Friday, October 4, 2024
10/4/2024
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (TMBCI) is a federally recognized Tribe organized pursuant to the provisions of the Act of June 26, 1936-49. Stat.1967. TMBCI reservation is in Rolette County in north-central North Dakota. Turtle Mountain, known by the Tribe as Mikinaak Wajiw, and Rolette County has been repeatedly named as one of the poorest counties in the United States (US) and is designated as the poorest county in North Dakota. Further emphasizing Rolette County’s vulnerability, the CDC has assigned a National Overall Social Vulnerability Index Score of 0.88, indicating a high level of vulnerability compared to other counties in the US. The TMBCI realized the health disparities and the need for a data strategy during the COVID-19 Pandemic. During that time, two major deficits within the tribe’s health programs became evident. The first was the inability to get real-time public health data. The TMBCI is not recognized as a public health authority by the state of North Dakota; therefore, aggregate data on reportable conditions continue to have a delay of up to several weeks and are sometimes not in line with the data request. The second major deficit was the inability to communicate urgent public health information to TMBCI members. As the COVID-19 public health emergency continued, the tribe had to create a communication strategy that would not only inform members, but also address the health literacy of the community. Without consistent public health communication, the tribe realized the risk of confusion derived from misinformation and disinformation. To address the availability of real-time data, the tribe’s newly established Turtle Mountain Public Health Department (TMPHD) will mobilize the data modernization strategy to strengthen partnerships with local, state, and federal organizations. These partnerships will primarily focus on informing partners of the tribe’s public health authority and assert its inherent data sovereignty. To ensure the quality and protection of public health data, the TMPHD will work with partners to establish the logistics of data collection and management. As data exchange is deemed efficient and timely, the TMPHD epidemiologist will analyze the data and the communications specialist will assist in disseminating local public health information to various audiences, including, but not limited to, the local Indian Health Service (IHS) facility, TMBCI schools, state partners, and the Tribal Nations Research Group (TNRG). These public health communications will be distributed with the use of various social media, including the community health mobile application. The community specialist will also utilize the local radio station and newspaper to address those without internet access or preference to other media. By the end of the project period, TMBCI will improve their capacity to develop public health programs and services to prevent the spread of disease, react to potential outbreaks, and educate community members on how to better protect themselves from public health threats.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
