The Department of Justice Journal of Federal Law and Practice recently published “American Indian and Alaska Native Knowledge and Public Health for the Primary Prevention of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons” as part of their March 2021 issue. The article applies a violence prevention and public health approach to discuss the role public health can play in addressing and preventing the prevalence of missing or murdered Indigenous persons. Read the article here (beginning on page 149).

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program (THSGP) is one of three grant programs that constitute the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) focus on enhancing the ability of state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments, as well as nonprofits, to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks. These grant programs are part of a comprehensive set of measures authorized by Congress and implemented by DHS to help strengthen the nation’s communities against potential terrorist attacks. Among the five basic homeland security missions noted in the DHS Strategic Plan, the THSGP supports the goal to Strengthen National Preparedness and Resilience. Read more here.

Applications due Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 5:00 PM ET

The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (JHCAIH) is currently accepting scholarship applications from American Indian and Alaska Native scholars, health leaders, health professionals, and paraprofessionals serving Tribal communities to attend their Virtual Summer Institute. The Summer Institute features three courses related to collecting and analyzing public health data, early childhood research, and research ethics in the context of Native American communities. Course descriptions are available here. To access the scholarship application, read more here. For questions, please contact Anna Sundbo, (612) 247-4049, [email protected] or Olivia Trujillo, (480)276-2768, [email protected].

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced $250 million from the American Rescue Plan to develop and support a community-based workforce who will serve as trusted messengers, increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence, and address any barriers to vaccination for individuals living in vulnerable and medically underserved communities. This funding will help community-based organizations to hire and mobilize community outreach workers, community health workers, social support specialists, and others to conduct on-the-ground outreach to educate and assist individuals in getting the information they need about vaccination, help make vaccine appointments, and assist with transportation and other needs to get individuals to each of their vaccination appointments. Read more here.

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) has a scholarship opportunity available for Tribal infection control officers and health officials to complete online infection control training courses. Scholarship funds can also be used to complete the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiologists (CBIC) certification exam. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. For additional information, contact Carmen Sanders at [email protected]. For the application, read more here.

Job descriptions are available at www.nihb.org.

“Dementia Capable Systems and Dementia Friendly Communities”, the fourth online learning module in A Public Health Approach to Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias, is now available. The module describes the concepts of dementia capable systems and dementia-friendly communities, both of which involve systems and infrastructure needed to accommodate the needs of a population with memory loss, and a variety of related physical, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms, as well as other comorbidities. Read more here.

The Tribal Self Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium has released communication tools to help combat vaccine hesitancy in Tribal communities including:

All materials are available for public use including the videos, one-pager on the vaccines, and social media images. Check back as more materials will be rolled out in the series. To access the communications tools, read more here.

The National Indian Health Board is committed to serving Tribal Nations in response to the coronavirus outbreak. We welcome your requests and feedback. Contact Courtney Wheeler at [email protected] or 202-507-4081.

Today! May 6, 2021 from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET

The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (JHCAIH) is hosting a webinar today to discuss the Bloomberg Fellows Program, which provides world-class public health training to individuals in organizations tackling critical challenges facing the United States. The panel of speakers features both public health faculty members and Bloomberg Fellows with experience working with Tribal nations. Register here.

Join the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, Native Roots Radio, and the We Can Do This Campaign for “Keeping the Circle Strong: We Can Do This Indian Country”, a Montana Region town hall in which Tribal leadership, community advocates, and health experts will talk about the COVID-19 pandemic and the available vaccines in Indian Country. Come prepared with questions and watch it live on Facebook or on Youtube. Read more here.

The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation will host the “Achieving Health Equity – What’s Next?” webinar on Friday, May 21 from 2:00 – 3:15 PM Eastern Time. The COVID-19 pandemic placed a spotlight on the shocking health disparities that American communities of color have endured for decades and underscored the need for change. Mortality rates linked to COVID-19 for Native Americans, Latinos and Black Americans are approximately double those of White Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the nation recovers, health experts are taking a close look at addressing the health inequities that contributed to this situation and ensuring that it does not happen again. For this webinar, the National Indian Health Board's CEO, Stacy A. Bohlen, along with other leaders in public health will discuss key issues that harm health in America’s Indigenous, Black and Latino communities, as well as solutions. Read more here.

For more information, including registration details, click here.