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Health Equity: Changing the Narrative About Indian Country

Native News Online is launching a year-long deep dive into critical health equity issues affecting Indian Country.  Through this reporting project, our team of journalists will explore four pressing challenges facing tribal communities and their citizens: mental health, environmental health, maternal mortality, and the overdose crisis.

American Indians and Alaska Natives face stark health disparities, with life expectancies 5.5 years shorter than the U.S. average and higher mortality rates across numerous conditions. Our coverage goes beyond statistics to examine innovative, culturally centered solutions developed by Native communities.

Led by award-winning Senior Editor Elyse Wild and Reporter Kaili Berg (Aleut), this project aims to shine a light on both challenges and successes in tribal healthcare. Through our Native News Online platforms and partnerships with Native-owned and mainstream media outlets, we'll work to ensure these stories reach tribal leaders, citizens, policymakers, and allies nationwide, advancing understanding of health equity issues in Indian Country.  Our goal is to help change the narrative about health in Native American communities. 

Want to submit news or share a personal story about how health equity in Indian Country affects you, your family, or your community? Contact editor@nativenewsonline.net. If you’d like to support our continuing coverage of boarding schools, please consider a one-time or recurring donation.

  • Spirit Lake Reservation Addresses Water Quality Crisis with Emergency Distribution Plan

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     On May 27, 2025, the Spirit Lake Tribal Council issued a public notice alerting residents to elevated manganese levels detected in the water system managed by SL Water Resources. The contamination affects all residents within the Spirit Lake Reservation boundaries in Fort Totten, North Dakota.
     

  • 'We Will Not Be Erased' | Q&A with Charlene Aqpik Apok, Founder and Executive Director of Data for Indigenous Justice

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     In 2018, Charlene Aqpik Apok (Iñupiaq) took part in a rally at the Alaska Federation of Natives annual convention. Held in Anchorage, the convening is the largest gathering of Alaska Native people, and where representatives from 177 federally recognized tribes make their voices heard on critical policy issues. It was there that Apok first held a list in her hand of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) from across the state, reading their names out loud in an emotional rally. The handwritten list was the first timeAlaska’s rampant MMIP issue had been quantified. As the rally went on, people approached her to add the names of their loved ones.

  • New Charges Filed in Sweeping Medicaid Scam Exploiting Native Americans

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    Twenty people, a mental health business, and a church were charged in an indictment on Monday for playing a role in a sober living scheme targeting Native Americans that drew $60 million in funds from Arizona’s Medicaid program.

  • Tribal Health Leader: Trump’s Drug Pricing Plan Lacks ‘Teeth’ for Indian Country

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    A Trump administration plan to slash prescription drug prices by tying them to international markets will likely have minimal impact on Indian Country, according to a tribal health leader who called the initiative well-intentioned but ineffective.  

  • REPORT: Wyoming MMIP Efforts Grow, Gaps in Data Persist

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    Poor communication between law enforcement agencies continues to hamper efforts to address Wyoming’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) crisis, according to a report released last week that found substantial data discrepancies between federal databases.

  • ‘Wreaking Havoc On Tribal Communities.’ | Senators Call on Kennedy to Halt Cuts to Indian Health Service

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    A bipartisan group of senators with oversight on tribal and appropriations matters is calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to immediately halt staffing reductions and resource cuts to the Indian Health Service (IHS).

  • CDC’s Tribal Overdose Prevention Team Gutted in Federal Workforce Cuts

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    A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team supporting overdose prevention in tribal communities was reduced to a single employee last month as part of the Trump administration's sweeping effort to reduce the federal workforce. 

  • Leaked Budget Proposal Would Cut $56M Naloxone Grant Program for First Responders

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    More than two dozen opioid prevention programs face elimination from the federal budget, including a $56 million grant for naloxone distribution and first responder training on how to use the life-saving drug.  

  • Trump’s First 100 Days Leave Native American Healthcare in Turmoil

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    President Donald J. Trump's first 100 days in office have left Native American healthcare reeling.

  • Arizona Sober Living Home Bill Falls Short, Lawmakers and Advocates Say

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    A new Arizona law increasing oversight of sober living homes faces criticism from a Native lawmaker and other advocates for not going far enough. 

  • Ovarian Cancer Test Less Effective for Native, Black Women

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    A standard diagnostic test for ovarian cancer is less effective in detecting the disease among Black and Native American women, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.

  • New FBI Surge Targets Violent Crimes and Cold Cases in Indian Country

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    The FBI is ramping up efforts to combat the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis with a six-month deployment of 60 personnel to 10 FBI field offices nationwide. The initiative aims to solve unsolved violent crimes in Native communities through partnerships with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal law enforcement.

  • Q&A: Mechelle Negrete on NAMI’s New Mental Health Initiative for Native Communities

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    Native Americans face some of the highest suicide rates in the country, yet have limited access to life-saving interventions and culturally centered mental health care. 

  • What is Urban Indian Health, Anyway?

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    Guest Opinion. People often ask me what I do.
     

    “I work in urban Indian health,” I say,and then I wait.

  • Secretary Kennedy Extends Public Health Emergency to Combat Opioid Crisis

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    Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. renewed a declaration designating the opioid crisis a public health emergency yesterday.

  • Alaska Native Tribe Defends Against Claims Its Food Assistance Program is Wasteful Government Spending

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    As Indian Country contends with slashed funding from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an Alaska Native tribe is defending claims that its food assistance program is wasteful spending. 

  • Health Equity Round-Up (March 10, 2025)

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     Last week, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs advanced 10 bills that strengthen tribal water rights; a study from the University of New Mexico looked at burdens faced by Native American elders when accessing healthcare; and the federal government marked a dozen IHS offices across Indian Country for closure.

  • Senate Committee Advances Ten Bills to Strengthen Tribal Water Rights and Infrastructure

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    Ten bills aimed at tribal water rights passed the Senate Committee on Indin Affairs on Wednesday.

  • ‘Their Lives Mattered’ | Q&A with the Hosts of We Are Resilient: An MMIP True Crime Podcast

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    In the vast world of podcasts, true crime has emerged as the most popular genre. From re-tellings to in-depth reporting, listeners have downloaded billions of hours of podcasts exploring homicides and missing person cases, according to a study by thePew Research Center.

  • NAU’s American Indian Nursing Program Expands With Direct Relief Grant to Tackle Critical Shortages in Native Communities

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     A Northern Arizona University program aimed at critical nursing shortages in Native American communities is expanding after two decades, thanks to a grant from the humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief.