Native Americans and First Nations
“Native Americans” is a phrase used to describe a diverse array of Indigenous peoples in North, Central, and South America. Additionally, “First Nations” is a term that refers to any of the many groups of Indigenous people of Canada, though it may also be used to refer to the Indigenous peoples of any country or continent. Though referring to Native people by their specific tribal name is preferred, the terms “Native American,” “First American,” “American Indian,” “Native,” and “Indigenous” are considered acceptable and are used interchangeably to describe Indigenous communities in what is now the continental United States. Generally, Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiians are named explicitly. Because racial and ethnic identities are deeply personal and are constantly evolving, terminology is a matter of individual preference and should be treated as such.
Native Americans have contributed to society in countless ways, including the invention of 21st century necessities like baby bottles and syringes, and military service in World War II. However, Native American people have also been consistently oppressed, exploited, and excluded since European colonization of the Americas began in 1492. In the time since colonization began, Native people have been subjected to biological warfare, forced sterilization, and genocide—among other atrocities—at the hands of white colonizers. Ideas central to the American zeitgeist, like “manifest destiny,” are rooted in the erasure of Indigenous people and culture. The belief that white, Christian people were entitled to all land between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans resulted in as much as 99% of Native land being stolen. As a result, Indigenous people have been forcibly removed from their homes and relocated, either onto low-resource reservations or assimilated into cities. Ongoing trauma from historical and modern injustices have left many Indigenous people with poor mental health and substance dependency. Native people who are economically poor, disabled, and/or LGBTQ+/Two Spirit are even more likely to struggle to thrive due to the compounding marginalizations they experience.
In recent years, the practice of forcibly separating Native children from their families and requiring them to attend residential schools has gained attention through discovery of mass graves at former residential school sites in Canada and the United States. Native children endured physical, psychological, and sexual abuse at such schools, where their culture and language were prohibited. Indigenous people have also been on the forefront of the environmental and climate justice movements, though they remain the most under-represented in the scientific and academic communities.
Achieving health equity and racial justice for Native Americans requires deeply uprooting racist systems that perpetuate their exploitation and abuse. Institutionalizing and operationalizing equity and justice throughout all leadership levels of all sectors will require organizations, allies, and systems to genuinely center and follow the leadership of people with lived experience. Community-led processes, self-representation, and centering the voices of Native people are a few effective tactics that communities can leverage to advance equity and well-being for Native Americans and First Nations.
Resources & Tools
Blood Politics, Ethnic Identity, and Racial Misclassification Among American Indians and Alaska Natives
Resource - Journal Article
Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Health Care: A Scorecard of State Performance
Resource - Report
Brought to you by The Commonwealth Fund
The Persistence of American Indian Health Disparities
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by APHA
Indian Health Service Fact Sheet: National Accountability Dashboard for Quality
Resource - Fact Sheet
Destigmatizing Health Care: Trauma-informed Language for Treating People Who Use Drugs
Resource - Fact Sheet
Social Determinants of Health among Rural American Indian and Alaska Native Populations
Resource - Policy Brief
Decolonising Global Health in 2021: A Roadmap to Move from Rhetoric to Reform
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by BMJ
Trauma-Informed Caring for Native American Patients and Communities Prioritizes Healing, Not Management
Resource - Case Study
Brought to you by AMA
Racial Discrimination Associated With Higher Diastolic Blood Pressure in a Sample of American Indian Adults
Resource - Journal Article
Life Expectancy by County, Race, and Ethnicity in the USA, 2000–19: A Systematic Analysis of Health Disparities
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Elsevier, Inc.
Effects of Substance Use Disorder Criminalization on American Indian Pregnant Individuals
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by AMA
Discrimination in America: Experiences and Views of Native Americans
Resource - Report
Brought to you by NPR
Decolonizing Evidence To Better Support Native Communities
Resource - Blog
Brought to you by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
NCAI Policy Research Center: Data Disaggregation
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Brought to you by National Congress of American Indians
An Indigenous Systems Approach to the Climate Crisis
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by SSIR
Stress and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk for Indigenous Populations throughout the Lifespan
Resource - Journal Article
Tips for Disaster Responders: Cultural Awareness When Working In Indian Country Post-Disaster
Resource - Guide/handbook
In Common Newsletter: NEW Fundamentals of Public Health Learning Series
Resource
Brought to you by Community Commons
Personal Experiences of U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minorities in Today’s Difficult Times
Resource - Report
Brought to you by RWJF
Investing in the Frontlines: Why Trusting and Supporting Communities of Color Will Help Address Gun Violence
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Yale University
Social Determinants of American Indian Nutritional Health
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by OUP
Unfolding Futures: Indigenous Ways of Knowing for the Twenty-First Century
Resource - Journal Article
Social Determinants of Health and Response to Disease Associated With Health Outcomes of American Indian and Alaska Native Patients
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by JAMA
The Culture is Prevention Project: Adapting the Cultural Connectedness Scale for Multi-Tribal Communities
Resource - Journal Article
Developing an Indigenous Measure of Overall Health and Well-being: The Wicozani Instrument
Resource - Journal Article
Building a Hopeful Future: The Restoration of Native American Life and Culture
Resource - Website/webpage
Brought to you by Native Hope
Racial Discrimination as Race-Based Trauma, Coping Strategies and Dissociative Symptoms Among Emerging Adults
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by NLM
Health Disparities in American Indians/Alaska Natives: Implications for Nurse Practitioners
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Wolters Kluwer
A Scoping Review of Decolonization in Indigenous-Focused Health Education and Behavior Research
Resource - Journal Article
Twenty Years of Research into the Health Impacts of Native-themed Mascots: A Scoping Review
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Native Land Digital 2019 Teacher’s Guide
Resource - Guide/handbook
Brought to you by Native Land Digital
Culture Writes the Script: On the Centrality of Context in Indigenous Evaluation
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Arts-Based Research Methods to Explore Cancer in Indigenous Communities
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by AMA
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Assisted Reproductive Technology Outcomes in the United States
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Elsevier, Inc.
A National Education Initiative Framework for Essential Understandings about American Indians
Resource - Guide/handbook
Healthy Brain Initiative: Road Map for American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples
Resource - Guide/handbook
Brought to you by CDC
Representation of Native Americans in US Science and Engineering Faculty
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Springer
Health Conditions Before Columbus: Paleopathology of Native North Americans
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Brought to you by BMJ
Native American Ethnobotany: A Database of Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of Native American Peoples, Derived from Plants
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The Medicine Wheel Revisited: Reflections on Indigenization in Counseling and Education
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by SAGE Publications
Indigenous Data Governance: Strategies from United States Native Nations
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Brought to you by Ubiquity Press Limited
Native Data Sovereignty Can Address Data Gaps and Improve Equity
Resource - Blog
Brought to you by Urban Institute
Published on 06/13/2022
A Community-Based Evaluation of a Culturally-Grounded, American Indian After-School Prevention Program: The Value of Practitioner-Researcher Collaboration
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Colorado School of Public Health
BIPOC? Latinx? Here's How to Describe People Accurately
Resource - Guide/handbook
Brought to you by NPR
Suicides Among American Indian or Alaska Native Persons — National Violent Death Reporting System, United States, 2015–2020
Resource - Report
Brought to you by CDC
Published on 09/16/2022
The Generational Impact Of Racism On Health: Voices From American Indian Communities
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Health Affairs
Three Levels of Autonomy and One Long-Term Solution for Native American Health Care
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by AMA
A Movement to Reclaim American Indian Health through Tribal Sovereignty, Community Partnerships, and Growing Tribally-Driven Health Research
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Colorado School of Public Health
How Should Allopathic Physicians Respond to Native American Patients Hesitant About Allopathic Medicine?
Resource - Case Study
Brought to you by AMA
Interpersonal Violence in the Lives of Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Women: Implications for Health, Mental Health, and Help-Seeking
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by APHA
Health Care Access and Utilization for American Indian Elders: A Concept-Mapping Study
Resource - Journal Article
Best Practices in HIV Reporting and Data Collection in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
Resource - Guide/handbook
A Transdisciplinary Approach Is Essential to Community-Based Research With American Indian Populations
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by Colorado School of Public Health
Racialization as a Barrier to Achieving Health Equity for Native Americans
Resource - Journal Article
Brought to you by AMA
The Relationship of Self-Compassion and Suicide Risk Factors in American Indian/Alaska Native People
Resource - Journal Article
Dental Health Is Worse in Communities of Color
Resource - Report
Brought to you by The Pew Charitable Trusts
Improving the Well-Being of Native Older Adults and Their Caregivers
Story - Written
Brought to you by CDC Foundation
Photographer's Decade-Long, 600,000 Mile Journey Shows Indigenous Life in New Book
Story - Audio
Brought to you by NPR
Published on 04/26/2023
2014 RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winner: Taos Pueblo, New Mexico
Story - Written
Brought to you by RWJF
Ethics Talk: Representation, Sovereignty, and Caring for Native American Patients
Story - Audio
Brought to you by AMA

Keep Talking: Black Minds Matter – Psychological Costs of Racial Injustice
Story - Video
Brought to you by YouTube
Seneca Nation of Indians (New York) 2017 RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winner
Story - Written
Brought to you by RWJF
Pandemic Highlights Deep-Rooted Problems in Indian Health Service
Story - Written
Brought to you by NYT
Published on 10/08/2021
Promoting Health Equity in Rural Communities
Story - Written
Brought to you by ChangeLab Solutions
Published on 12/13/2022
Before Disaster Hits: Why Now Is the Time to Support Tribal Communities and Local Organizations
Story - Written
Brought to you by OILS
Published on 09/25/2023
Tribal Elders Are Dying From the Pandemic, Causing a Cultural Crisis for American Indians
Story - Written
Brought to you by NYT
Checkpoints, Curfews, Airlifts: Virus Rips Through Navajo Nation
Story - Written
Brought to you by NYT
Gather: Screening Toolkit - A Guide to Help Plan Your Film Event in Your Community
Tool - Toolkit/toolbox
Data Genocide of American Indians and Alaska Natives COVID-19 Digital Toolkit
Tool - Toolkit/toolbox
Data & Metrics
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