community health

COVID-19 and Indigenous Peoples: Tools to Promote Equity and Best Practices

Year

This is the second volume of a two-volume special issue of the American Indian Culture and Research Journal, volume 44.3, dedicated to the indirect impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples. The first volume (44.2) covers the degree to which Indigenous Peoples were affected by COVID-19 and how this has resulted in a number of responses at the community and local levels. In particular, three articles conducted different surveys in order to assess the levels of stress, coping, and resil-ience among Indigenous Peoples in the United States and relative to non-Indigenous peoples. The observed higher levels of stress are consistent with expectations given existing disparities in health access and care for these US populations. The first volume also provides some insight into the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand and Canada. While these Indigenous Peoples have not, at least up to this point, experienced as many cases or deaths due to COVID-19 as Indigenous Peoples in the United States, the papers from those countries highlight the ongoing need for prevention and awareness for especially vulnerable populations, as well as inclusion in national planning efforts.

The articles in this issue provide specific research and insights for improving the reporting, identifying, and prevention of COVID-19 cases and deaths. The first two articles focus on the concept of identification in national, regional and local health data. For small populations, and, in particular, Indigenous Peoples, it is imperative that data collection provide detailed information on race and tribal nation identifiers. These measures, difficult to implement, are vital for identifying the spread and transmission of contagious diseases in small communities. In the absence of this information, these populations quickly may be inundated by cases without much warning.

Resource Type
Citation

Carroll, Stephanie; Randall Akee, Chandra Ford, eds. Tools to Promote Equity and Best Practices. (2020). American Indian Culture and Research Journal. Vol. 44, No. 3. American Indian Studies Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

Case Report: Indigenous Sovereignty in a Pandemic: Tribal Codes in the United States as Preparedness

Year

Indigenous Peoples globally and in the United States have combatted and continue to face disease, genocide, and erasure, often the systemic result of settler colonial policies that seek to eradicate Indigenous communities. Many Native nations in the United States have asserted their inherent sovereign authority to protect their citizens by passing tribal public health and emergency codes to support their public health infrastructures. While the current COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone, marginalized and Indigenous communities in the United States experience disproportionate burdens of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality as well as socioeconomic and environmental impacts. In this brief research report, we examine 41 publicly available tribal public health and emergency preparedness codes to gain a better understanding of the institutional public health capacity that exists during this time. Of the codes collected, only nine mention any data sharing provisions with local, state, and federal officials while 21 reference communicable diseases. The existence of these public health institutions is not directly tied to the outcomes in the current pandemic; however, it is plausible that having such codes in place makes responding to public health crises now and in the future less reactionary and more proactive in meeting community needs. These tribal institutions advance the public health outcomes that we all want to see in our communities.

Resource Type
Citation

Hiraldo D, James K and Carroll SR (2021) Case Report: Indigenous Sovereignty in a Pandemic: Tribal Codes in the United States as Preparedness. Frontiers in Sociology. 6:617995. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.617995

 

Interview with Dr. Stephanie Carroll about New Research on COVID-19 Spread in Indian Country

Producer
Native Nations Institute
Year

Listen to public health researcher Stephanie Carroll, co-author of “American Indian Reservations and COVID-19: Correlates of Early Infection Rates in the Pandemic.” Hear about this new research showing which factors, like household plumbing and language barriers, correlate with a higher spread of the virus, and policy recommendations to address these factors.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Native Nations Institute. "Interview with Dr. Stephanie Carroll about New Research on COVID-19 Spread in Indian Country." May 1, 2020. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m26M9O_KUYE, accessed July 25, 2023)

Characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models: a systematic scoping review

Year

Indigenous populations have poorer health outcomes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. The evolution of Indigenous primary health care services arose from mainstream health services being unable to adequately meet the needs of Indigenous communities and Indigenous peoples often being excluded and marginalised from mainstream health services. Part of the solution has been to establish Indigenous specific primary health care services, for and managed by Indigenous peoples. There are a number of reasons why Indigenous primary health care services are more likely than mainstream services to improve the health of Indigenous communities. Their success is partly due to the fact that they often provide comprehensive programs that incorporate treatment and management, prevention and health promotion, as well as addressing the social determinants of health. However, there are gaps in the evidence base including the characteristics that contribute to the success of Indigenous primary health care services in providing comprehensive primary health care. This systematic scoping review aims to identify the characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models.

Resource Type
Citation

Harfield, S. G., Davy, C., Mcarthur, A., Munn, Z., Brown, A., & Brown, N. (2018). Characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models: A systematic scoping review. Globalization and Health, 14(1). doi:10.1186/s12992-018-0332-2

Reclaiming Indigenous Health in the US: Moving beyond the Social Determinants of Health

Year

The lack of literature on Indigenous conceptions of health and the social determinants of health (SDH) for US Indigenous communities limits available information for Indigenous nations as they set policy and allocate resources to improve the health of their citizens. In 2015, eight scholars from tribal communities and mainstream educational institutions convened to examine: the limitations of applying the World Health Organization’s (WHO) SDH framework in Indigenous communities; Indigenizing the WHO SDH framework; and Indigenous conceptions of a healthy community. Participants critiqued the assumptions within the WHO SDH framework that did not cohere with Indigenous knowledges and epistemologies and created a schematic for conceptualizing health and categorizing its determinants. As Indigenous nations pursue a policy role in health and seek to improve the health and wellness of their nations’ citizens, definitions of Indigenous health and well-being should be community-driven and Indigenous-nation based. Policies and practices for Indigenous nations and Indigenous communities should reflect and arise from sovereignty and a comprehensive understanding of the nations and communities’ conceptions of health and its determinants beyond the SDH.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Carroll,S.R.; Suina,M.; Jäger,M.B.; Black,J.; Cornell,S.; Gonzales,A.A.; Jorgensen,M.; Palmanteer-Holder,N.L.; DeLaRosa, J.S.; Teufel-Shone,N.I. Reclaiming Indigenous Health in the US: Moving beyond the Social Determinants of Health. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 7495. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127495

Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network: Facilitating Exchange between Arctic and Southwest Indigenous Communities on Food and Knowledge Sovereignty

Year

On a sunny morning in June of 2019, our hosts at the Athabaskan Nay'dini'aa Na'Kayax' Culture Camp, located near Chickaloon Native Village in south-central Alaska, set up a table near the smoke house and demonstrated how to fillet salmon. It was salmon season in Chickaloon, and young campers were learning how to process fish: how to fillet, smoke, and preserve it in oil. First, children and youth from the camp were given the chance to practice their knife skills, with adults standing behind them and offering encouragement and gentle correction of technique when it was needed. Adults also taught the children Ahtna words (Ahtna is part of the Athabaskan language group) and stories as they prepared the salmon. After the children had all had a turn, camp leaders offered our group of visitors the chance to try. Amy Juan, a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation (located within the Sonoran Desert in south central Arizona) , eagerly stepped forward. "I've always wanted to learn how to fillet fish!" she said, explaining that since she came from a desert people, she had never had the chance to try.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Johnson, N,. Jäger, M.B., Jennings, L., Juan, A., Carroll, S.R., & Ferguson DB. (March 2020). Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network: Facilitating Exchange between Arctic and Southwest Indigenous Communities on Food and Knowledge Sovereignty.” Witness Community Highlights Arcus.org/witness-the-arctic

Navigating the ARPA: A Series for Tribal Nations. Episode 5: Investing in Your Tribes' Behavioral Health

Year

From setting tribal priorities, to building infrastructure, to managing and sustaining projects, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) presents an unprecedented opportunity for the 574 federally recognized tribal nations to use their rights of sovereignty and self-government to strengthen their communities. As the tribes take on the challenges presented by the Act, the Ash Center’s Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development is hosting a series designed to assist tribes, to help tribes learn from each other and from a wide array of guest experts. During this session, the fifth in the series, following a round of discussion between the panelists a brief Q+A session will be held to maximize the opportunities for audience participation. This session, titled "Investing In Your Tribes’ Behavioral Health" will feature:

  • Stacy Bohlen (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), CEO, National Indian Health Board
  • Del Laverdure (Crow Nation), Attorney, Former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Department of Interior
  • Lynn Malerba (Mohegan Tribe), Lifetime Chief, Mohegan Tribe
  • Moderated by Karen Diver (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), HKS MPA 2003, Board of Governors, Honoring Nations, Harvard Project

Presentation slides:  Mental and Behavioral Health

Policy Brief: Recommendations for the Allocation and Administration of American Rescue Plan Act Funding for American Indian Tribal Governments

Year

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides the largest infusion of federal funding for Indian Country in the history of the United States. More than $32 billion dollars is directed toward assisting American Indian nations and communities as they work to end and recover from the devastating COVID19 pandemic – which was made worse in Indian Country precisely because such funding is long overdue.

In this policy brief, we set out recommendations which we hope will promote the wise and productive allocation of ARPA funds to the nation’s 574 federally recognized American Indian tribes. We see ARPA as a potential “Marshall Plan” for the revitalization of Indian nations. The Act holds the promise of materially remedying at least some of the gross, documented, and long-standing underfunding of federal obligations and responsibilities in Indian Country. Yet, fulfilling that promise requires that the federal government expeditiously and wisely allocate ARPA funds to tribes, and that tribes efficiently and effectively deploy those funds to maximize their positive impacts on tribal communities.

Indigenous Peoples' Data During COVID-19: From External to Internal

Year

Global disease trackers quantifying the size, spread, and distribution of COVID-19 illustrate the power of data during the pandemic. Data are required for decision-making, planning, mitigation, surveillance, and monitoring the equity of responses. There are dual concerns about the availability and suppression of COVID-19 data; due to historic and ongoing racism and exclusion, publicly available data can be both beneficial and harmful. Systemic policies related to genocide and racism, and historic and ongoing marginalization, have led to limitations in quality, quantity, access, and use of Indigenous Peoples' COVID-19 data. Governments, non-profits, researchers, and other institutions must collaborate with Indigenous Peoples on their own terms to improve access to and use of data for effective public health responses to COVID-19.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Carroll, S.R., Akee, R., Chung, P., Cormack, D., Kukutai, T., Lovett, R., Suina, M., Rowe, R.K. (2021). Indigenous Peoples' Data During COVID-19: From External to Internal. Frontiers in Sociology. Vol. 6.  doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2021.617895    

Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – Canada

Producer
Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law
Year

A co-production of New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law, the "Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice" is a series of conversations focused on the experiences of Indigenous Peoples with COVID-19, particularly government response and the issues of law and justice.

Moderated by Dr. Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki), co-editor of the Māori Law Review, and produced by Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law.

Panelists:

Courtney Skye (Six Nations of the Grand River Territory), Research Fellow and Policy Analyst, Yellow Heaps Institute

Dr. John Borrows (Anishinabe/Ojibway and Chippewas of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario), Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law and Law Foundation Chair in Aboriginal Justice and Governance at the University of Victoria

Jess Housty (Heiltsuk Nation), Executive Director, Qqs Projects Society, Tribal Councillor for Heiltsuk Nation and Community Activist

Dr. Jeff Corntassel (Cherokee Nation), Associate Professor, University of Victoria

Resource Type
Citation

Māori Law Review and the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre for Indigenous Peoples and the Law. "Indigenous Peoples and COVID-19: Issues of Law and Justice – Canada." September 9, 2020. Auckland, New Zealand. Retrieved July 25, 2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZd2AI0jLzI