Indian Country, that’s where. American Indian communities span the entire United States, from the northeast tip of Maine to the farthest southwest corner of California. Five communities have expressed interest in being part of the project, with 75 families from each community to be included.
The first community to begin working with HCSF-2, the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, has been a partner for over 10 years in working on healthier strategies for children and families. The project will be working with Head Start families and is based at the Tribal Clinic.
Four other communities expressed strong interest last year when the new program was being set up, and because many factors go into when each tribe starts enrolling families, it is hard to say which community will start next. The other communities are:
The Seneca Nation of Indians is located on five reservations in western New York state. At Seneca, the HCSF project will be implemented under the leadership of the Tribal Wellness Program, and to ensure maximum exposure and enrollment, recruitment will occur through Head Start sites operated by the Education Department, plus the WIC Program and the tribal Health Centers.
The White Earth Nation, located in western Minnesota, is the largest reservation in the state and has over 19,500 members. The manager of The White Earth Child Care/Early Childhood Education Program will oversee recruitment for the study, which will focus on childcare providers.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the First Nations Community HealthSource (FNCH) will be the center for families participating in the project. More than two-thirds of native people in the United States live in urban settings, so it is important for Healthy Children, Strong Families to work for these people as well. FNCH is a private, nonprofit organization created in 1972 as the Albuquerque Urban Indian Health Clinic.
Finally, the Blackfeet Nation of Montana will work with Healthy Children, Strong Families based at the Blackfeet Community College in Browning, MT. The College will work with Tribal Head Start on implementing the project.