Nancy Lynn Palmanteer-Holder

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

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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
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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

Data as a Strategic Resource: Self-determination, Governance , and the Data Challenge for Indigenous Nations in the United States

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Data about Indigenous populations in the United States are inconsistent and irrelevant. Federal and state governments and researchers direct most collection, analysis, and use of data about U.S. Indigenous populations. Indigenous Peoples’ justified mistrust further complicates the collection and use of these data. Nonetheless, tribal leaders and communities depend on these data to inform decision making. Reliance on data that do not reflect tribal needs, priorities, and self-conceptions threatens tribal self-determination. Tribal data sovereignty through governance of data on Indigenous populations is long overdue. This article provides two case studies of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and their demographic and socioeconomic data initiatives to create locally and culturally relevant data for decision making.

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Rainie, S. C. , Schultz, J. L. , Briggs, E. , Riggs, P. , Palmanteer-Holder, N. L. (2017). Data as a Strategic Resource: Self-determination, Governance, and the Data Challenge for Indigenous Nations in the United States.The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 8(2) .Retrieved from: https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/iipj/article/view/7511/6155