American Indian Health Research and Education Alliance, Inc.

Indigenous Role Model: Dr. Nadine Caron, from Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, is Canada’s first female First Nations general surgeon. She leads the Northern Biobank Initiative, which aims to preserve tissue samples from medical procedures. This initiative aims to facilitate equitable access to genomic research on diseases such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer and thyroid cancer for people in northern British Columbia, including members of First Nations communities. In recognition of her exceptional work, she received the Dr. Thomas Dignan Indigenous Health Award from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2016

Photo credit: UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health

Healthy Living

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month! Recent research has shown that 54% of older American Indians have cognitive impairment, including 10% with dementia. This can be caused by untreated high blood pressure and diabetes. Make sure you take care of your high blood pressure and diabetes!

Photo credit: https://www.alzheimersblog.org/2020/11/23/supporting-native-american-elders-living-with-dementia/

Healthy Living

A recent study of urban American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents found that they had poor sleep quality, which is associated with many health problems, including increased depression and anxiety. Talk to your kids about the importance of getting a good night's sleep today!

Photo credit: HEALIO

Indigenous Activism

The Women's Memorial March is held every February 14th in the US and Canada to honor missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. It began in 1992 followng the murder of Cheryl Ann Joe (Shíshálh Nation) in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia. Jessica McDiarmid has written a heartwrenching account of the beginning of this movement in Highway of Tears (2019, Atria Books). Read it to learn more.

Photo credit: https://hashilthsa.com/news/2023-02-13/memorial-march-honour-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-girls-and-gender

Healthy Living

Today is National Hepatitis Testing Day. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver causes by many different things. American Indian and Alaska Native people are 3.4 times more likely to die from hepatitis C than non-Hispanic whites. Hepatitis C is caused by a virus and is treatable! Get tested today!

Photo credit: New York Indian Council

Indigenous Role Model: Cheryl Horn or Magazu Nahzi (Standing in the Rain) is an Assiniboine woman from Fort Belknap, Montana, and an activist and advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). For her work with this movement, she was awarded the USA Today National Woman of the Year Award in 2022. Her focus is on healing and hope for the future. Who do you know who has made an impact in the MMIW movement?

Photo credit: Western Native Voice

Healthy Living

Today is National Women's Checkup Day. American Indian and Alaska Native women consistently have rates of Pap smears (a test for cervical cancer) well below the national average. If you are one of those women who has been putting this important test off, schedule your appointment today! Share this post with all the women in your life!

Photo credit: American Indian Cancer Foundation