We support tribal nations and urban Indian communities in advancing toward their vision of a strong health system that includes access to quality preventive, primary, and specialty health care.
The principle of self-determination guides our work in this initiative. Tribal nations and urban Indians are best positioned to understand their communities’ needs and build health systems to meet them. We work with tribal leadership and staff, urban Indian health centers, and Native-led nonprofits to advance their goals for a strong health system.
Visit our Grant Library to learn more about initiative projects.
SPOTLIGHT: AMERICAN INDIAN HEALTH LEADERS
American Indian Health Leaders was formed by the leadership staff of the tribal health departments, tribal substance use treatment programs, and urban Indian health centers in Montana. Since 2015, American Indian Health Leaders has provided a forum for peer learning and collaboration between tribes, external partners, and the state of Montana. Participants attend to build strategic professional networks, learn about initiatives implemented by other tribes, identify funding opportunities, and advance solutions to health needs in the communities they serve.
INITIATIVE PROGRESS
This initiative has supported health improvement projects with all 12 tribes and 5 urban Indian health centers in Montana. These projects focus on establishing self-governed health systems and advancing significant improvements in health services. Projects include supporting the Little Shell Tribe’s self-governance efforts, Red Shield 8 Nations operations support and predevelopment projects, and the Indian Family Health Center data integration project.
We host meetings of the American Indian Health Leaders, which include leadership staff from tribal health departments and urban Indian health centers. We have supported this group’s quarterly meetings, at their request, since 2016.
We are also supporting the establishment of Red Shield 8 Nations, a new nonprofit formed by Montana tribes and the Montana Consortium of Urban Indian Health. Located centrally in the state, just outside of Great Falls, the facility, once built, will provide detox and residential substance use treatment grounded in Native culture. It will also work closely with existing reservation-based and urban outpatient treatment programs to seamlessly coordinate services and help people transition back into community life.
Our Support
In this initiative, we provide grants and contracts to organizations participating in American Indian Health Leaders and to Native-led nonprofits, at the request of, and in partnership with, American Indian Health Leaders members. We also support select organizations engaged in tribal health policy analysis. For more information on this initiative, please contact our program team.
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Contact
If you have a question about this initiative, please email our program team.