- Details
- By Levi Rickert
The Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) is pushing back against layoffs ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
On Tuesday, UIHI, along with 11 other Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs), urban Indian organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations nationwide, received an email from a Centers for Disease Control employee notifying them that staff working on the Healthy Tribes Program—a key chronic disease prevention initiative for Native Americans—are being let go due to Kennedy’s budget cuts.
Native communities are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases, leading to increased investment in prevention programs. UIHI is concerned that these layoffs signal further budget cuts that could result in staffing reductions at TECs, tribal health facilities, and urban Indian organizations.
"The firing of CDC staff is a dangerous move that will only worsen the high rates of chronic disease in Indian Country,” Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), executive vice-president of Seattle Indian Health Board and director of Urban Indian Health Institute, said.
These layoffs contradict Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent statements about his commitment to chronic disease prevention and Native health, while also violating federal trust and treaty obligations.
“RFK Jr. has publicly stated that him and President Trump want to end the chronic disease epidemic, starting with Indian Country, but his recent actions are a direct contraction of those statements. The administration’s uninformed actions are a violation of trust and treaty obligations, dealing a major setback to all Native health programs. We need RFK Jr. to uphold his promises to Indian Country," Echo-Hawk said.
The CDC layoffs will disrupt communication between the agency and TECs, tribes, and urban Indian organizations, likely impacting:
- Organizations’ ability to remain in compliance
- Proper expenditure of CDC-awarded funds
- Programs aimed at reducing chronic disease in Native communities
For years, UIHI has received CDC grants that allow it to redistribute funds and provide technical support to partners nationwide. The CDC partnership also enables UIHI to develop Community Health Data Profiles, which help inform health programs, guide service delivery, and advocate for funding.
Seattle Indian Health Board, a federally qualified health center, depends on this program to sustain its Traditional Indian Medicine initiative, integrating Native healing practices into clinical care, supporting traditional practitioners, and providing access to Indigenous foods and medicines through an Indigenous garden.
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