Some Native Americans sprinkle it around the beds of ailing people to protect and heal them. It is a balancing of mind, body, spirit, and nature. The most important resources for health are survivors in the community. From 1991-1996, the incidence of AIDS was 3 times higher in the Native American population than in the general RI population. In addition to the fact that medical care is difficult to access for some Native Americans, financial limitations, cultural barriers, and lack of transportation also pose obstacles to good health care.
Smoking is an important aspect of certain ceremonies.
Native Americans are less likely to exercise 3 or more times per week, but are also less likely to have a lack of leisure-time physical activity. Native American 10 th graders were less likely to drink alcoholic beverages, and more likely to use marijuana. Health Screening Only 11 children in the 1994 birth cohort were recorded as Native American. The birth rate was over twice as high as the rate for the general population. Traditional Native American people have a balanced diet of seafood, natural fruits, wild greens, corn, beans, squash, wild rice, and garden vegetables.