American Indian Health Resources: Non-governmental resources

This site is being preserved as it was on 17 September 2001 as a memorial to the life and work of Eberhard Wenzel.
The public health virtual library is now updated and hosted by the UNSW School of Public Health.

	WWW VL Public Health : Individual Countries	American Indian Health Resources - America -

National Public Health Networks / Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) / Private Associations

Aboriginal Healing Foundation - "On January 7, 1998, the Government of Canada announced Gathering Strength - Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan, a strategy to begin a process of reconciliation and renewal with Aboriginal Peoples. A cornerstone of Gathering Strength was the Government’s commitment of $350 million to support community-based healing initiatives for Métis, Inuit and First Nations people on and off reserve who were affected by the legacy of physical and sexual abuse in Residential Schools. Following discussions with survivors, members of the healing community, the Assembly of First Nations, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, the Métis National Council and the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was created as the entity to design, manage and implement the healing strategy under the terms outlined in a funding agreement with the Government of Canada which was signed by both parties on March 31, 1998"
AIDS in Native Americans - provided by Bonnie Blackwolf, Blackfeet, "a human rights activist / aids activist, and P.W.A. (person with aids). She is currently working in local and national communities to confront and dissolve the epidemic of fear and misinformation surrounding life threatening health concerns which affect First Nations Peoples"
Alaska Native Health Board (ANHB) - "established in 1968, is recognized as the statewide voice on Alaska Native health issues. ANHB serves as the Standing Committee on Health for the Alaska Federation of Natives. The purpose of the Alaska Native Health Board is to promote the spiritual, physical, mental, social, and cultural well-being and pride of Alaska Native people. Funding for ANHB is provided primarily from contracts and grants for health services programs and project activities. ANHB receives funding for programs that either have a statewide focus or address sensitive, sometimes painful, issues adversely affecting our people"
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium - "a statewide nonprofit health services organization owned by Alaska Native tribal governments and the regional Alaska Native health services organizations they serve"
Alaska Women's Network - provides resources for women in Alaska, there's a separate link to health resources
American Indian Health Central - "a group of American Indians dedicated to providing health information, referral, in-service training, technical training and outreach services to the American Indian community. On our website you will find health surveys, HIV facts for American Indians, American Indian website links and have an opportunity to ask us for info, send us your comments, questions and concerns on a form on our Outreach page"
American Indian Community House - serving the people living in New York City
American Indian Resource and Referral Database - designed to help Native people and social service workers find Native cultural and social services in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area
Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) - "dedicated to improving the health status of American Indian and Alaska Native people, training Indian physicians and other Indian health professionals, and furthering policies which affect Indian health. AAIP also fosters collaboration between western medicine and traditional Indian / Native medicine. AAIP was founded in 1971 by 13 Indian physicians who wanted to provide a forum to discuss Indian health issues and to increase the number of Indian physicians"
- Association of Native American Medical Students
Assembly of First Nations, Health Secretariat - " It is the fundamental position of AFN Chiefs in Assembly that health is a treaty right and a fiduciary obligation of the Crown in Right of Canada. It is also deemed to be an important element of First Nation’s inherent right of self-government, a right that is constitutionally protected. Taken further, health and quality of life issues are fundamental human rights recognized by governments nationally and internationally"
Baltimore American Indian Center - "to provide social, economic, training assistance, and access to health related services for Native Americans living in the State of Maryland. To provide a central voice and focus for expressing concerns and resolving problems affecting Native Americans in Maryland"
Chickasaw Nation Health Systems - "serves the health care needs of more than 38,000 Indian people from central and southern Oklahoma"
Feather of Hope - Aboriginal AIDS Prevention Society of Alberta (Canada)
First Nations Health Management Institute - "a new organization based in Akwesasne. (Akwesasne is a first nation which straddles the borders of Ontario, Quebec and New York State.) The Institute was established to provide supportive services to other first nations (primarily in Canada) that are in various stages of developing their own health care organizations. Support is provided through better information, networking, training and showcasing of successful First Nations models of health care management"
Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council - "GLITC is a non-profit corporation through which member tribes work toward attainment of self-sufficiency. Its purposes:
1. To do all manner of things necessary to improve the education, economic status, living environment, and general welfare of Native Americans, particularly those who reside in the State of Wisconsin. Relevant committees include Prenatal Care Coordination Advisory Committee, American Indian Advisory Committee for the Department of Health and Social Services, Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Advisory Committee, AIDS Task Force, Wisconsin Public Health Association Committee, Network Policy Committee for Bureau on Aging, and Health Subcommittee of American Indian Studies Committee"
Hanford Health Information Network - "The Network is a collaboration of the health agencies of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, along with nine Indian Nations. The Network was created to provide information on the known and potential health effects of the radioactive releases from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, located in south central Washington state, from 1944 to 1972. For more than 40 years, Hanford released radioactive materials into the environment, while producing plutonium for America's nuclear arsenal"
Healing of Nations - Suicide prevention and crisis intervention among Native American youth
Healthy Nations Initiative - reducing substance abuse among Native Americans; the program is "funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help Native Americans reduce the harm caused by substance abuse in their communities. The National Program Office of the Healthy Nations Initiative, which provides day-to-day administration, is located at the University of Colorado: Health Science Center. The goal of the initiative is to demonstrate that tribes and communities can, over time, achieve substantial reductions in the demand for -- and consequently the use of -- alcohol and other harmful substances, including tobacco and illegal drugs. The initiative provides grants to support the development of community-wide efforts to combat substance abuse that integrate public awareness campaigns, prevention programs, and services for treatment, aftercare, and support. Particular emphasis is on prevention and early intervention with respect to the use of alcohol, illegal drugs and tobacco among youth. Incorporation of traditional cultural values is a key component of the Healthy Nations Initiative"
Heart of America Indian Center - based in Kansas City (Missouri), this is "a nonprofit agency which provides health and welfare services to Native American individuals and families of our community"
Indian Child Welfare Law Center - "Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, our mission is to work with the Indian community to preserve and reunite Indian families by providing culturally appropriate legal services to Indian children, parents, extended family members, and tribes in cases governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, and to serve as a community development resource for Indian Child Welfare Act education, advocacy, and public policy"
Indian Health Care in the Cherokee Nation - offering information on the comprehensive health care system of the Cherokee Nation
Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism - "committed to protect indigenous peoples biological resources from exploitation. The IPBC is a project of the Enowkin Centre in Penticton, British Columbia, with a field office and staff located on the Pyramid Lake Reservation in Nixon, Nevada. The IPBC Web Site is provided as a resource to Tribal Governments, organizations and others concerned about the issue of biopiracy, and its impact on Indigenous peoples"
Intercultural Cancer Council - "While cancer death rates are declining nationwide, minorities and medically underserved individuals have higher incidence and lower survival rates from this disease. Our culturally diverse communities do not share equally in the progress against the nation's second leading cause of death. The Mission of the Intercultural Cancer Council is to develop and promote policies and programs to redress this tragic imbalance. The Intercultural Cancer Council will work to reduce the higher incidence, suffering and death from cancer among minorities, culturally diverse, and medically underserved populations"
Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center - "to assist American Indian Women so they can enjoy a better quality of life for themselves and their families"
National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC)- "the only Native American nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to Indian housing. The Council serves as a major advocacy and educational resource, as well as a technical assistance and training provider for tribal governments, housing professionals, and federal policy-makers. NAIHC is dedicated to building the managerial capacity of Indian housing professionals"
National Environmental Coalition of Native Americans (NECONA) - to educate Indians and Non-Indians about the health dangers of radioactivity and the transportion of nuclear waste on America's rails and roads; to network with Indian and Non-Indian environmentalists to develop grassroots counter-movement to the well-funded efforts of the nuclear industry; to declare Tribal NUCLEAR FREE ZONES across the nation
National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) - "a membership organization with a 26 member all-Indian board of directors. Members include tribes, individuals, both Indian and non-Indian, and private organizations from around the United States concerned with Indian child and family issues. NICWA is unique. It is the only Native American organization focused specifically on issues of child abuse and neglect and tribal capacity to prevent and respond effectively to these problems. Together our members, board, and staff work to ensure that the most vital resource of Indian people - our children - are protected"
National Indian Council on Aging - "a nonprofit advocate for older American Indians and Alaskan Natives, is funded by the Administration on Aging and works to bring about improved, comprehensive services to American Indian and Alaskan Native elders"
National Indian Health Board - "The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) represents Tribal Governments that operate their own health care delivery systems through contracting and compacting, as well as those that receive health care directly from the Indian Health Service. The NIHB is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of representative from each of the twelve Indian Health Service Areas. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has designated the NIHB as its Health Sub-committee to advise them on matters involving health legislation"
National Native American AIDS Prevention Center - a non-profit corporation governed by an entirely Native American Board of Directors including people with HIV, tribal officials, public health professionals, health care providers, and substance abuse program administrators. The organization was founded in 1987 as a network of concerned Native people willing to speak publicly on the need for HIV prevention education by and for Native Americans
- National Leadership Development Workgroup (NLDW) - "a shortened name for the Leadership Development Workgroup on HIV Prevention for Gay, Bisexual, and Two-Spirited Native American Men. The NLDW is a working group of Native American men who self-identify as being gay, bisexual, or Two-Spirit. These men represent 28 distinct tribal affiliations who come from reservations, rural communities, and urban areas in 15 states from throughout the United States"
Native American Health Center (San Francisco)
Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC) - "In 1985 a group of Native Americans living on (or near) the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota formed the Native American Community Board (NACB) to address pertinent issues of Health, Education, Land and Water Rights, and Economic Development of Native American people.
In 1986 the Native American Community Board incorporated under the laws of South Dakota as a non-profit tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 organization.
The First NACB project developed was "Women and Children in Alcohol a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome" program. This program defined the direction of subsequent health work. In February of 1988 the NACB opened the First Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center (Resource Center) located on a reservation in the U.S.
In October 1991, after a long legal battle, the Domestic Violence program of the Resource Center opened a shelter for battered women a few blocks away from the Resource Center. The shelter is a modern, spacious, four bedroom home and is able to provide women and their children with a safe place to escape domestic violence and sexual assault"
Native Americans and the Environment - this site provides environmental education resources and currently contains about 850 bibliographic entries and 250 Internet resources, highly recommended
Native Psychologists in Canada - "To provide Native Psychologists with a national level forum for the exchange of information of mutual interest and concern; To represent and promote the interests of member psychologists to governments, the private sector, the academic community, and the general public; To act as an advocate for improved Native mental health and health care; To promote and support Native entry into the profession of psychology and mental health; To encourage, promote and support collaboration and co-operation between agencies, organizations and governments concerned with Native mental health; To facilitate through conferences, seminars, research and other methods, the understanding and resolution of Native mental health issue"
Nimkee Memorial Wellness Center - "provides essential medical services to Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal members". Services include: comprehensive medical services, pharmacy, dental services, community health services, mental health, substance abuse
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) - "The Northwest tribes have long recognized the need to exercise control over the design and development of health care delivery systems in their local communities. To this end, in 1972 they formed the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB). The NPAIHB is a nonprofit tribal advisory organization which represents the tribes of Washington, Oregon and Idaho on health-related matters and to provide health-related technical assistance"
- Project Red Talon: HIV/STD Prevention Project
- Western Tobacco Prevention Project
- Women's Health Promotion Program
Pic River First Nation Health Program - "a federally funded, community based program, which runs out of the Pic River First Nation Health Centre. The Program focuses mainly on health promotion and pervention strategies. The community sign a Health Transfer Agreement with the Medical Services Branch of Health & Welfare Canada in May of 1997. This agreement allows for increased autonomy in determining what types of health care services are required to meet the needs of community members"
San Diego American Indian Health Center (SDAIHC) - a private, non-profit American Indian-governed corporation established in 1979 to provide culturally appropriate services to American Indians living in the metropolitan San Diego area.
Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB) - "to assist American Indians and Alaska Natives in the achievement of the highest possible physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well being through the provision of culturally appropriate services, and to advocate for the needs of all Indian people, especially the most vulnerable members of our community"
Society of American Indian Dentists - "promote dental health in the American Indian community; encourage American Indian youth to pursue a career in the profession of dentistry; serve as a resource for assistance to American Indian students interested in the profession of dentistry; provide role-model leadership; promote American Indian heritage and traditional values; and promote and support the unique concerns of American Indian dentists"
T.E.A.M. - Tribal Empowerment Anti Drug/Violence Movement - founded in 1998 "TEAM together with federal, state, various community programs, tribal leaders, businesses and community members, (youth and adults) is working to interrupt cycles of substance abuse, violence and related behaviors by providing evening, weekend and summer recreation, education and cultural activities. Emphasis is placed on instilling core values including attachment to school, community and family, independence, culture and generosity in our youth. Life skills including information on improving self-esteem, assertiveness versus aggressiveness, anger management, and college preparation are also offered"
Traditional (Native American) Food, Health and Nutrition - provided by the late Paula Giese
Tribal Connections in the Pacific Northwest - "connecting American Indian/Alaska Native Communities to Health Resources on the Internet"
United National Indian Tribal Youth - "a national Native American youth leadership organization designed to help young people make positive differences in their tribes, villages and communities. Since April 1976, UNITY has been serving the leadership needs of American Indian and Alaska Native youth. The organization is designed to develop leadership, promote self-sufficiency, and instill cultural pride among Native American youth ... in the spirit of unity. UNITY works with Native youth through the development of youth councils, leadership conferences, and other activities promoting healthy lifestyles, heritage, environmental awareness and community service"
Waseskun House - "a charitable, non-profit and non-political organization that operates the first and only totally Native community residential centre (CRC) in the province of Quebec for First Nations men. The organization grew out of the work of a group of volunteers, at the community level, who saw a need for such a facility and who voluntarily operated the CRC during its first year of existence. Many within this original community group are still involved as staff or Board members"
White Earth Reservation Health Services (Minnesota) - the site describes some of the services offered

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This URL: http://www.ldb.org/vl/geo/america/indi_hn.htm

Last Modified: 11 April 2001
© 1997-2001 by: Eberhard Wenzel
Founded by Lucien E. Schlosser and Eberhard Wenzel
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