Healthy Nations Initiative Evaluation: The Stories and Lessons of Fighting Substance Abuse in Native American Communities

Abstract

In this program, tribes and urban American Indian organizations were invited to submit proposals for projects to address their high-priority health problems, emphasizing activities to prevent illness and injury and to improve the health of infants, children, youth, and the elderly. Although the 15 grantees selected in Healthy Nations were a diverse group, ranging from the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina to the Norton Sound Health Corporation in Alaska, there were many similarities in their strategies. The grantees' prevention worldview began with "culture" including its dynamic for community acceptance. Program mobilization followed a "recreation" (most frequently based on traditional activities) strategy targeting youth and families. This report will present the stories of these grantees—their successes, the obstacles they have overcome, the challenges that were met.