Rural Project Examples Addressing American Indian or Alaska Native

Care for Our Elders/Wakanki Ewastepikte

Updated/reviewed June 2024

Need: To provide Lakota elders with tools and opportunities for advance care planning.
Intervention: An outreach program in South Dakota helps Lakota elders with advance care planning and wills by providing bilingual brochures and advance directive coaches.
Results: Care for Our Elders saw an increase in the number of Lakota elders understanding the differences between a will and a living will and the need to have end-of-life discussions with family and healthcare providers.

Updated/reviewed December 2024

Need: To bring low-cost water and sanitation improvements to homes in Alaska Native villages without access to piped water or sewer systems.
Intervention: The Portable Alternative Sanitation System (PASS) treats hauled water, provides for handwashing with clean water, and disposes waste without traditional piping.
Results: Residents in the pilot project reported that PASS was cleaner and healthier than the self-haul method.

Added August 2024

Need: To improve oral health among the residents of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
Intervention: St. Francis Mission founded a dental clinic, staffed by volunteers from across the country, to offer free oral healthcare to residents of the Rosebud Reservation.
Results: The clinic typically offers 20 one-week clinics every year and has served 3,000 patients since transitioning to electronic records in 2021.

Updated/reviewed June 2024

Need: To address food insecurity and limited access to healthy foods among Indigenous elders living in tribal nations in Wisconsin.
Intervention: The Tribal Elder Food Box Program distributes biweekly boxes filled with culturally relevant, locally-sourced meat, produce, and shelf-stable foods to elders in all 11 federally recognized tribal nations in Wisconsin – 10 of which are located in rural areas.
Results: In 2023, the program distributed 28,500 boxes and purchased a majority of food products from Indigenous producers and growers.

Updated/reviewed January 2024

Need: To foster relationships with American Indian people in New Mexico to determine culturally appropriate practices in reducing nicotine addiction.
Intervention: NUPAC provides outreach, community programs, and cessation services.
Results: In fiscal year 2023, 1,333 QUIT NOW and DEJELO YA quit line enrollees stopped using tobacco.

Updated/reviewed December 2023

Need: Drowning was a leading cause of death for children in Alaska.
Intervention: Cold Water Safety and Survival for Educators workshops were developed in 1998, with help from a 4-year federal grant, to train educators to provide education and hands-on skills for school children and members of the public.
Results: The safety program was integrated into about 50% of Alaskan school curriculum and schools in other states, helping to train hundreds of educators and thousands of children on the importance of cold water safety.

Updated/reviewed May 2023

Need: To help adults and children in rural South Dakota prevent or manage their diabetes.
Intervention: The Facing Diabetes Project offered medical visits for adults and provided prevention and education sessions for the local 4th and 5th graders.
Results: Many adults and children in the region felt better equipped to choose healthy foods, exercise regularly, and manage their stress: all factors that can help prevent diabetes or decrease its effects.

Updated/reviewed March 2023

Need: Lack of access to oral healthcare for children from limited-income families in the rural and urban areas of South Dakota.
Intervention: Delta Dental of South Dakota launched the Delta Dental Mobile Program in 2004 to expand access to oral healthcare services to children throughout the rural state.
Results: The Delta Dental Mobile Program has provided over $38 million in dental care to more than 68,000 South Dakota children.

Updated/reviewed September 2022

Need: To reduce the shortage of behavioral health professionals in rural Nebraska.
Intervention: A week-long camp teaches high school students in rural and tribal communities about different career options in behavioral health and provides mentorship after the camp ends.
Results: In 2022, 10 high school students participated in the camp, and a former camper returned to present on their work in a psychology lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Updated/reviewed August 2022

Need: Since the late 1800s, trauma caused by historic events have greatly affected the way of life for Menominee Indians living on the Menominee Reservation. Economic, socioeconomic, behavioral health, and physical health issues have risen and are causing direct implications for Menominee youth.
Intervention: Through Fostering Futures, clinic, school, and Head Start/Early Head Start staff are trained in administering trauma-informed care and building resilience among children.
Results: Behavioral health visits at the Menominee Tribal Clinic have increased, school suspension rates have decreased, and graduation rates have improved from 60% to 94% since 2008.