Good Health & Wellness in Indian Country – CDC

“We look within to health and unite outwardly as we journey towards good health and wellness.”


 

Rick Wolfname

Rick Wolfname

RMTLC was awarded a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant: A Cultural Approach to Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country, Grant Number NU58DP007921, a 5-year grant (2024-2029) that supports comprehensive health and wellness initiatives with an approach on cultural and traditional practices, improving cultural and social connectedness among community members.
RMTLC’s approach is to provide funding, training, technical assistance, and evaluation support to all Tribes, Villages, and Tribal entities within the Rocky Mountain area to establish policy systems and environmental changes (PSE) that promote health and prevent chronic diseases and their risk factors.

 

Year 1 funded Tribes/Entities (2024-2025)
  1. Little Shell Tribal Health
  2. Rocky Boy Health Center
  3. Messengers for Health
  4. FAST Blackfeet
  5. Wind River Family and Community Care
  6. Eastern Shoshone Tribal Healt

Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) is a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded grant no. NU58DP006732 awarded to the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council (RMTLC). GHWIC’s goal is to support a coordinated, holistic approach to healthy living and chronic disease prevention, reinforce the work already underway in Indian Country to make healthy choices and lifeways easier for American Indians and Alaska Natives, and to build off the previous GHWIC cycle to emphasize strategies in Native communities, reduce obesity, prevent type 2 diabetes, reduce commercial tobacco use, and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke. The purpose of RMTLC GHWIC2 project is to a) increase the purchase of healthy foods and physical activity with an emphasis on walking, b) increase breastfeeding, c)    reduce prevalence of commercial tobacco use, d) reduce incidence of type 2 diabetes and e)  reduce the prevalence of high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

  • Strategy 1: Implement evidence-informed and culturally-adapted policy, system, and environmental changes to prevent obesity
  • Strategy 2: Implement evidence-informed and culturally-adapt policy, system, and environmental changes to prevent and  control commercial  tobacco use
  • Strategy 3: Implement evidence-informed and culturally-adapt community-clinical linkages to support type 2 diabetes prevention
  • Strategy 4: Implement evidence-informed and culturally-adapt community clinical linkages to support heart disease and stroke prevention

 

RMTLC GHWIC2 Component 2 Program Goals

  1. Provide funding, training, technical assistance, and evaluation support to tribal sub-awardees across all four C1 strategies;
  2. Expand the implementation of Component 1 strategies and activities through subawards;
  3. Provide technical assistance, training, and resources to sub-awardees to support the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of activities across all four C1 strategies;
  4. Assist sub-awardees in developing multi-sector partnerships with organizations to support C1 strategies and activities;
  5. Work with sub-awardees to develop and implement tailored health communication/messaging strategies to reach AI/AN populations at greatest risk for obesity, commercial tobacco use, type 2 diabetes, and/or heart disease and stroke in order to increase awareness and encourage healthier behaviors.

 

Long Term Goals:

  • Reduce Rates of death and disability from tobacco use by 5%; Reduce prevalence of obesity by 3%
  • Reduce rates of death and disability from diabetes, heart disease, and stroke by 3%

Key Partners

  • Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health Department
  • Windriver Cares-Northern Arapaho Tribe
  • Fort Belknap Tribal Health Department
  • Blackfeet Agriculture Resource Management Program
  • Southern Peigan Health Center
  • Little Shell Tribal Health Tobacco Program
  • Billings Urban Indian Health & Wellness
  • Blackfeet Southern Peigan Health Center
  • Fort Belknap Tribal Health Department
  • Little Shell Tribe – Tobacco Program
  • Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health Department
  • Wild Rose Center – Northern Cheyenne
  • FAST Blackfeet (Food Access and Sustainability Project)
  • Blackfeet Agriculture Resource Management Program
  • Billings Urban Indian Health & Wellness Center
  • Wind River Cares  – Northern Arapaho
  • Rocky Boy Health Center
  • Little Shell Tribe – Chronic Disease Program
  • Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health Department
  • Wind River Cares – Northern Arapaho Tribe
  • Rocky Boy Health Center
  • Fast Blackfeet (Food Access and Sustainability Program)
  • Fort Belknap Tribal Health Department
  • Little Shell Tribe – Chronic Disease Program
  • Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health Department
  • Wind River Cares – Northern Arapaho Tribe
  • Rocky Boy Health Center
  • Fast Blackfeet (Food Access and Sustainability Program)
  • Little Shell Tribe – Chronic Disease Program
  • Eastern Shoshone Tribal Health Department
  • Wind River Cares – Northern Arapaho Tribe
  • Rocky Boy Health Center
  • Fast Blackfeet (Food Access and Sustainability Program)

Resiliency Toolkit

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GHWIC offers resources to tribal health entities.

Key Staff

Sonya Bigleggins

GHWIC Program Director

Ada Bends

Program Manager