Minnesota woman receives $100,000 Bush Foundation Fellowship to enhace women's health for American Indians

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Natalie Nicholson envisions a new model of health care for Indigenous women, and she plans to use a $100,000 Bush Foundation Fellowships she received this month to help her pursue that vision.

“I’m really looking at growing skills for myself to be a better leader, to be able to lead through change and through conflicts,” said Nicholson, a nurse practitioner from Bemidji. “My goal is to graduate with my doctorate in nursing practice and focus on maternal-child health and women’s health and breastfeeding, closing those health inequity gaps that we really have in our Indigenous community. I plan to use the funding to connect with other Indigenous leaders and healers in our communities and also to expand it to other parts of the United States.”

Nicholson is one of 24 Bush Fellows from Minnesota, North and South Dakota who learned of their awards on May 11.

The Bush Foundation provides Fellows with up to $100,000 over 12 to 24 months to pursue education and learning experiences that help them develop the skills and relationships to foster change in their communities and region. Fellows can use the funding to pursue such things as education, leadership training, networking and mentorship.

Nicholson, 45, works at Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming, an American Indian nonprofit organization co-founded by her mother, Millicent Simenson. Its mission is to give women and families more choice, control and confidence when it comes to the birthing process.

Millicent says working with her daughter is “a dream come true because I’m just really happy with the goals that she has for herself and then also for the surrounding communities because we do have three reservations that surround Bemidji. Her grandparents are from Red Lake Nation, we still have family that resides in the Ponemah area.”

A former Olympian and world champion curler, Natalie also was a first-generation college student. As a nurse, she co-leads the Indigenous Breastfeeding Coalition in Minnesota to help reestablish a support network for Indigenous families and caregivers. She seeks to blend Western medicine and traditional Native American healing practices with her community members.

She plans to take the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant exam in the future, which will make her one of only a dozen Native Americans in the country to hold this lactation certification.

“I am committed with Mewinzha to develop a sustainable community clinic focusing on maternal-child health care that is culturally relevant focusing on Indigenous ways of living and knowing for health prevention and wellness in our community,” Nicholson said. “This work is important to me because I want our Indigenous relatives to have health care service offerings that are culturally relevant because it matters for wellness and in improving health outcomes. I believe we can do better as a health care system and as health care providers.”

Meanwhile, she has put her curling career on hold. The sport has taken Natalie around the world since she was a teenager when she represented Team USA in two World Junior Championships. She continued as an adult at several Women's World Championships and was on Team USA in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Natalie was co-coach of a team that won the U.S. women's championship in 2020 and was named coach of the year. The team qualified for the World Championships in 2021, but that event was canceled because of COVID-19.

The pandemic did allow Natalie to spend more time at home with her husband John and their daughters, Stella and Mya.

"I decided to step away from coaching this season due to the unknowns of COVID and family and personal commitments," she said.

Those commitments now include the Bush Fellowship, and Natalie’s mother looks forward to what this next opportunity will bring.

“I’m just amazed at her dedication when she sets her mind to something, Millicent said. “She’s learned so much through curling that she can utilize over time. We are definitely really proud and happy for her. She’s done it all. This is hers. We’re just here to support her and help and guide her.”

1/2: Natalie Nicholson leads a discussion at Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming, a nonprofit organization in Bemidji co-founded by her mother, Millicent Simenson. Submitted photo

2/2: Natalie Nicholson, right, of Bemidji helps sweep a rock during a USA national curling third-place game in 2013. Nicholson and her teammates on the Allison Pottinger rink claimed the bronze medal with a 11-2 victory. (Rich Harmer / USA Curling)

1/2: Natalie Nicholson leads a discussion at Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming, a nonprofit organization in Bemidji co-founded by her mother, Millicent Simenson. Submitted photo

2/2: Natalie Nicholson, right, of Bemidji helps sweep a rock during a USA national curling third-place game in 2013. Nicholson and her teammates on the Allison Pottinger rink claimed the bronze medal with a 11-2 victory. (Rich Harmer / USA Curling)