In this episode of A Look at Urban Indian Health in Tulsa with Carmelita Skeeter, host Meredith Raimondi, Vice President of Policy and Communications at the National Council of Urban Indian Health, sits down with Carmelita Skeeter (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa. Carmelita shares her remarkable journey as a trailblazing leader in urban Native healthcare, from launching a grassroots clinic in 1976 to building a comprehensive, community-driven health center serving over 14,000 Native patients in Tulsa. Together, they discuss the systemic barriers Native people have faced in accessing care, the power of community-led advocacy, and how Carmelita's decades of leadership have helped shape national policy and promote health equity for urban Indian communities.

To learn more about the Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa, visit www.ihcrc.org.

In this episode, hosts Alyssa Smith-Longee, MPH, BSN, RN, CPN (Assiniboine/Sioux – Fort Peck), Public Health Program Manager at the National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH), and Dr. Kimberly Fowler, PhD, Vice President of the Technical Assistance and Research Center at NCUIH, discuss the ongoing efforts to address COVID-19 in Urban Indian communities. Drawing on survey data, polling responses, and listening sessions with Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs), they highlight the challenges, strategies, and best practices identified by providers on the front lines. Their conversation explores key lessons learned, the importance of meaningful dialogue, and how UIOs are managing the evolving COVID-19 landscape to support the health of Native communities across the country.

Alyssa and Dr. Fowler reflect on the five-year impact of COVID-19 and ongoing efforts to support Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs). Alyssa shares her infection prevention work at NCUIH, including a Photovoice project capturing frontline experiences. Dr. Fowler highlights the “Be a Good Relative” campaign, which promoted vaccination through cultural messaging and inclusive visuals.

Alyssa provides an update on current efforts at NCUIH, highlighting their focus on sustainability and identifying what’s needed to better understand and support UIO providers. They released a survey for providers to share their thoughts on various topics around COVID-19. They shared those results during the national conference and got live feedback from the attendees. Based on this feedback, they have now been releasing new materials that support providers.

Alyssa discusses some of the key findings from the survey, including that most of the facilities are still offering COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, but 80% of providers reported still seeing vaccine hesitancy. When they followed up with why, providers reported that their patients feel a general sense of mistrust in the healthcare industry. Alyssa and Dr. Fowler also discuss obstacles in receiving timely diagnosis and treatment for COVID-19, citing delayed patient presentation, limited access to testing, low awareness of available treatments, and inadequate transportation. To address those issues, UIO providers suggested offering take-home testing kits that include educational material for the patients, flyers, social media toolkits, and fact sheets.

Dr. Fowler wraps up the conversation by summarizing how UIOs have found innovative ways to deliver preventive care to their patients. Alyssa finishes by talking about vaccine burnout and connecting the community, and says that remembering that “why” highlights the strength of the urban Indian communities. Dr. Fowler shares access to various resources on the links below.

Learn more:

To access any materials or resources mentioned in this episode, visit NCUIH.org/vaccine.

To stay up to date on current COVID-19 information, visit the “Health Care Providers” tab on the CDC’s COVID-19 Site Index.

For COVID-19 treatment guidance for healthcare providers, visit the CDC’s COVID-19 Treatment Clinical Care for Outpatients.

This episode, Traditional Food Program Successes at Urban Indian Organizations, provides a deep dive into traditional food programming at Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs), expanding on themes from the previous episode. Drawing from NCUIH’s 2024 report and interviews with various health care providers and leaders, hosts Nahla Holland (Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation), research associate at NCUIH, and Alex Sampson (Lumbee), federal relations associate at NCUIH, examine how UIOs are incorporating traditional foods into services such as nutritional counseling, community gardens, and educational opportunities.

Nutritional counseling varies widely across UIOs, with some offering large group sessions that include cooking demonstrations and Native chef partnerships; others provide more personalized or small group support tailored to specific health conditions. These programs promote better physical health and foster cultural reconnection, social support, and emotional well-being—key elements of holistic Indigenous health care.

The conversation continues with a look at community gardens, which serve as a valuable extension of health care by providing fresh, culturally significant produce while promoting physical activity, mental wellness, and community engagement. Gardens offer UIOs flexibility in tailoring traditional recipes to what’s seasonally available and help reduce feelings of isolation. The episode also highlights emerging food and produce prescription programs, where patients receive access to fresh foods through prescriptions from health care providers.

Holland and Sampson highlight the importance of making traditional foods both accessible and culturally relevant within UIOs. While nutritious produce is often available through external food assistance or prescription programs, they stressed that these offerings may not align with Native communities’ cultural food practices or be easy to incorporate into daily meals. UIOs emphasized that direct and consistent access to traditional foods is crucial in addressing both food insecurity and chronic diseases. Programs like the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) were praised for offering culturally informed, community-based approaches to diabetes care. These programs shift the focus from restrictive Western diets to encouraging the inclusion of traditional, nourishing foods, which leads to better health outcomes such as lower blood pressure, reduced A1C levels, and weight management.

Beyond clinical outcomes, the podcast explores how traditional food programming nurtures cultural, emotional, and social well-being. UIOs are creating engaging events like cooking classes, “Chopped”-style competitions, traditional food bingo, and storytelling meals, which foster a deeper connection to cultural identity and community. Some UIOs even provide tangible resources like juicers, gym memberships, and educational materials to support healthy behaviors. The underlying theme across all these efforts is education—not just on disease management but also on traditions, preparation methods, and the nutritional value of ancestral foods. Learn more at https://ncuih.org/research/third-party-billing/#traditionalfood.

The NCUIH Native Healthcast is produced by Jessica Gilbertson, MPA (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa), director of communications and events, and introduced by River Carroll, MLS (Cheyenne and Arapaho), policy and communications associate at NCUIH.