Health and Social Services

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Glimmers of hope on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Glimmers of hope on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has become emblematic of rural poverty, neglect and the plight of struggling American Indians. But across the reservation, there are glimmers of hope and resistance against the monumental challenges the Lakota people face. In the case of Alice Phelps and the…

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Ho-Chunk, Inc. CEO Receives Award from U.S. Department of Commerce Agency

Ho-Chunk, Inc. CEO Receives Award from U.S. Department of Commerce Agency

Lance Morgan launched the Ho-Chunk, Inc. in 1994 as the economic development corporation of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Now the president and CEO is receiving the Advocate of the Year Award by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) at the end of this…

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Tribe looking to increase enrollment

Tribe looking to increase enrollment

Under the direction of the appointed members of the Tribal Enrollment Committee – Peridot District Representatives Lula T. Dillon and Aurelia Rogers, Gilson Wash District Representatives Geraldine Kitcheyan and Henrietta Henry, Seven Mile Wash District Representatives Marthalene Polk and Lois R.…

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Two More South Dakota Lakota Tribes Advance Toward Their Own Foster Care Systems, Intending to Replace the State DSS System

Two More South Dakota Lakota Tribes Advance Toward Their Own Foster Care Systems, Intending to Replace the State DSS System

The Lakota people have taken another positive step toward preserving their cultural sovereignty and solving the persistent foster care crisis in the state as two more tribes have joined the movement to apply for available federal funding to plan their own tribal-run foster care system... The Lower…

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Winona LaDuke: Keep USDA Out of Our Kitchens

Winona LaDuke: Keep USDA Out of Our Kitchens

Native American author, educator, activist, mother and grandmother Winona LaDuke, Anishinaabekwe, is calling on tribes to relocalize food and energy production as a means of both reducing CO2 emissions and of asserting tribes' inherent right to live in accordance with their own precepts of the…

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Cherokee seed project sows respect for the past, hope for the future

Cherokee seed project sows respect for the past, hope for the future

The Cherokee Indians are preserving the roots of their heritage with a program that allows officially recognized members of the tribe to access seeds that are unique to the Cherokee Nation. Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Baker explained the seeds' lineage to CNN. "This strain of…

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Empowering Parents Brings Community Change in Wind River

Empowering Parents Brings Community Change in Wind River

If you are a parent who has ever thought, “What can I do?” or “I am just a parent,” Clarisse Harris, Northern Paiute, has a program that might interest you. On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, the Parent Leadership Training Institute is arming parents with the tools to bring changes within…

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The Navajo Nation Healthy Diné Nation Act: A Two Percent Tax on Foods of Minimal-to-No Nutritious Value, 2015–2019

The Navajo Nation Healthy Diné Nation Act: A Two Percent Tax on Foods of Minimal-to-No Nutritious Value, 2015–2019

Our study summarizes tax revenue and disbursements from the Navajo Nation Healthy Diné Nation Act of 2014, which included a 2% tax on foods of minimal-to-no nutritional value (junk food tax), the first in the United States and in any sovereign tribal nation. Since the tax was implemented in 2015,…

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Building better homes in Indian Country

Building better homes in Indian Country

There's no other house like it on the Oglala Sioux's 2 million-acre Pine Ridge Reservation: Its walls are insulated by 18-inch strawbales rather than plastic sheeting, and its radiant-floor heating is much cheaper than the typical propane or electric. A frost-protected shallow foundation inhibits…

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Yurok tribe's wellness court heals with tradition

Yurok tribe's wellness court heals with tradition

Lauren Alvarado states it simply: “Meth is everywhere in Indian country.” Like many here, she first tried methamphetamine at age 12. Legal trouble came at 13 with an arrest for public intoxication. In the years that followed, she relied on charm and manipulation to get by, letting her grandmother…

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Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times: The Seven Teachings

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times: The Seven Teachings

"We are invited once again to revisit the time-honored teachings, and to embrace the old ways in order to renew our connection to the Sacred Teachings. We need this old knowledge in our lives to live in these modern times of technology." So began a PowerPoint presentation by Chi-Ma'iingan/Great…

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A Solution: Sowing the future for tribal youth

A Solution: Sowing the future for tribal youth

For aspiring farmer, Vernal Sam, 24, the physical labor came easily. Like many Tohono O'odham, he'd helped out on his uncle's cattle ranch as a kid, bringing in cash when his family needed it, and he'd helped his grandfather bury traditional tepary beans and squash seeds in the brown clay soil.…

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Face Time: Video Conferencing App Improves Business Relations for Eastern Band of Cherokees

Face Time: Video Conferencing App Improves Business Relations for Eastern Band of Cherokees

Many employees of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who tote tribal issued mobile devices are–or will be soon–getting more face time in with a video conferencing application. The Eastern Band, which employs about 1,100 workers, began its deployment of ClearSea, a high-definition video…

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Muscogee Creek Nation Meets Growing Pharmacy Needs Through Bilingual, Self-Refill App

Muscogee Creek Nation Meets Growing Pharmacy Needs Through Bilingual, Self-Refill App

A new, automated prescription refill system has made time management much easier for Muscogee Creek pharmacy staff. Nearly a year ago, the tribe tapped Enacomm, a leader in interactive voice response technology, to help the Muscogee Creek Nation Department of Health manage their increasingly high…

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DOJ Grants Muscogee Creek Nation $3.78 Million for Ex-Prisoner Reintegration Program

DOJ Grants Muscogee Creek Nation $3.78 Million for Ex-Prisoner Reintegration Program

The Muscogee Creek Nation has received $3.78 million from the U.S. Department of Justice for the tribe’s Reintegration Program (RIP), which assists tribal citizens who have served time in a correctional facility and are ready to be welcomed back into society. The grant will go towards the…

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Youth Council Addresses Serious Problems in Michigan

Youth Council Addresses Serious Problems in Michigan

Sarah Schilling, of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, is one of five 2013 Champions for Change chosen by the Center for Native American Youth. The 18-year-old is a recent high school graduate from Charlevoix, Michigan who was inspired by her participation and the youth-based efforts…

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Where Tribal Justice Works

Where Tribal Justice Works

In 2011, a man in northeastern Oregon beat his girlfriend with a gun, using it like a club to strike her in front of their children. Both were members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The federal government, which has jurisdiction over major crimes in Indian Country,…

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Oneidas want locally produced food on local tables

Oneidas want locally produced food on local tables

The Oneida Tribe of Indians’ foray into establishing a food hub in their community is proving to be so successful that they’d like to see it spread throughout the county. Products that are grown and processed on Oneida land have been feeding the tribe’s elementary students and elderly for some time…

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A new Native American village based on tradition helps a Tribe reclaim its sustainable roots

A new Native American village based on tradition helps a Tribe reclaim its sustainable roots

The Ohkay Owingeh Tribe and Pueblo in New Mexico has returned to its roots with an award-winning, mixed-income housing project based on traditional Native forms. It's an exciting and inspiring project. Built by the Ohkay Owingeh Housing Authority explicitly as an alternative to sprawl-type housing…

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A Place Called Poarch Podcast

A Place Called Poarch Podcast

The Poarch Creek Indians produced a 24-episode podcast (March 2022-December 2023) covering a variety of nation-building topics including tribal lands, sovereignty, property rights, and more.