Date and Time
Thursday, April 18, 2019 from 3-4 pm ET
(Event begins at 2 pm CT, 1 pm MT, 12 pm PT, and 11 am AK time)
Description
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is pleased to announce an upcoming webinar: Enhancing Relationships between Tribal and State Governments.
Cross-jurisdictional collaboration between Tribes and states is critical, especially during an environmental health crisis, which oftentimes forces different entities to work together towards a common goal. Having a positive existing relationship and effective communication channels is vital to a successful response. During this webinar, participants will hear from both Tribal and state health department representatives that are taking a proactive approach to collaboration by convening in-person Tribal environmental health summits. These summits have offered Tribal elders, members, and health department staff an opportunity to meet, exchange resources and build trust with counterparts at state health departments. Presenters will share how they came together to build communication bridges, identify environmental health challenges impacting Tribal communities, jointly host these summits, and ultimately identify culturally appropriate strategies to
collaboratively mitigate those challenges. Additionally, Swinomish elder and
Community Health Specialist Larry Campbell will share his experiences and stories working for his community in the field and will also describe how environmental health is defined by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
NIHB is honored to welcome the following individuals as presenters:
- Larry Campbell (Swinomish Indian Tribal Community), Community Health Specialist, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community - Department of Social Services
- Jackie Dionne (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), American Indian Health Director, Minnesota Department of Health
- Heather Walker (Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and descendant of the Quinault, Yakama, and Cowlitz Tribes), Cultural Resources Coordinator, Office of Drinking Water, Washington State Department of Health
Please come prepared to ask questions or share your own insights and experiences! The learning community is focused on knowledge exchange and members are encouraged to share information and build relationships with each other and the presenters.
This webinar is hosted as part of the Climate and Health Learning Community and is open to the public. Anyone is also invited to join the
learning community to receive information about future events. Signing up for the webinar will add you automatically to the learning community listserv. The learning community is part of the
Climate Ready Tribes initiative, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Each person who attends at least two learning community webinars will earn a professional development certificate.
Audience
This webinar is open to any interested person, but is likely most relevant for anyone who works in state or local health departments or Tribal communities, particularly if seeking to improve state/local-Tribal collaboration, or if working on environmental health or climate change.
Learning Objectives
- Relate the benefits of jointly planning and hosting an in-person Tribal environmental health summit as described by the presenters.
- Provide examples of how multi-stakeholder cross jurisdictional summits can lead to positive outcomes in Tribal environmental health.
- Describe the unique and valuable intermediary role of “State Tribal Liaisons,” mindful of historic and cultural differences.
Presenters
Heather Walker
Cultural Resources Coordinator, Office of Drinking Water, Washington State Department of Health
Heather is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and descendant of the Quinault, Yakama, and Cowlitz Tribes. Heather works at the Washington State Department of Health overseeing the cultural, historic, and environmental compliance in the Office of Drinking Water. She also serves on multiple advisory commissions and committees within her Tribe, local, state, and federal governments. She lives by a value passed down over many generations: “Each and every one is important and not one is unimportant.” Heather is a graduate of The Evergreen State College and Tacoma Community College’s Tribal Enterprise and Gaming Management program.
Jackie Dionne
American Indian Health Director, Minnesota Department of Health
Jackie is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe. While she has worked at the state-level to improve the health of Minnesotans for over twelve years, she currently serves as the Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) first Director of American Indian Health/Tribal Liaison. In this role, she works closely with the MDH commissioner to support collaboration around American Indian health initiatives throughout MDH. Prior to this position, Jackie served as an American Indian aging services specialist at the Minnesota Board on Aging. Jackie has over 20 years of experience working with various Minneapolis American Indian non-profits.
Larry Campbell
Community Health Specialist, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community – Department of Social Services
Larry is the Community Health Specialist in the Swinomish Community Environmental Health Program. He has been involved for 35 years in Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in cultural resources, governmental committees, intergovernmental affairs, public relations, community development, spiritual traditions, and cultural activities. Larry is a distinguished Swinomish Tribal elder. For the past 25 years, the greater part of Larry’s work has involved the interrelationships between Tribal, local, regional, national, and international governmental programs. He has presented numerous times on inter-governmental relations, and cultural, spiritual, and historical issues. He works closely with Dr. Jamie Donatuto in developing and pilot-testing health indicators responsive to indigenous health, a project that Larry and Jamie have been collaborating on for nearly 20 years.
