About the Office of American Indian Health

The Office of American Indian Health was created in 2022 to improve the health and well-being of Minnesota American Indian communities and ensure tribal and urban Indian communities are represented in all of Minnesota’s public health initiatives.

We value indigenous, cultural ways of healing and recognize health as a complete state of physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing.

We recognize Minnesota’s tribes as sovereign nations and that fostering trust between governments requires transparency, communication and creating welcoming, inclusive environments where people can be their full selves.

The Office of American Indian Health:

• Aims to address the underlying structural and systemic issues that have created and sustained poor health outcomes among American Indians in Minnesota for many years.
• Works in partnership with Minnesota tribal and urban American Indian organizations to support the development and/or maintenance of American Indian public health infrastructure.
• Provides technical assistance to tribal and American Indian urban community leaders to develop the infrastructure to address public health emergencies (e.g., disease outbreaks, COVID-19, natural disasters, cyber-attacks and other public health emergencies).
• Works with all MDH divisions and sections to improve the health and well-being of Minnesota American Indian communities and ensure tribal/urban Indian communities and their perspectives are represented in all public health initiatives.
• Improves data collection, analysis, and reporting to document, assess, and plan for addressing health disparities among American Indians.
• Develops, implements, and supports a tribal grants program that supports tribal public health initiatives by and for tribal and American Indian communities.