Red Star created the first public health institute in the United States to focus solely on Indigenous health and wellness.
We had a vision to create greater connectivity across the national tribal health system, which includes the many tribes, communities and organizations dedicated to the health and wellness of American Indian and Alaska Native people.
In 2011, Red Star led an exploration to determine the role an Indigenous public health institute (PHI) could have in improving health among American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Guided by a national advisory board, the process included regional and national Tribal engagement roundtables, an environmental scan of needs and assets and a financial analysis to determine the feasibility. By 2016, Seven Directions, A Center for Indigenous Public Health, the nation’s first PHI to focus solely on Indigenous health and wellness, was created.
Learn more about the process and outcomes:
A Case for Tribal Public Health Institutes. This practice brief describes the role tribal public health institutes can have in supporting Tribal Nations to protect their citizens from the public health threats and preventable causes of death, injury, illness and disability.
Tribal Public Health Institute Feasibility Findings. Learn about the feasibility process and outcomes that affirmed the desirability for a tribal PHI to be a partner in promoting health in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
A Blueprint for Advancing the Health and Wellness of Our Native Communities. The only national tribal public health agenda of its kind based on regional and national tribal roundtables. The agenda includes seven strategic priorities with actionable strategies.
Visit Seven Directions, A Center for Indigenous Public Health, Inc. to learn more about its work.
Development of Seven Directions was achieved with support from grants from the Robert Wood Johnson and W.K. Kellogg Foundations.