (Thesis). University of Minnesota. ProQuest 304437247.
  • Scharf, John Thomas (1884). History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884. Philadelphia: Thompson Westcott. p. 1698.

External links[edit]

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