Honoring Health and Tradition in Minneapolis

The Native American Community Clinic (NACC), located at 1213 East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, opened its doors in 2003 to address the health disparities within the urban Native American community of the Twin Cities. Their mission is to promote the health and wellness of mind, body, and spirit of Native American families, and offer a full range of healthcare services that include medical, behavioral health, dental, and substance abuse programs. The clinic has six medical providers, five behavioral health providers, five chemical dependency providers, two dental providers and two spiritual care provider elders in residence. Approximately 4,700 patients were seen in the clinic in 2021. The clinic provides high quality care regardless of ability to pay, and all individuals are welcome. NACC combines behavioral, medical, dental, and social services with traditional medicine. The clinic has blended an Indigenous traditional healing model with a Western biomedical one since its inception. NACC strives to honor health and tradition by providing spiritual care and access to traditional healing through their Elders in Residence. To promote traditional medicines and teachings, the traditional healing committee planted sage in the wolf garden outside the clinic. Sage is used for smudging within the clinic and is given to community members. The clinic has also planted tobacco, sweetgrass, cedar and other traditional medicines around the clinic to provide teachings and to be used by community members. The clinic has a wholistic approach to health care, addressing root causes of health disparities including access to food, housing, and health insurance with services such as resource navigation, care coordination, outreach, and community-based activities through the use of our peer recovery coaches and community health workers. They offer a wide range of health promotion programs and assistance targeted to the individual needs of their patients and community, such as consultation with a Medication Team Management Pharmacist, outreach by their community health nurse and community health worker, home blood pressure monitors and home A1c monitors, reminder messages to keep up to date on follow-up appointments and laboratory tests, and even YMCA memberships for patients participating in other disease management programs. A wide range of health education classes are offered that include Native American values and traditions and the clinic provides traditional medicine-related workshops that provide supplies and demonstrations. NACC partners with Community Health Worker Services Made Easy Solutions to assess and assist patients with social determinants of health that impact ability to manage their conditions. NACC’s Patient Advocates are trained to assist patients who are facing social and economic barriers, and can assist with obtaining and navigating medical insurance, housing and shelter referrals, food shelf referrals, assistance with Medicare questions, medical transportation, chemical dependency treatment referrals, tribal benefit information, as well as emergency and crisis support referrals.

NACC provides access to traditional medicines such as sage bundles and our Traditional Medicine Garden where we grow sage, cedar, sweetgrass, and tobacco.

Sage bundle for smudging.

In addition, the clinic offers mobile medical services to the community, including diabetic eye exams, mammography and cancer screening education, and navigation assistance. Behavioral health is an integral component of the clinic, working in coordination with the medical providers. The behavioral health team provides individual, couples and family therapy, group therapy, assessment and support for ADD/ ADHD, depression and anxiety, grief and loss, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. In addition, NAAC offers several unique substance abuse treatment programs in partnership with the Red Lake Nation. They provide a heroin and opioid addiction program that includes daily dosing, harm reduction services, spiritual care, mental health care, nurse care coordination, and drug and alcohol counseling. An intensive outpatient program is also offered, which is rooted in indigenous

NACC outreach staff, along with community partners, have been doing monthly popup events in unsheltered communities to provide telehealth services, HIV testing, and COVID-19 vaccinations. spiritual practices and offers a culturally-centered approach to treating substance use disorders. This program includes individualized programming with a gradual step-down, daily prayer and cultural teachings by NACC’s Elder in Residence, medication assisted treatment, health education, relapse prevention, individual, family and group therapy, and peer recovery support. NACC is a unique and dynamic partner to the Native American community in Minneapolis. Native children are far more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts. Rates of diabetes, obesity, and asthma are all significantly higher in the Native population than in any other racial or ethnic group. Life expectancies are lower for Native people in this state than for any other racial or ethnic group. Native adults in Minnesota are more likely to die of overdose (five times), liver disease (three times) and suicide (four times) than their white counterparts. These disparities are the result of generational trauma and lack of access to opportunity, education, and health care and the consequences of decades of failed policies aimed at “solving the Indian problem” and assimilating Indigenous people and eliminating our culture. NACC’s philosophy is based on the simple premise of being a good relative—our approach to providing care is rooted in love for our community, respect for our patients, and the principles of harm reduction. The data is clear that this model works, and we are moving the needle on a wide range of metrics. It is time for us to bring our small-but-mighty clinic to scale. NACC is determined to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the health of our community. A Capital Campaign is underway to enable expansion of the following patient and community health focused areas: • Beyond testing and vaccines:

COVID-19 Care and Recovery • Increased implementation of telehealth • Expanded mother and child health • Broadened school-based programs • Augmented children’s mental health services • Increased HIV and MAT programs • Expanded Chemical Health Programs • Pharmacy Services • Integrated pediatric care clinic for medical, dental, and mental health services • Housing support and wrap-around services for individuals and families To learn more about the clinic, visit our website: nacc-healthcare.org.

Antony Stately, PhD, (Ojibwe/Oneida) received his PhD in clinical psychology from California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in 1997. He currently is the Executive Officer and President for the Native American Community Clinic in south Minneapolis, which provides primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services to the Twin Cities Native American community. He formerly worked as the Director of Behavioral Health Programs at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, MN. He has served as a consultant and advisor to the CDC, HRSA, SAMHSA, the Native American AIDS Prevention Center (NAAPC), the US-Mexico Border Health Association (PAHO/WHO), and numerous NGOs and nonprofits delivering health services to tribal and indigenous communities nationally and internationally.