Jean L. VanDuzen oral history collection

Collection

Identifier: HHC218

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This interview with Dr. Jean L. VanDuzen (1926-2012), a physician retired from service with the U.S. Public Health Service and the Indian Health Service, focuses on her practice on the Navajo Reservation from 1954 to 1980. Dr. VanDuzen discusses the most prevalent diseases occurring in the children, including tuberculosis, diarrheas, ear infections and childhood infectious diseases, as well as birth defects and fetal alcohol syndrome. She mentions the new and old hospital facilities at Tuba City in 1954, and measures taken to compensate for equipment that was lacking. She touches also upon the complementary diagnostic skills of medicine men and western physicians, their mutual referrals of patients, and some traditional Navajo beliefs and practices regarding illness and death.

Dates

October 1996
Majority of material found in Placeholder Unit Date Text

Language of Materials

English

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Copy Restrictions

Limited duplication of print materials allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Biography / History

Born in 1926, Jean Livingston VanDuzen graduated from Albion College (Michigan) in 1947. In 1951, she graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School followed by a year internship at Saginaw General Hospital, Michigan, a year of pediatric residency at the University of Colorado, Denver, and another year of residency at the University of Utah. In 1954, Dr. VanDuzen arrived at Tuba City, Arizona to work at a Public Health Service hospital on the Navajo Reservation.

Dr. VanDuzen spent the majority of her career working at Tuba City. She retired in 1980 and moved to Paonia, Colorado.