Cherokees Build a Healthy Nation

 By Jean Oxendine 

Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Closing the Gap, Healthy People 2010 and Beyond • August/September 1998 

The Cherokee Nation’s substance abuse program is looking beyond Western medicine to investigate how activities drawn from the tribe’s traditions and culture can help deliver better 

patient outcomes, said Lisa Perkins, Health Promotions and Disease 

Prevention Coordinator for the Cherokee Nation. Under a Healthy 

Nations grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the tribe 

supports community-wide efforts that integrate public awareness campaigns, prevention programs, and services for treatment, aftercare, 

and support. 

“The tribe has centered our Healthy Nations program on wellness. 

We look at the cultural component, and ways within our tradition to 

treat those with substance abuse problems,” said Perkins. “For example, we may pair an older person in our community or a tribal Elder 

with someone who needs assistance.” The Elder and the person in 

need of assistance will spend time together. Informal counseling will 

take place. Prevention activities for children utilize and teach the 

nation’s rich tradition of language, crafts, history and tribal dance. 

The Cherokee program offers an extraordinary range of activities, including education on injury prevention/safety, breast and cervical cancer, HIV/AIDS, fetal alcohol syndrome, personal hygiene and 

diabetes; CPR training; a school wellness program; curriculum; smoking cessation classes; Indian heritage clubs; health fairs; and summer 

youth fitness camps. 

The Wings Running Club is one of its successes. The club offers 

a self-paced fitness program for all ages and fitness levels. Weekly 

practices are offered at several communities, and are open to all. As 

incentives, each club member can earn fitness gear as their walking or 

running miles accumulate. Road races and fun-walks are held monthly. 

As Perkins attests, local leaders feel that the club has made a significant 

impact on fitness within local American Indian communities. 

Healthy Nations’ goal is to “help Native Americans reduce the 

harm caused by substance abuse in their communities,” according to 

the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a member of the National 

Healthy People Consortium. It intends to demonstrate that tribes 

and communities can, over time, achieve substantial reductions in the 

demand for and the use of alcohol and other harmful substances, 

including tobacco and illegal drugs. Oversight is provided by a National Program Office at the University of Colorado Health Science 

Center. 

The foundation administers a six-year, two-stage competitive 

initiative, which began in 1992 and will provide up to $13.5 million 

for tribes and community organizations serving Indian people. In the 

first stage, 15 two-year development and feasibility grants of up to 

$150,000 each were awarded. Grantees successfully completing the 

first stage were eligible for four-year implementation grants of up to 

$1 million each. 

In a pamphlet published by the tribe, Joe Byrd, Principal Chief, 

said “Health care funding for our Cherokee people continues to 

dwindle year after year at the same time we need and demand more 

quality care. Preventing health problems before they begin is the key 

in keeping our medical costs down and keeping diseases such as diabetes from devastating our people.” He went on to say, “Exercise and a 

healthy diet can prevent many health problems later in life and boost 

self-esteem among our youth. The Cherokee Nation Healthy Nation 

Program teaches our children as well as their parents ways to stay 

healthy and sponsor activities for our youth.” 

For more information on Healthy Nations, please call Drs. Spero 

Manson or Candace Fleming at the National Program Office, Healthy 

Nations Initiative, Division of American Indian and Alaska Native 

Programs, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center: (303) 315-9272, or visit http://www.uchsc.edu/sm/hnp.

Office of Minority Health Resource Center U.S. Department of Health and Human Services