Leaders from Wisconsin’s lone Indian health center recently visited the state’s only dental school to discuss dentistry, public health and the cultural impact of serving Native populations.

November’s “Bridge Building Session,” an educational forum hosted by Marquette University School of Dentistry’s Office of DEI & Belonging, featured a forum-style conversation with guests from the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, located on Milwaukee’s south side.

“The smell of the sage burning, for a lot of people that’s like, ‘this is a place that recognizes my tradition and my culture,” Ugland says. “You may have anxious patients who are like, ‘I need to smudge. I need to calm myself down. I need to get myself in a good frame of mind to go undergo this procedure.’ The fact that our clinic provides that service, and we employ at least one person at all times that provides those services shows the level of commitment and understanding that a lot of places just don’t have.”