Tribal EpiCenters

03/12/2021

Call for Native people to reject Johnson & Johnson vaccine alarming

Indian Country Today

Indian Country Today – Joint op-ed in response to Dr. Bruce Davidson’s op-ed, ‘Native communities should avoid the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for now’

AASTEC, Kevin English, DrPH, Director Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center
Abigail Echo-Hawk, Director Urban Indian Health Institute
Nick Hill, MPH, Director Data Coordinating Unit & Lead Epidemiologist, Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center
United South and Eastern Tribes Tribal Epidemiology Center
German Gonzalez, M.D., M.P.H., FACE. Director Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center – Medical Epidemiologist, Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council INC.
Victoria Warren-Mears, PhD, RDN, Director Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center
Inter Tribal Council of Arizona Tribal Epidemiology Center
March 12, 2021

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Tribal EpiCenters

02/16/2021

Pandemic Strengthens Calls for Indigenous Data Sovereignty

TEC News, TECs in the Media

The Regulatory Review

A federal bill that would expand data access for tribal health providers may not satisfy Native communities.

Despite a recent victory for Indigenous land rights, tribal communities are still fighting to regain control over another asset: their data.

Elle Rothermich
February 11, 2021

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Tribal EpiCenters

02/10/2021

Tribes are racing ahead of vaccination curve

TEC News, TECs in the Media

Indian Country Today

Indian Country Today – How is the Indian health system doing on vaccine distribution? “We’re doing better than most states and counties in the country,” said Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle.

By Joaqlin Estus
February 10, 2021

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Tribal EpiCenters

02/09/2021

Tribal health providers have figured out the key to Covid-19 vaccine success. Here’s their secret

TEC News, TECs in the Media

CNN – US

(CNN) – Native people have been disproportionately hit by Covid-19, experiencing higher rates of infection, hospitalization and death than White people in the US. But when it comes to vaccine administration, tribal health providers are often outpacing counties and states.

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN
February 9, 2021

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Tribal health providers have figured out the key to Covid-19 vaccine success. Here's their secret

Photo: Medical staff at the Northern Navajo Medical Center administering Covid-19 vaccines in Shiprock, New Mexico. The Navajo Nation has a higher vaccination rate than most states.

Tribal EpiCenters

02/04/2021

They Asked for PPE and Got Body Bags Instead—She Turned Them Into a Healing Dress

TEC News, TECs in the Media

Vogue – Fashion

In March, public health researcher Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee) and her colleagues at the Seattle Indian Health Board reached out to their local and federal partners for more PPE so they could continue serving Washington’s Native population. When they received a large package a few weeks later they were elated—until they opened it and found a stack of body bags inside.

By Cecilia Nowell
February 4, 2021

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They Asked for PPE and Got Body Bags Instead—She Turned Them Into a Healing Dress

Photo: Echo-Hawk’s dress worn by one of the staff members of the Urban Indian Health Institute.
Credit: Samuel Fu

Tribal EpiCenters

Tribal EpiCentersTuesday, February 17th, 2026 at 10:49am

“The ability to understand without condemnation, accept our friends and enemies in the light of their weaknesses, is something we must acquire early in life in order to find happiness in this world.”
– Elizabeth Peratrovich

Happy Elizabeth Peratrovich Day!

Each February 16, we celebrate Elizabeth Peratrovich (Ḵaax̱gal.aat), of the Tlingit Lukaax̱.ádi clan, Raven moiety, who changed Alaska forever.

When Alaska Native peoples faced signs reading "No Dogs, No Natives" and were denied basic rights, Elizabeth stepped forward as Grand President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood. Her powerful testimony led Governor Gruening to sign America's first anti-discrimination law on February 16, 1945 – 14 years before Alaska statehood and nearly 20 years before the Civil Rights Act.

We came upon this audio recording of a 1996 gathering to celebrate Elizabeth Peratrovich: bit.ly/3HUzNwI. It's part of SHI's Southeast Native Radio Recordings Collection. Speakers include Co-Masters-of-Ceremony Richard Stitt and Ethel Lund, Alaska Native Sisterhood's Selena Everson, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer, and Alaska Federation of Natives President Julie Kitka.

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