Social Determinants of Health and American Indian Communities
Social Determinants of Health and American Indian Communities
Definitions supported by the World Health Organization and Examples
- Health “is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmary” (World Health Organization [WHO], 2017a, para. 1).
- Social Determinants of Health “… are conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, age & the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life”(WHO, 2017b, para. 1).
- American Indians have collectivist view of health, meaning they consider the health of the environment, their housing situation, family relations and much more. An example would be the Diné philosophy known as Hozhó, which is having a balance in life or in a sense, peace. It also means to be one with and apart of the environment that surrounds you.
- Communities “are groups of people that may or may not be spatially connected, but who share common interests, concerns or identities” (World Health Organization [WHO], 2016, para. 1).
- Community Empowerment is “… the process of enabling communities to increase control over their lives” (WHO, 2016, para. 1).
Examples of Community Empowerment Accordion Closed
- Notah Begay III founded KivaSun Foods, which sells bison steaks as well as bison, salmon and turkey burgers. KivaSun has an agreement to source as much bison as possible from the 57-tribe Intertribal Buffalo Council. Begay has said, “I basically wanted to look at establishing a national brand under Native American ownership that promoted authentic aspects of Native American culture.” KivaSun products can be found at Costco and Walmart. For more information on the company, see www.kivasunfoods.com (First Nations Development Institute, 2014).
- Traditional Ceremonies: Ceremonies can be used to clear one’s mind and to help people get back on their path. This is more of an individualistic empowerment, but there are ceremonies in that require a group such as the traditional Navajo ceremonies, The Enemy Away and The Kinaalda.
- Healthy Active Natives: A Facebook page that united American Indians to push one another to reach their health goals.
- Just Move It: A North American campaign to promote physical activity for Indigenous Peoples.
- Pow Wow: Annual Denver Pow Wow in March that brings a vast array of American Indian tribes together to friendly competition in traditional dance. It also works as a large social gather where tribes network and collaborate. www.denvermarchpowow.org.
- Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Services: helps Alaska Native and American Indian individuals with disabilities gain or maintain employment (Cook Inlet Tribal Council [CITC], 2016).
- Founded in 2006 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Native American Natural Foods seeks to add value to traditional Native food products, using modern scientific methods and the least amount of processing possible, Native American Natural Foods innovates value added products for the U.S. consumer marketplace. Its first product line, which features Tanka Bar, Tanka Bites, Tanka Dogs and Tanka Wild, can be found at stores across the country (First Nations Development Institute, 2014).
- The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin created tsyunhehkw^, which loosely translates to “Life Sustenance.” This organic farm produces the tribe’s heirloom white flint corn, processes it via its cannery and distributes it through retail and community sales. Tsyunhehkw^ educates the community about its traditional food systems, while also showing how it utilizes current technologies such as a solar-heated greenhouse (First Nations Development Institute, 2014).
- Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA): a trade union of nearly a million self-employed women in Gujarat, India.
- Cultenhove Health & Wellbeing Network: involved partnership working between the community, the local authority, the Community Planning Partnership and the NHS designed to put communities at the heart of service planning and delivery.
- Unlimited Potential (upaz.org) George Benjamin Brooks Community School in Phoenix; Using cultural heritage. to influence social justice among communities.
- Tiger Mountain Foundation (tigermountainfoundation.org) Phoenix Metropolitan Area; Intergenerational, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic model used to promote financial literacy, promote workforce development, support micro-business enterprise, and deliver behavioral health and substance abuse education.
Recognition of the Connection between Individuals and Community Health
Upstream Causes
According to multiple studies low socioeconomic status is positively correlated with availability of fast food restaurants (Smoyer-Tomic, 2008; Kwate, 2008; Block, 2004). Meaning that neighborhoods or communities that have low educational attainment or low income are likely to have a food environment mostly comprised of fast food restaurants. This is not good because fast food can lead to weight gain which may lead to larger food portions. Larger food portions then lead to people consuming several food high in fat and sugar. Over time this type of diet is a risk factor for obesity and hypertension which are a precursor for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and much more.