NCAI 2021-2022 NATIVE GRADUATE HEALTH FELLOWS

The NCAI Native Graduate Health Fellowship is a program that “aims to build a pipeline of Native health professionals who can support tribal sovereignty and who are prepared to lead in promoting health policies and practices that address the unique needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives,” (ncai.org). The Fellowship is supported and sustained by American Indian and Alaska Native Living publisher Robert Burnette and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 2020, three Fellows were accepted and their reflections on their experiences are shared below.

Lexus Williams

Lexus Williams is a wellness coach and a certified peer recovery support specialist. She says, “I am sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of the NCAI's Native Graduate Health Fellowship for the year 2021. With the generous support provided by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Williams is completing her master's degree in human health, recreation, and performance at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. Williams adds, “Once this is achieved, I will continue on to pursue my doctorate in health and human performance. Although my original educational and career pathway intentions included the completion of my doctorate in dental surgery, I recently had a realization of the need in Tribal Nations for substance misuse services and peer recovery support. With that understanding, I have made the decision to pursue a new route in my career path to better serve our Tribal citizens and Nation.

“As a Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma Native and administration professional, it is of my utmost desire to impact the strength of Tribal Nations by focusing on the improvement of health and well-being services available to Native families. This fellowship provided me with a professional foundation of development in Tribal health policy that will be utilized and expanded as I further my education and career in Tribal health services.

Finally, Williams declares, “It is an honor to represent my Tribal community and future leaders in Native healthcare at a national level.”

Lexus Williams

Kianna Holian

Kianna Holian (Cochiti Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, Navajo Nation)

Kianna is a first generation graduate from the Pueblos of Cochiti and Jemez from her mother’s side and Dine from her father’s side. She graduated from the University of New Mexico (UNM) in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Population Health. She currently works to support the Tribes, Pueblos, and Nations of New Mexico by increasing civic engagement in the local and state elections. Kianna is a 2019 Udall Foundation Native Healthcare Scholar and was recognized by UNM with the Clauve Outstanding Senior and American Indian Student Services Awards. She is passionate about understanding health disparities and implementing holistic health initiatives among Native American communities. Her career goal is to work in collaboration with Tribal leaders to provide better healthcare services for people in rural and urban areas. Ms. Holian will continue her education at Northern Arizona University in pursuit of a Master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in Health Promotion and Indigenous Health.

Richard Montegue

Jordon Begay

Richard Montegue is a first-generation college student. As an enrolled member of the Quechan Indian Nation in Ft. Yuma, AZ, he says his “greatest life’s honor was to serve my community by volunteering my knowledge and experience as an appointed member to the Quechan Health Board, the Quechan Legislative Committee, the Quechan Education Board and serving as student representative on the National Executive Board of The National Native Alaskan Native American Indian Nurses Association. I am also a traditional Quechan Bird Singer.”

Richard was a Nurse Researcher in his last year of his doctoral program and taught undergraduate nursing students. He helped design a graduate level end-of-life course for Arizona State University Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation that assists in awarding clinical end-of-life certification. My clinical, advocacy, and professional work centers around “end-oflife care for our most vulnerable, precious older Native Americans and Alaskan Natives.” He has “extensive experience helping Native peoples at end-of-life in the Phoenix Metropolitan area,” where built and managed “hospice agencies that facilitate the needs of the Native American and Alaskan Native community while in palliative and end-of-life care in urban and rural communities.” Richard’s current research “examines the communication barriers found in Native Americans and Alaskan Natives at end-of-life and their associated health, environmental, and psychosocial issues. My goal is to increase the amount of evidence-based research that will influence policy to improve the unique trust relationships found across Indian Country. And my greatest hope is that elder Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are treated respectfully and adequately at endof-life or while in palliative care. I am honored to be a NCAI Graduate Healthcare Fellow.”

Richard Montegue

Jordon Begay is a tribal member of the Navajo Nation. Jordon is of the Deer Spring Bitter Water clan and born for the Towering House clan. His maternal grandfathers are of the Holy People Red Running into the Water clan. His paternal grandfathers are of the Tangle People clan. Jordon is a candidate for his Doctor of Health Sciences degree.

Greetings and blessings! The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is pleased to share that we are hosting our National Tribal Public Health Summit 2022 virtually from May 9 – 12, 2022. The summit will explore Tribal public health policy and its impact on Tribes. It serves as a forum for practitioners, researchers, and policy experts to mobilize in the arenas of public, behavioral, and environmental health. The summit highlights emerging, promising, best, and evidenced-based practices, developed by Tribes for Tribes. Special guest speakers and workshop session presenters will focus on topics relevant to this year's theme, "Tribal Health IS Public Health." On behalf of NIHB, we are asking you to generously sponsor the virtual conference. Also, through your sponsorship, you are supporting the work NIHB does for all federally recognized Tribal Nations. As a National Tribal Public Health Summit 2022 sponsor, you have the opportunity to reach more than 700 leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native health. That support helps NIHB advocate for Tribal health at the highest levels of national policy making. Always protecting sovereignty and advancing the trust responsibility, we work on legislation, law, regulations, programs, and policies that impact Tribal health and we bring opportunity to Tribes. American Indian and Alaska Native peoples are amongst those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. NIHB did everything possible to assist Tribal nations in mitigating the impact of COVID-19. NIHB retooled its entire staff to serve Tribal communities in innovative and strategic ways.

For example, in the summer of 2020, NIHB launched the Act of Love Campaign, which seeks to protect our elders, youth, and other vulnerable community members by educating Indian Country about the importance of vaccinations, hand washing, social distancing, and educating others about the importance of these Acts of Love. NIHB is committed to reinforcing that these critical protective measures are not politically driven--they are sacred acts and, therefore, Acts of Love.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the many health disparities that impact Indian Country. It is more important than ever that NIHB continues its mission to achieve the highest level of health and well-being for American Indian and Alaska Native people. To fulfill its mission, NIHB engages in advocacy, outreach and education, and capacity building initiatives, including: • Advocating for Advanced Appropriations for Indian health. • Securing continued funding for the Special Diabetes Program for Indians. • Realizing Tribal funding set-asides in Congressional pandemic relief packages. • Advocating to advance Tribal Public Health Partnerships in Congress by establishing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tribal Advisory Committee in statute and securing dedicated funding to Tribes for public health infrastructure and capacity development • Being a leader in American Indian and Alaska Native behavioral health by championing trauma-informed healing practices, leading efforts to end behavioral health block grants, and advocating for the update of the National Tribal Behavioral Health Agenda. • Securing Tribal opioid response funding, Tribal HIV and Hepatitis C funding, public health infrastructure and capacity funding, behavioral health grants, and emergency preparedness grants. • Supporting Tribal leaders who serve on federal Tribal Advisory Committees across all operating divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and working to ensure that those committees are Tribally-driven.

If you care about these issues and think they are worth fighting for: support NIHB. If you want to make sure that Congress and the federal government understand and support the Trust responsibility for our health care: support NIHB. If you care about advocating to increase funding for Tribal public health programs: support NIHB. Our fight is your fight. Our victories are your victories. NIHB continues to fight every day for our People’s health care and advocate for health system and public health funding. NIHB is your health care warrior in the Nation’s Capital.Due to reduced conference registration fee and no travel burden, the virtual conference platform expands the opportunity for more attendees to access this important forum for learning and collaboration. By becoming an official sponsor, your organization will receive a key opportunity to showcase your support for Tribal public health. More information is linked below and you can also learn more at www.nihb.org.

If you have any questions, need further information, or would like to commit support, please feel free to reach out to NIHB’s Development Manager and Board Liaison, Jennifer Speight at (202) 945-7037 or jspeight@nihb.org.

With Gratitude,

William Smith, Valdez Native Tribe Chairperson National Indian Health Board