The nation’s first Native American woman dentist is also known for her volunteerism, writing, and crafting Your Tooth Fairy Pillows.
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By Kristen Wright, Assciate Editor: photos by norm skarstad
Dr. Jessica A. Rickert and her ancestors are American historical figures. The 57-year-old Traverse City, Mich., native is the great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Potawatomi Chief Wahbememe, who in 1830 warned village settlers in southwestern Michigan about an impending attack by other tribes.
Dr. Rickert, the eldest of seven children, made the history books on her own merit. She became the first female Native American dentist upon graduating from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in 1975.
“In the sixth grade, I decided I wanted to become a professional,” Dr. Rickert said. “I had seen my parents work two jobs each to support us. My aunts and uncles also worked multiple jobs. I knew they were as smart as the ‘rich’ people, and I realized it was the lack of a college degree that held them in the lower jobs. I imagined myself as a medical doctor, lawyer, or dentist.”
It was a difficult path, but as many dentists have been inspired, the impressionable child with big dreams looked up to an adult.
“Our family medical doctor, Dr. Jay Veltman, was so kind to us and compassionate that I wanted to be just like him,” Dr. Rickert said. “I was curious about everything in his office, and I asked many questions of him and his staff. They answered my questions and explained things to me. I became more fascinated with medicine.”
From the eighth grade, Dr. Rickert worked each summer and occasionally during the school year.
 Dr. Jessica Rickert: Visit www.whtpgn.com for more information. |
“My brother and sisters and cousins and aunts and I picked cherries, apples, and blueberries in the fruit belt of western Michigan. We had to get up very early to get as much done as possible before the sun became too hot,” she said.
Her family also worked together delivering phone books and other publications. In addition, Dr. Rickert babysat, performed sewing alterations, yardwork, and housekeeping duties. She spent some summers washing, drying, and styling wigs at a beauty shop, and for a time she worked in a dress shop on the way home from school.
Her grandfather, James Rickert, had owned a dental lab in Grand Rapids, and her uncle was a dental lab technician.
“I thought that was something I could do very well,” Dr. Rickert said. “I enjoyed the excellent science classes at Rogers High School, especially the dissections and experiments. I realized that a health profession was for me and that I wouldn’t enjoy being a lawyer.”
Dr. Rickert flourished at the University of Michigan, where she studied biology.
“I loved the academic challenges and the lectures,” she said. “I visited the medical school, dental school, and hospital. I realized how many years it would take to become a medical doctor, and the expense was too burdensome for me. It dawned on me that much of my time would be spent in huge hospitals. I wanted my own office. Dentistry brought together my talents, goals, and aspirations. I became a dentist to help people, to own my practice, to have time for my husband and children, and to advance my knowledge throughout my life.”
Dr. Rickert was one of six females in her dental school class of 147. There were no women instructors, and there was just one minority instructor, she said.
“Often, my white, male classmates would be terribly cruel to us women students, and the faculty would join right in,” she said. “It was difficult to always be the only woman in the crowd at so many dental meetings. I always brought my family with me, along with a nanny to take care of them. I hope it is better for the younger women graduating from dental school today.”
Dr. Rickert and her husband have three adult children, three grandchildren, and a fourth on the way.
The couple owns the building that houses her 2,400-square-foot practice in Interlochen, Mich., where she treats some 1,800 active patients.
“I could not get along without my surgical loupes,” Dr. Rickert said. “In all aspects of one’s life, it is important to see clearly.”
She wrote a book in 1981 called “Exploring Careers in Dentistry,” and she also enjoys writing short stories. Her hobbies include playing her flute, knitting, crocheting, designing clothes, sailing, swimming, hiking, and biking.
Dr. Rickert’s community involvement includes music, youth, and philanthropic efforts. She is active in her local dental society and is a past president of the Resort District Dental Society.
“At a state level, I have worked on committees for the Michigan Dental Association,” Dr. Rickert said. “I also have served on state committees to advance the dental health of the Michigan American Indians. Nationally, I serve on the Board of Directors of the Society of American Indian Dentists. This year I began an endowment with Dr. Mike Madden from the University of Minnesota to establish a scholarship for American Indian dental students. I also helped plan the SAID national meeting and I procured corporate sponsorships for the SAID.”
Dr. Rickert has coached and sponsored girls’ and boys’ sports teams, worked with the TCAPS Music Boosters, the TCAPS Athletics Boosters, parent-teacher organizations, the chamber of commerce, Boy Scouts of America, and Girl Scouts of America. Currently she serves on the steering committee to establish a public library in Long Lake Township.
“I am a ready volunteer for many community needs,” she said. “I live my personal life as an example of compassion and competence, and I try to help friends, family, and neighbors succeed in their endeavors.”
Dr. Rickert is an AAWD member of eight years.
Get to know her
What are you reading?: “A Collaboration with Nature” by Andy Goldsworthy
Favorite web site?: None: I find them all frustrating and poorly organized.
Favorite comfort food?: Although I have never met a chocolate I didn’t like, I eat for nutrition only. I enjoy plain ol’ Lipton tea.
Who would you interview?: Andrew Jackson, president of the United States, and Stevens T. Mason, governor of Michigan, during the 1830s. I would ask: Why did you force the removal of my tribe from the area around Lake Michigan? Why did my tribe have to walk to Oklahoma and Kansas? Why did my fifth great-grandmother have to walk to Oklahoma when she was pregnant with my fourth great-grandmother?
