When Stephanie Russo Carroll, a citizen of the Native Village of Kluti-Kaah in Alaska, set out to earn her doctorate in tribal health 15 years ago, she focused her research on tribal cultural and health programs within six tribes.

By Nada Hassanein
March 28, 2025

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Data quality for and about American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people is undermined by deeply entrenched, colonial practices that have become standard in US federal data systems. This article draws on cases of maternal mortality and COVID-19 to demonstrate the ethical and clinical need for inclusive, diverse, and accurate data when researching AI/AN health trends.

By Abigail Echo-Hawk, MA, Sofia Locklear, PhD, Sarah McNally, MPH, Lannesse Baker, MPH, and Sacena Gurule, MPA
January 2, 2025

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Abigail Echo-Hawk refuses to let our Indigenous peoples be overlooked. Her journey, from Seattle Indian Health Board patient to its executive vice president, is inspiring. And her record—including getting 98% of American Indians and Alaska Natives in King County vaccinated for COVID-19—is impressive.

By Patty Murray
October 2, 2024

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Key points:

• In 2022, 1,543 non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native people died by overdose, which was the highest rate of any racial or ethnic group.
• CDC’s Division of Injury Prevention appropriated $18 million in tribal overdose funding in fiscal year 2023.
• The CDC Injury Center is committed to comprehensive efforts to address the opioid crisis in tribal and urban Indian communities.

CDC Injury Center
September 6, 2024

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It’s not easy to make public health decisions without access to good data. And epidemiologists and public health workers for Native American communities say they’re often in the dark because state and federal agencies restrict their access to the latest numbers.

Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
September 2, 2024

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