A pioneering office to aid Indian health

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Minnesota’s groundbreaking new state Office of American Indian Health has daunting but vital challenges ahead of it.

Nationally, Indigenous people have lower life expectancies than other groups, according to federal health statistics, and “have a high prevalence and risk factors for mental health and suicide, unintentional injuries, obesity, substance use, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), teenage pregnancy, diabetes, liver disease and hepatitis.”

Minnesota data is no less disturbing. As a state report released this spring noted, “American Indians represent 2.7% of the total population living in Minnesota and yet experience the worst disparities in the state.”

Two examples: American Indians had the highest infant mortality rate from 2012 to 2022 of any group. And, Indian children here are far more likely to die prematurely compared to others the same age. The mortality rate for Indian children ages 1-9 is 64.1 (per 100,000 population), the highest in the state. The rate for non-Hispanic white children is 11.8.

These alarming health gaps are unacceptable but have stubbornly persisted. Ongoing innovation to turn back these trends is critical. The Office of Indian Health is an example of the new kind of approaches urgently needed, which is why its official debut last week merits note and praise.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, health officials and dignitaries from the state’s American Indian communities were among those who gathered Wednesday at the Capitol to mark the occasion and share details of the new office’s mission. It includes supporting and promoting public health in American Indian communities through “partnerships, targeted initiatives and a broad spectrum of public investments.”

The work doesn’t include delivering medical care but instead “focuses on public health and the systems that protect the health of the entire population, such as reclamation of traditional wellness practices, community health assessments, disease investigation, health communications, and health policies,” according to information from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

Ten staff members will be located throughout the state. The office will distribute over $9 million in state and federal grants to support tribal and urban American Indian community health, according to MDH. It’s a sensible approach, one that takes aim at the root of health disparities and prioritizes prevention. Just the office’s existence will be beneficial as well, with the institutional heft of a state-level organization creating the awareness and momentum necessary to implement solutions.

In interviews with an editorial writer, Flanagan and the office’s new director, Kris Rhodes, put a commendable priority on the new office partnering with Minnesota’s Indian nations.

There are 11 federally recognized tribal nations within the state’s borders. Seven are Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) reservations, and four are Dakota communities. Leaders and members are valuable allies, and their collaboration is foundational for success.

Tapping Rhodes to lead the office is laudable. She has strong public health credentials, including a master’s degree in public health administration and policy from the University of Minnesota. In addition, she served as the CEO of the well-regarded American Indian Cancer Foundation from 2011 to 2021.

Rhodes is also an enrolled citizen of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. That heritage will help the office strengthen relationships with the state’s Indian communities and ensure that cultural practices are integral to the office’s work. Flanagan’s advocacy and family ties — she is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe — will aid the effort, too.

Just a handful of other states have launched similar health initiatives. Among them: Arizona, Washington and New Mexico, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Minnesota may not be the first, but it is at the forefront, which reflects well on the state.

The new office has won praise from Minnesota’s American Indian leaders. “The Office of American Indian Health will add opportunities for more streamlined communication and improved understanding on both ends of how sovereign nations and state government can collaborate to better serve everyone. It allows tribes and their leaders, who best know their people, to address health disparities in culturally appropriate ways,” said Joanna Bryant, tribal public health administrator and tribal member, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Acclaimed University of Minnesota health researcher Katy Kozhimannil also lauded the office.

“The establishment of the Office of American Indian Health at MDH is necessary, important, appreciated and long overdue. Bringing the resources and capacity of the state, in partnership with tribal nations, to focus on the health of Indigenous people in Minnesota is a critical step toward both fulfilling promises to members of tribal nations and their descendants and rectifying the longstanding health inequities faced by Indigenous Minnesotans, including unconscionable rates of maternal and infant mortality,” Kozhimannil told an editorial writer.

“It is my hope that this office’s work is transformative for the health of urban, rural and tribal Indigenous communities across Minnesota, and I am heartened that the office is centered on and led by Indigenous expertise ... This structure is set up for success, and I hope to see continued and sustainable investment and improvement in health equity for Indigenous Minnesotans.”

The Star Tribune Editorial Board echoes Kozhimannil’s call for continued state support. It will take time to address these shameful, longstanding health disparities. The new state office is a significant step toward that goal and offers hope that these gaps can be closed.