November is Native American Heritage Month, a celebration of Native American history, culture, and traditions. It is also a reminder of the importance of equity. This year, PHAB asked our accredited Tribal health departments to tell us what equity means to them and why it is so important, especially for Tribal communities. Here is what they had to say:
“From the time of its establishment in 1981, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Health Services Division (PYTHSD) has addressed inequities in clinical and public health treatment for the Yoeme community. Thanks to various funding sources, the present day PYTHSD has a large contract with the local FQHC to provide primary care to its Tribal members. PYTHSD also has a large community health nursing program to help community members with everything from picking up prescriptions to giving vaccinations, large dental and behavioral health programs, and a clinic that provides Traditional and Integrative Medicine- all free of charge to Tribal members. PYTHSD has always been a hybrid operation, addressing both the clinical needs and public health needs of its population, and will continue addressing the inequities visited upon the community for the years to come.” – Reuben Tapia Howard, Director of Pascua Yaqui Tribal Health SD
“As a Tribal health community, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center recognizes the weight of equity in all that we do. Equity addresses historical and present-day injustices, it acknowledges the gaps and disparities populations and individuals face, and it stresses the necessity of serving communities where they most need it. As one of our seven core values, we strive to incorporate equity in all that we do. Equity is not simply a value or a checkbox—equity is a practice we exhibit everyday through the Indian Law, Tamánwit, how we live; our lifestyle; our responsibility. Incorporating equity into our daily tasks for our Tribal community is critical.” – Chelsea Hallam, Accreditation & Grant Coordinator for Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center
“At Yellowhawk, we emphasize a culture of wellness, which means our community practices healthy lifestyles physically, mentally, spiritually, and traditionally. Our mission is to provide our “community with opportunities to learn and experience healthy lifestyles.” We are healthiest when we are connected to our wellbeing, to the wellbeing of others, and to the wellbeing of our traditions. We work to empower and unite together to address health concerns in our Tribal community.” – Chelsea Hallam, Accreditation & Grant Coordinator for Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center
“We as a Tribal community understand that being a healthy community includes not only our physical health but our social, emotional, and cultural well being. Historically many of the resources needed to support a healthy community have been missing throughout Native communities. Health equity is an intentional effort to ensure that resources are available to those who most need them to support a healthy community. The Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Health’s vision for a healthy community is one in which there is a holistic health care approach with an emphasis on the traditional Ho-Chunk way of life, where each individual and family have the resources, information, and power to make informed decisions regarding their present and future health. Waz`a hini gira wi (We Care).” – Pam Thunder, RS, Environmental Health Program Manager for Ho-Chunk Nation Dept. of Health
“Health equity is woven throughout the work of our Tribal public health department. Through coalitions and partnerships, we strive to assure the community has the opportunity to be their healthiest selves. Public health accreditation is one way to hold us accountable to assure the ongoing and intentional work around health equity continues.” – Michelle Tipple, Community/Public Health Officer at Oneida Nation, Wisconsin
