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- By Native News Online Staff
Fox will lead projects related to the National Institutes of Health-funded initiative Improving Cancer Outcomes in Native American Communities (ICON), a five-year, $17 million grant awarded to OU to address cancer disparities faced by tribal communities across Oklahoma and Indian Country.
In her first year, Fox will examine structural barriers shaping cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment for citizens of the 38 federally recognized Tribal Nations in Oklahoma.
“I am thrilled Grace joined our team and is contributing to our policy research efforts that serve Indian Country,” said Tana Fitzpatrick, J.D. (Lakota/Crow/Ponca/Chickasaw), associate vice president for tribal relations and director of the Native Nations Center, said in a press release. “She is an expert-in-training on issues of tribal health care policy, with a specific emphasis on cancer, and I am excited to watch her grow into this position.”
Fox comes to OU with training in federal Indian policy, health equity, and culturally rooted research methodologies. She earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government as an Eisenhower Global Scholar, completing fieldwork with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Tribal Relations. She previously earned a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University, graduating cum laude with majors in psychology and ethnicity and race studies.
Caring for a close family member with breast cancer made Fox more aware of the barriers many Native families face when trying to get timely and appropriate care.
“This role feels like the exact intersection of my community, my training and the issues that matter most,” Fox said in a statement. “The ICON initiative is an opportunity to confront long-standing barriers head-on and help Tribal Nations exercise sovereignty in decisions that affect cancer care for their citizens."
Fox is currently working on her first Sovereign Report, a nonpartisan policy brief prepared to support Tribal Nation decision-makers.
The report, titled “Purchased/Referred Care and Cancer: Overview and Options for Tribal Consideration,” explores how the Indian Health Service’s Purchased/Referred Care program influences access to cancer screenings, referrals, and treatment.
Fox is also part of ICON’s community engagement efforts, which recently included an OU-Comanche Nation roundtable in Lawton focused on water quality, environmental health, and their relationship to cancer outcomes.
The Native Nations Center for Tribal Policy Research, in addition to Fitzpatrick and Fox, also includes Evelyn Cox, Ph.D. (Chamoru), research project manager, and Quanah Yazzie (Navajo), office manager.
Native people have higher rates of lung, colorectal, liver, stomach, and kidney cancer than white people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They have a lower survival rate due to cancer being diagnosed at later stages, stemming from difficulty accessing care.
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