Charlotte Beauvais LaPointe was one of the first Native American graduates of Dakota Wesleyan University's nursing program in 1977. She grew up on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation with little money but a strong emphasis on education from her parents. After becoming a licensed practical nurse, she returned to school at DWU to earn her registered nurse degree, walking daily to class with her young son. She spent her career with Indian Health Services on the Rosebud Reservation, helping others in the community. Even after retiring, she continues to encourage education and takes care of her grandchildren, carrying on the tradition of her upbringing.

1. WESLEYAN TODAY • 15
a visit with a modern-day “Medicine Woman”
You can go home again —
and Charlotte Beauvais
LaPointe has made it her
life’s journey.
She was one of the first Native American
graduates of the new DWU nursing program in
1977. While that fact is intriguing to her now, in
1977 she says, “It was about nursing, not race.”
Charlotte was raised in Mission, the sixth of
10 children. A member of the Rosebud Sioux
Tribe, her parents’ first language was Lakota.
Growing up, the family had no electricity until
Charlotte was a teenager, and they did not
have a car. But education was very important –
Charlotte’s mother was proud of her eighth-
grade education and wanted her children to
graduate from high school. Her father insisted
that they speak only English at home because
their children would need to speak English if
they “were going to get anywhere in life.” In
fact, eight of the 10 children went on to some
form of higher education; six of them earned
bachelor’s degrees, and two of those six earned
advanced degrees.
“In our family we didn’t have money,”
Charlotte said. “You had to work hard to get
anywhere. When we turned of age, we were on
our own, but in a good way.”
She describes her mother’s encouragement
in her education and career as very important.
“From the time I was 6 years old, I would say
I wanted to be a nurse,” she said. “Well, when
I graduated from high school, my mom made
sure I got on that bus to nursing school.”
Charlotte earned her licensed practical nurse
degree at Haskell Indian Junior College in
Lawrence, Kan., at age 20. “It opened up the
world for me,” she says. When she completed
her licensing exam, she moved to Denver and
worked for two years, then returned home to
Mission. After a brief marriage and the birth of
her son, Charlotte’s brother told her that he’d
heard about Dakota Wesleyan University where
a new registered nurse program was beginning.
She contacted Faith Hubbard at DWU to get
more information.
“Faith Hubbard was very friendly, so inviting,”
Charlotte said. “Also, Pat Twedt and Nelle
Funk – when you are that young, friendliness is
so important.”
Even with the friendly faculty, life wasn’t
easy for a young, single woman with a baby
and no car. “In the morning, I would walk my
son – carrying him – to nursery school. Then
I’d go home and get my books and walk in the
opposite direction to class. At the end of the
day, I reversed the trip.”
During her second year at DWU, she met
Benjamin Hill LaPointe. They married shortly
after her graduation, and the couple moved
to Rosebud where she began her career with
Indian Health Services.
When asked if she ever considered not going
back to the reservation, Charlotte is resolute.
“I never considered not going back,” she
says. “We never called it ‘the reservation’ – it
was just home. We wanted to go home.”
Charlotte credits some of her interest in
medicine to her paternal grandmother, also
named Charlotte. The grandmother lived with
the Beauvais family for many years, and she
was the person called upon to deliver babies
or heal injuries and illnesses. Charlotte tells of
tobacco poultices on cuts as a typical treatment.
“I don’t know what the deal was with Bull
Durham tobacco, but that was what they used,”
she laughs.
She spent her entire career with Indian
Health Services. The majority of years were
at Rosebud, although she and her family
transferred to Anchorage, Alaska, for two years
in the 1980s. Her only regret from that time
was that it coincided with the failing health of
her father. Shortly before they were to move
home, he passed away.
Charlotte had the opportunity to work in
every department of the hospital at Rosebud.
During her last 10 years, she worked in
infection control. She felt that she had come
full circle.
“My mother always said she didn’t care how
poor we were; we had to be clean and wash
our hands,” she says. “She knew how to keep
us healthy, and she was right. It was a kind of
infection control.”
In 1992, Charlotte’s co-workers nominated
her for an award – she was named the
Rosebud Employee of the Year in the
professional category.
It was also in the early ’90s that Charlotte
heard about SDSU’s Upward Mobility program.
It was an opportunity for nurses with associate’s
degrees to earn bachelor’s degrees. Though
it took four years, she earned her Bachelor of
Science degree in nursing in 1994. “I took the
long way around,” she said.
Charlotte’s 91-year-old mother is still a strong
force in her life, and Charlotte feels privileged
in her retirement to be available to help her.
It was her mother who gave her the Native
American name “Pejuta Winyan,” which means
“Medicine Woman,” because of her long nursing
career.
“I was not fond of the name,” Charlotte said,
“but later I decided it was an honor to get this
name from my mother.”
Carrying on the tradition of encouraging
children, Charlotte and Ben spend three days
a week in their retirement caring for their
grandchildren while their daughter and her
husband are at work. Their daughter, a dental
assistant, works at the same hospital where
Charlotte spent her career. Their son and
his family live in Seattle where he’s known as
the Tipi Guy; he is an entrepreneur who has
a business that sells and rents tipis, as well
as doing presentations about the tipi in grade
schools and for higher education audiences.
He earned his business degree at the University
of North Dakota.
It’s been many years since she boarded the
bus to nursing school. Her journey took many
paths, but Charlotte always came back to where
it all began – at home – making a difference
in the lives of others and encouraging a new
generation to pursue their goals.
YouCan Always
go HOME
Again
wt feature
By Lori Essig
Charlotte Beauvais LaPointe ’77
alumna
dakota wesleyan