Tribal Practices for Wellness in Indian Country

ESSAY — Volume 16 — July 25, 2019

Nancy S. Andrade, MPA1; Marita Jones, MPH2; Shelley M. Frazier, MPH2; Chris Percy, MD2; Miguel Flores Jr, LISAC, CSOTS3; Ursula E. Bauer, PhD, MPH1 (View author affiliations)

Suggested citation for this article: Andrade NS, Jones M, Frazier SM, Percy C, Flores M Jr, Bauer UE. Tribal Practices for Wellness in Indian Country. Prev Chronic Dis 2019;16:180660. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd16.180660.

On This Page

Expanding Understanding of Tribal Practices that Keep People Well

For American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and communities, cultural and traditional teachings and practices are important protective factors that provide their people with strength and resilience to lead healthful lives. Tribal leaders have expressed that these practices are not widely understood by federal agencies, and often are not supported with financial and technical resources. Tribes may choose not to apply for government funding opportunities because the practices that work best for their populations are not described in the funding announcement. In February 2015, the Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) recommended that CDC convene a group of knowledgeable cultural advisors to increase understanding of the role of tribal practices to support physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The purpose was to craft specific language to include in CDC’s funding opportunities to support implementation of these practices.