Indigenous Governance Database
community health
White Earth Suicide Intervention Team
The White Earth Suicide Intervention Team (WESIT) was created in 1990 in response to an extraordinarily high rate of suicide attempts and completions among tribal members living on the White Earth Reservation. With the Tribal Council’s official support, a group of volunteers came together following…
Navajo's Pine Hill Health Center
In the Ramah Chapter of the Navajo Nation–as in many parts of Indian Country–late detection of breast cancer leads to disproportionally high rates of breast cancer mortality. Ramah Navajo’s Pine Hill Health Center devised a creative response: it launched a series of "Mammo Days," educational and…
Fond du Lac's Pharmacy On-Line Billing Initiative
In 1995, faced with rising pharmaceutical costs, limited Indian Health Service (IHS) funds, and an inability to bill and collect from third party insurers, the Human Services Division contracted with a private sector firm to design and implement a computerized pharmacy billing system. The first of…
Winnebago's Whirling Thunder Wellness Program
To prevent and control the devastating effects of diabetes and substance abuse, in 1995, the Winnebago Tribe created the Whirling Thunder Wellness Program, which raises community awareness about diabetes and substance abuse, administers primary and secondary prevention services, and encourages…
Coeur d'Alene Tribal Wellness Center
Created in 1998, the Wellness Center aims to promote healthy lifestyles by offering programs in fitness, aquatics, rehabilitation, childcare, and community health to 3,000 Indian and non-Indian clients. By employing the medicine wheel, or whole-life, approach to health and by focusing on…
Choctaw Health Center
After transferring all health care decisions from Indian Health Services to tribal control over a ten-year period, the Band significantly improved its health care delivery system. Its state-of-the-art Health Center provides health and dental care, behavioral health care and community health…
Navajo Methamphetamine Task Force
Taking a proactive stance on policy issues, options, and recommendations in the areas of prevention, treatment, and/or enforcement, the Methamphetamine Task Forces actively combat a tidal wave of destruction within their communities. Drawing upon education, community involvement, cultural…
Puyallup's Institutionalized Quality Improvement Program
Following a major tribally-initiated restructuring in the early 1980s that created a quality improvement committee and a flatter organizational structure, the PTHA has increased patient access for urgent care visits, reduced "no show" rates, created clinical objectives, increased dental treatments…
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
Serving tribes in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) was created in 1972 to increase tribes’ ability to exercise control over the design and development of tribal health care delivery systems. Governed by tribal government delegates, NPAIHB…
The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations
Owned by a consortium of seven tribes, the Healing Lodge is a treatment center that helps Native American youth and their families heal from the trauma of alcohol and drug abuse. With a focus on blending culture and spirituality with mental health/chemical dependency treatment, services include in-…
Good Native Governance: Lunchtime Keynote Address
UCLA School of Law "Good Native Governance" conference lunchtime keynote speaker, Joseph P. Kalt discusses research in the areas of good Native governance. This video resource is featured on the Indigenous Governance Database with the permission of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center.
Honoring Nations: Ana Marie Argilagos: Family Strengthening in Indian Country
Ana Marie Argilagos provides a basic overview of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's mission and discusses a report detailing what family strengthening involves in Native communities.
Honoring Nations: Jennifer Harris and Julia Davis-Wheeler: The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations
Representatives Jennifer Harris and Julia Davis-Wheeler of the Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations youth treatment center discuss the Lodge's genesis and how it works to strengthen the families of the seven Native nations it serves.
Honoring Nations: Dr. Dorry Larson and Joyce Country: Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Professional Empowerment Program (2005)
Representatives for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Professional Empowerment Program Dr. Dorry Larson and Joyce Country present an overview of the program's work to the Honoring Nations Board of Governors in conjunction with the 2005 Honoring Nations Awards.
Honoring Nations: Tina Scott and Nan Smith: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Family Violence and Victim's Services
Program representatives Tina Scott and Nan Smith provide an overview of Mississippi Choctaw's Family Violence & Victim's Services program and discuss how its integrated approach has improved the quality and effectiveness of the services it provides to Choctaw citizens.
Tohono O'odham Nursing Care Authority - Our Story
This video -- produced by the Tohono O'odham Nursing Care Authority using its monetary award from the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development's Honoring Nations awards program -- explains the history and development of the Archie Hendricks, Sr. Skilled Nursing Facility and the…
Frances Stout: Archie Hendricks, Sr. Skilled Nursing Facility and Tohono O'odham Hospice
In this interview with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development's Joseph P. Kalt, Frances Stout of the Tohono O'odham Nursing Care Authority discusses what led the Tohono O'odham Nation to establish the Archie Hendricks, Sr. Skilled Nursing Facility and Tohono O'odham Hospice,…
Honoring Nations: Joyce Wells: Project Falvmmichi
Choctaw Nation Healthy Lifestyles Program Director Joyce Wells describes how a 16-year-old Choctaw citizen transformed her idea and passion into a comprehensive education and mentoring program that seeks to prevent domestic violence in Choctaw communities.
Honoring Nations: Frances Stout: Archie Hendricks, Sr. Skilled Nursing Facility and Tohono O'odham Hospice
Frances Stout, Chairperson of the Tohono O'odham Nursing Care Authority, shares the inspiring story of the Tohono O'odham Nation's state-of-the-art elder care facility.
Honoring Nations: Hepsi Barnett, Tony Fish and Joyce Wells: Reclaiming Native Nations (Q&A)
Native leaders Hepsi Barnett, Tony Fish, and Joyce Wells share a deeper level of detail about the roots and impacts of their nations' Honoring Nations award-winning programs.