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Our Work Supporting American Indian Health Governance & Leadership

Providing a platform for collaboration among American Indian health leaders to build a strong, Native-led health system

We support the American Indian Health Leaders, a dynamic group made up of leaders from the Native American health departments and the urban Indian health centers. At their request, we have organized quarterly meetings of the group since 2016.

The American Indian Health Leaders group provides the first regular forum for collaboration among tribal health system leadership, urban Indian health centers, and other health system partners.

The leaders of the tribal health departments and urban Indian health programs face many challenges in common. Historically, there were few opportunities to meet, learn from each other, and collaborate on programs, health system reforms, strategic planning, and policy.

This initiative supports tribal and urban Indian health center leadership to meet and work on shared priorities. It also provides funding for leadership development and training for the staff of participating tribes and urban Indian health centers and supports a policy position at the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council.

“This group has helped bring American Indian health leaders from across the state together in a way that hasn’t happened before. These meetings help us talk with one another, build relationships, and collaborate. Leading urban and tribal health centers is a challenging job, and these meetings provide support and guidance.” – Todd Wilson, Helena Indian Alliance Executive Director

In 2018, the American Indian Health Leaders visited Alaska’s Southcentral Foundation, a tribally-led health care system in Alaska that has won national awards for quality care and better health outcomes. Since then, several tribes and urban Indian health centers in Montana are working to implement elements of Southcentral’s model.

Our Support

About

In addition to supporting the meeting expenses and technical needs for the American Indian Health Leaders group, we also provide support for leadership development training and site visits.

Selection Criteria

Individuals interested in participating in leadership development training and site visits must be members of the organizations participating in the American Indian Health Leaders group. Please contact us if you are interested in this opportunity.

Contact

Need assistance?

Email Tressie White
Program Director