Retired professor donates $70,000 to Montana State program educating Native American nurses

BOZEMAN - Montana State University's program for Native American nursing students received an endowed gift that will help strengthen its mission for years to come.

Housed in the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing, the Caring for Our Own Program, or CO-OP, received a $70,000 donation this spring to establish the Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail endowed fund. The money will support the success of the American Indian and Alaska Native nursing students enrolled in the CO-OP who aim to return home and serve their communities.

Kathleen "Kay" Chafey, a former MSU professor of nursing who started the CO-OP in 1999 and retired in 2007, made the donation. A gift from Chafey also established an endowed professorship for CO-OP in 2022.

"My reaction to learning about this gift was pure joy for the legacy of the CO-OP program and the future of healthcare in our state," said Laura Larsson, the CO-OP director who was named the endowed professor in 2022. "This gift celebrates the long-term success of the CO-OP program as a proven model for preparing an Indigenous nursing workforce for Montana, securing its future independent of changes in federal grant funding priorities."

Larsson said the endowed fund will provide funding stability for the CO-OP program, which is typically funded through grants and one-time donations. An endowed fund is critical to ensure that student support, such as tutoring resources, field-based learning and classroom supplies, are uninterrupted by grant funding variability.

Currently, there are 63 students enrolled in the CO-OP program planning to continue their studies fall semester 2026, Larsson said. That includes 11 advanced practice registered nursing (doctoral) students and 52 bachelor's degree students. An additional 10-12 new students will start in the fall, bringing the CO-OP headcount to about 75 students.

More than 100 graduates of CO-OP are licensed nurses working in Montana, according to current data. The program has graduated more than 197 students and will reach a significant milestone of 200 graduates at the December 2026 MSU graduation.

Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail's descendants approved naming the endowment in honor of her legacy. In 1927, she became the first registered nurse from the Crow Reservation and was also an activist against the coercive sterilization of women at reservation hospitals. At the time, many Crows utilized Western medicine selectively, sometimes seeking treatment from government health workers and other times from Crow healers.

Walking Bear Yellowtail served on national health organizations and received honors for her work, including the President's Award for Outstanding Nursing Health Care in 1962 and the "Grandmother of American Indian Nurses" in 1978 by the American Indian Nurses Association. She was inducted into the Montana Hall of Fame posthumously in 1987 and became the first Native American inductee of the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 2002. Walking Bear Yellowtail was known as an advocate for equitable healthcare for Native American peoples.

"Since the start of the CO-OP program almost three decades ago, the College of Nursing at MSU has worked to build a supportive community for Indigenous students," said Dean Sarah Shannon. "Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail is one - if not the - most famous Native American nurse in the U.S. We are so grateful to Kay Chafey for her longstanding support of the CO-OP program. Creating an endowed fund for the program to ensure stable support for students is amazing; recognizing the legacy of Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail by naming the fund in her honor is deeply meaningful."

During her time at MSU, Chafey successfully secured donations and grants totaling more than $9 million to support the nursing college, including $6 million for the CO-OP. Before founding the program, she served as assistant and associate dean for the College of Nursing, as well as assistant vice provost and interim provost for the university.

The 85-year-old professor emerita still resides in Bozeman.

Chafey said her experiences of growing up in a multi-ethnic mining community and later serving in the Peace Corps in Colombia inspired her to work with people of different backgrounds. She began her time at MSU advising Native American nursing students and saw up close the challenges and cultural shock that many faced when starting college.

Chafey knew that additional resources were needed for Native nursing students in order to increase the retention of promising students. She recalled several stalled attempts to obtain external funding to start CO-OP, until finally succeeding in 1999 with the help of colleagues Sara Young and others.

"It just grew from there," Chafey said, reflecting on her tenure with CO-OP and where the program is headed. "And now we are about to cross the milestone of 200 graduates. CO-OP has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams."

The CO-OP has historically relied on grants from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration and the Indian Health Service. Chafey said she hopes her gift will help financially sustain the program and also inspire others to donate.

Larsson added that as the CO-OP approaches its 30th anniversary, it's especially meaningful to gain more private investment and philanthropic support.

"Our recruitment and retention, doctoral student enrollment and our graduation rates are at historic highs, Larsson said. "That has gained the attention of private donors, charitable foundations and even our alumni who all want to see this program continue long into the future. We are so grateful to carry Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail's legacy forward with this meaningful gift."