Weekly News, Funding, Resources, and Upcoming Events in Indian Country

July 2, 2020

National Tribal Air Association Releases 2020 Status of Tribal Air Report

The National Tribal Air Association’s (NTAA) 2020 report on the Status of Tribal Air is now available. The annual report examines air monitoring and quality in Tribal jurisdictions, analyzes federal budgetary appropriations for Tribal air programs, and provides recommendations for air quality.

Air quality is linked to a number of health and social outcomes. Poor air quality has been associated with an increased incidence of respiratory diseases, heart disease, and reduced academic performance for students.

Read the report here.

AI/AN Males Twice as Likely to Have TBI-related ED Visits Than AI/AN Females

A recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed the incidence rate for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) over a 10-year period (2005-2014) for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and adults. The CDC found that males and individuals aged 18-34 years and 75 years and older had the highest rates of TBI-related emergency department (ED) visits. Of these visits, unintentional falls and assaults were leading causes. Read more here.

Summary of NIHB Funding Opportunities for Tribes Now Available

To better assist Tribal governments, consortiums, and organizations with locating funding, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) has assembled a comprehensive document summarizing all of our current funding opportunities. The table can be found on our Funding & Opportunities web page.

2020 NIH Virtual Summer Enrichment Program

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is hosting an online summer enrichment program. To help you sharpen your science skills and develop both professionally and personally, NIH has worked with Institutes and Centers and Training Offices to develop a summer-long series of activities. These online offerings will focus on the exciting science done at the NIH and on important career and professional development topics for students at all educational levels. Students can choose to participate in career development series for high school or college students, series on preparation for graduate or professional school, wellness activities, and a scientific skills series. Take a look at all the program offerings. Read more here.

Duke-UNC Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training Program

The Duke-UNC Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training Program is now making its program available as a virtual, web-based experience. The program will be a combination of interactive video classes and online self-paced training. The next training is fall 2020, dates to be announced soon.  Read more here.

Infection Prevention & Control: Project Firstline Survey

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating on an infection prevention and control (IPC) training initiative for frontline Tribal healthcare facility personnel. In order for this initiative to be as responsive to the needs of Tribal healthcare workers and the Tribal health system as possible, we are asking you to complete this survey on IPC training interests, needs, and preferences. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Responses will be used to inform decisions on the development and delivery of training and capacity building efforts to ensure it best meets the needs of you and your colleagues. The survey link will be “live” until the survey receives 10,000 responses. Thank you for your time and all you do to keep your colleagues and patients safe. Read more here.

Funding Opportunity: Building Tribal Provider and Patient Capacity for Addressing Opioid Misuse Prevention and Treatment

Applications due Friday, July 3, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is pleased to announce Building Tribal Provider and Patient Capacity for Addressing Opioid Misuse Prevention and Treatment made possible through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The funding will provide an opportunity to increase the level of programming, research, policy development, coordination, and/or communication between Tribal programs, leadership, community, and key partners involved in addressing the health consequences of the opioid epidemic. Read more here.

Tribal Colleges and Universities Implementation Activities or Feasibility Study for Dental Therapy Training Programs 2020-2021

Applications Due: Monday, July 20, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET

Grant code: DHAT 1-TCU

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is offering a funding opportunity for Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to implement projects to develop a stronger and more reliant workforce for oral health care in Indian Country. The NIHB will provide 2 subawards to two different TCUs of $15,000 each. Apply here.

Tribes and Tribal Organization Implementation of Dental Health Aide Therapy 2020-2021

Applications Due: Monday, July 20, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET

Grant code: DHAT 2-IMPL

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is offering a funding opportunity for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes and Tribal organizations to support the implementation of state dental therapy laws in Tribal settings. The subawards will support projects to implement dental therapy in Tribal communities in states that have a legal mechanism for dental therapists to practice within the Indian health system. The NIHB will provide funds for up to 3 subawards of $25,000 each. Apply here.

Tribes and Tribal Organization Education and Outreach Programs for Dental Health Aide Therapy 2020-2021

Applications Due: Monday, July 20, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET

Grant code: DHAT 3- EDU_OUT

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is offering a funding opportunity for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes and Tribal organizations to strengthen efforts and launch new targeted efforts to enhance federal, state, and Tribal policies supportive of dental therapy within the Indian health system. The NIHB will provide funds for up to 3 subawards of $25,000 each. Apply here.

Please send completed applications to [email protected] with the grant code in the subject line.

IHS Tribal Management Grant Funding Opportunity

Applications due Monday, August 24, 2020

The Tribal Management Grant (TGM) Program is a competitive grant program that is capacity building and developmental in nature and has been available for federally-recognized Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations (T/TOs). The TMG Program provides competitive grants to T/TOs to: Establish goals and performance measures for current health programs; assess current management capacity to determine if new components are appropriate; analyze programs to determine if a T/TO’s management is practicable; and develop infrastructure systems to manage or organize programs, functions, services, and activities . Read more here.

Funding Opportunity: Supporting Tribes to Increase Commercial Tobacco Cessation

Applications due Friday, August 28, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is pleased to announce Supporting Tribes to Increase Commercial Tobacco Cessation, a funding opportunity for Tribal governments, Tribal health departments, and Tribal health care facilities/health systems seeking to implement projects to increase commercial tobacco cessation, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) cessation and ‘quit smoking’ attempts by promoting evidence-based services and activities, and/or adapting evidence-based health systems changes.  Read more here.

Call for Tribal COVID-19 Resources

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is seeking to create a pool of resources which Tribes can access when planning or implementing their own COVID-19 response.  To this end, NIHB is asking Tribes to share with us any tools, operational plans, guides, policies, communication products, etc. that has helped your Tribe combat this pandemic.  The materials can be de-identified, if needed. These resources will be placed online within NIHB’s COVID-19 Tribal Response Center alongside other community health materials. We hope this aids Tribes to build on successes and support each other in the collective effort to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on Indian Country. 



To submit any materials or resources, please email Courtney Wheeler ([email protected]). If you have any questions, please contact Courtney Wheeler. 

Recording Now Available:  Health Education & Communication in Indian Country, A Climate and Health Learning Community Event

Please  click here to view a recording of a webinar hosted by the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) on June 23, 2020: Health Education and Communication in Indian Country. This webinar was presented by Hannabah Blue with the JSI Research and Training Institute, and discussed best practices in conducting health education and communication in Indian Country; tools and resources that Tribal health professionals have used successfully; and how COVID-19 and other barriers can be overcome to ensure Tribal public health professionals can connect and engage with community members successfully.

Increasing Capacity During COVID-19: 5 Tips to Streamline Partnership Development

With an increased demand for public health departments to perform more testing and contact tracing, some health departments are turning to cross-jurisdictional sharing (CJS) to increase their resource capacity. Gianfranco Pezzino, Director of the Center for Sharing Public Health Services, has offered five tips to help plan and implement CJS arrangements to expand COVID-19 response operations. Read more here.

John Hopkins Center for American Indian Health Summer Institute Courses

The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health is offering three summer courses to introduce Indigenous health leaders to public health approaches to address health disparities in Tribal communities. These courses include:



Read more here.

COVID-19 Resources:

COVID-19 Contact

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.

COVID-19 Event: COVID-19 Contact Tracing in Indian Country

Friday, July 10, 2020 at 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is hosting a webinar on contact tracing in Indian Country. Case investigation and contact tracing are core methods used by Tribal, local, and state health departments for disease control and is a key strategy in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Contact tracing is used to identify and alert people of potential contact with a person infected with the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. This webinar will explore how contact tracing is being carried out in Indian Country. Register here.

Project Firstline Infection Prevention & Control Listening Sessions

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating on an infection prevention and control (IPC) training initiative for frontline Tribal healthcare facility personnel. In order for this initiative to be as responsive to the needs of Tribal healthcare workers and the Tribal health system as possible, NIHB will be holding a series national listening sessions with front line Tribal healthcare workers.



The purpose of the listening sessions is gather feedback from frontline workers and relevant stakeholders, for frontline staff to share their experience and opinions on what types of IPC trainings would be valuable, how best to host those trainings, as well other types of training materials would be useful. Input from the listening sessions will be used to inform the content and delivery of core trainings, products, and outreach. The three listening sessions will be on:



Read more here.