Partnership With Native Americans

MISSION AND VISION: SERVING IMMEDIATE NEEDS, SUPPORTING LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS FOR STRONG, SELF-SUFFICIENT NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. (TO LEARN MORE, SEE SCHEDULE O)

HEALTH: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: TO SUPPORT PREVENTATIVE CARE AND HEALTH EDUCATION INITIATIVES OF RESERVATION PROGRAMS SERVING TRIBAL CITIZENS, AND TO HELP THEM MOTIVATE INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTHY LIFESTYLES AND COMMUNITY SERVICE. SITUATION: A LEGACY OF HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES AND HIGH DISEASE RATES PERSISTS ACROSS NATIVE AMERICA. FOR INSTANCE, NATIVE ADULTS ARE NEARLY 300% MORE LIKELY TO HAVE DIABETES AND 50% MORE LIKELY TO HAVE OBESITY THAN NON-HISPANIC WHITES. YET MEDICAL CARE IS LIMITED TO THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE (I.H.S.). THERE ARE ONLY 500 OF THESE FEDERALLY RUN I.H.S. CLINICS TO SERVE 574 RECOGNIZED TRIBES (LESS THAN 1 PER RESERVATION), AND TRANSPORTATION FOR THE LONG DISTANCES TO THEM IS AN ISSUE FOR MANY RESIDENTS. DESPITE CARES ACT FUNDING, I.H.S. REMAINS ILL-SITUATED TO RESPOND TO A HEALTHCARE CRISIS, AND 19% OF NATIVE AMERICANS LACK ANY FORM OF HEALTH INSURANCE FOR OUTSIDE CARE. THUS, TRIBAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROGRAMS OFTEN TAKE THE LEAD ON PREVENTATIVE HEALTH CARE, AS WELL AS EFFORTS TO SUPPORT HEALTHIER DIETS. PWNA RESPONSE: THROUGH NEW INITIATIVES IN 2023, PWNA HIGHLIGHTED THE NEED FOR COATS ON #GIVINGTUESDAY, RAISING FUNDS TO PROVIDE COATS FOR K-12 CHILDREN. MEANWHILE, PWNA CONTINUED SUPPORTING TRIBAL PROGRAMS THAT OFFER PREVENTATIVE CARE, HOME VISITS, AND HEALTH SCREENINGS, HELPING 295 HEALTH AND WELLNESS PARTNERS ADDRESS DIABETES AT EPIDEMIC LEVELS, OBESITY EVEN FOR YOUTH, TUBERCULOSIS SEVEN TIMES HIGHER THAN FOR WHITES, AND MORE CANCER-RELATED DISPARITIES THAN ANY MINORITY GROUP IN THE U.S. THROUGH THESE PARTNERS, WE SUPPORTED HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PROGRAMS AND EDUCATION FOR APPROXIMATELY 54,071 PEOPLE, INCLUDING COVID CHECK-INS, PRE- AND POST-NATAL CARE, PARENTING AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, SCREENINGS AND EDUCATION FOR DIABETES, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, TB, CANCER, AND HEART HEALTH, SUICIDE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION, IMMUNIZATIONS, MEDICATION MONITORING, AND CARE FOR THE HOMEBOUND OR OTHERS UNABLE TO ACCESS SERVICES. IN ADDITION, 70 OF THESE PARTNERS FOCUSED ON ADULT AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, SUCH AS SUICIDE PREVENTION AND LANGUAGE/CULTURE PRESERVATION THROUGH COMMUNITY EVENTS. ON THE HEALTHY NUTRITION FRONT, THE MODERN DIET IS DETRIMENTAL - ESPECIALLY IN THE FACE OF POVERTY AND LIMITED FOOD ACCESS. THROUGH OUR TRAIN THE TRAINER (T3) SERVICE, PWNA CONDUCTED HEALTHY FOOD DEMONSTRATIONS AND FOOD TASTINGS WITH 480 PARTICIPANTS FROM 4 RESERVATIONS, INCLUDING PINE RIDGE, STANDING ROCK, NAVAJO, AND TOHONO O'ODHAM. WE ACCOMPLISHED THIS WITH SUPPORT FROM OLO FOR GOOD AND TIDES FOUNDATION, ALONG WITH 10 FORMER GRADUATES OF OUR 4D PROGRAM WHO HELPED OUR PARTNERS COOK AND SERVE THE FOOD. WE ALSO GATHERED 4D ALUMNI FOR A FOOD DEMO, WITH SUPPORT FROM BANK OF AMERICA. *DBA PROGRAMS OF PWNA FOR HEALTH SERVICES: SOUTHWEST RESERVATION AID (SWRA), NORTHERN PLAINS RESERVATION AID (NRPA), SOUTHWEST INDIAN RELIEF COUNCIL (SWIRC), NAVAJO RELIEF FUND (NRF), SIOUX NATION RELIEF FUND (SNRF) AND NATIVE AMERICAN AID (NAA).

EMERGENCY SERVICES: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: TO PROVIDE WINTER WARMTH, SEASONAL SERVICES, AND CRITICAL SUPPLIES FOR RESERVATION ELDERS, COMMUNITIES, AND SHELTERS, AND TO SUPPORT TRIBAL READINESS TO RESPOND WHEN DISASTER STRIKES. SITUATION: AS GLOBAL WARMING INCREASES DISASTERS SUCH AS FLOODS, FOREST FIRES, BLIZZARDS, AND TORNADOES, IT IS CRITICAL THAT PWNA CONTINUE TO SERVE AS A FIRST RESPONDER FOR THE RESERVATIONS AND EQUIP NATIVE COMMUNITIES TO PLAN, TRAIN, AND RESPOND TO SUCH EVENTS WHEN THEY STRIKE LOCALLY. WINTER WARMTH IS ALWAYS A CONCERN FOR THE ELDERS TOO. ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT, 68,000 NATIVE AMERICANS ARE HOMELESS (SHELTERED, UNSHELTERED) OR LIVING IN OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS, AND 40% OF NATIVE AMERICANS LIVE IN SUB-STANDARD HOMES. IN ADDITION, 75% OF HOPI RESIDENTS RELY ON WATER CONTAMINATED WITH ARSENIC, AND 30% OF NAVAJO FAMILIES HAUL WATER DUE TO 521 ABANDONED URANIUM MINES. IN A 2023 CASE, THE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT "TRIBES HAVE RIGHTS TO AS MUCH WATER AS THEY NEED TO ESTABLISH A PERMANENT HOMELAND, AND THOSE RIGHTS STRETCH BACK AT LEAST AS LONG AS ANY GIVEN RESERVATION HAS EXISTED." YET THEY RULED THERE IS NO PROMISE OR OBLIGATION ON THE PART OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO AID TRIBES IN SECURING WATER ACCESS. SO, WHILE CLEAN DRINKING WATER IS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT, WATER ACCESS REMAINS A HARDSHIP FOR 48% OF HOMES ON THE RESERVATIONS. PWNA RESPONSE: PWNA CAN'T PREDICT EVERY EMERGENCY, SO WE GIVE SEASONAL AID TO HELP PREPARE FOR THEM. IN 2023, THIS INCLUDED YEAR-ROUND AID TO 56 SHELTERS FOR THE AGED, HOMELESS, DISABLED, AND DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS, AIDING APPROXIMATELY 6,673 PEOPLE. WE ALSO PROVIDED FIREWOOD, COAL, OR WINTER FUEL VOUCHERS TO NORTHERN CHEYENNE AND NAVAJO ELDERS WITH SUPPORT FROM THE BLACK HILLS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, AS WELL AS WINTER AND/OR SUMMER EMERGENCY BOXES TO 29 PARTNERS ON 16 RESERVATIONS. THESE EMERGENCY KITS EQUIPPED NATIVE ELDERS WITH SUPPLIES SUCH AS BLANKETS, BATTERIES, CANDLES, WATER, NONPERISHABLE FOOD, AND OTHER ITEMS HELPFUL DURING WINTER STORMS, AND WATER, SUNSCREEN, BUG SPRAY, FIRE EXTINGUISHERS, AND OTHER ITEMS HELPFUL DURING THE SUMMER HEAT, STORMS, AND OUTAGES. PWNA ROTATES ITS SEASONAL READINESS SERVICES TO DIFFERENT TRIBAL COMMUNITIES EACH YEAR TO AVOID CREATING DEPENDENCY, BUT THE LEVEL OF NEED SUGGESTS INCREASING THESE SERVICES AS FUNDING PERMITS. LIFE ON THE RESERVATION OFTEN MEANS LESS ACCESS TO OUTSIDE AID WHEN DISASTER STRIKES - AND IT STRUCK 5 TIMES FOR THE OGLALA SIOUX AND THE NAVAJO IN 2023. PWNA PROVIDED DISASTER RELIEF FOR A WATER SHORTAGE, WINTER STORM, FLOODING INCIDENT, HEAT EMERGENCY, AND COVID, INFUSING OVER 266,740 POUNDS OF STAPLE FOODS, BOTTLED WATER, HYGIENE KITS, DIAPERS, BLANKETS, PPE, AND OTHER ESSENTIALS TO ASSIST ABOUT 1,737 PEOPLE. THIS WAS DONE WITH SUPPORT FROM MARGARET A. CARGILL PHILANTHROPIES, BOEING, FREEPORT-MCMORAN, LEVI STRAUSS, AND AT&T. PWNA ALSO INVESTS IN EMERGENCY PLANNING AND TRAINING WITH TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. WITH SUPPORT FROM THE MARGARET A. CARGILL PHILANTHROPIES, WE FACILITATED TRAINING ON SMOKE SAFETY, MENTAL HEALTH, SHELTER, SEARCH AND RESCUE, FIRST AID/CPR, CERT, FEMA INSTRUCTOR, AND OTHER FIRST RESPONDER SKILLS SO THAT CROW CREEK, CHEYENNE RIVER, LAKE TRAVERSE, LOWER BRULE, PINE RIDGE, ROSEBUD, SANTEE, STANDING ROCK, TURTLE MOUNTAIN, AND YANKTON RESERVATIONS CAN BETTER RESPOND TO DISASTERS. WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM BOEING, FREEPORT-MCMORAN, AND LEVI STRAUSS, PWNA FACILITATED EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COHORTS WITH THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE AND SAN CARLOS APACHE COMMUNITIES, FOCUSING ON ASSET MAPPING, FIRST AID/CPR, ACTIVE SHOOTER, 72-HOUR SURVIVAL, CERT TRAINING, AND MORE. WITH SUPPORT FROM FEEDING AMERICA, PWNA FACILITATED THE NATIVES PREPARED PROJECT FOR ASSET MAPPING AND EMERGENCY PLANNING WITH SISSETON WAHPETON AND HUALAPAI COMMUNITY LEADERS AND CITIZENS. ALTOGETHER, 1,211 TRIBAL CITIZENS WERE TRAINED AND/OR ENGAGED AROUND DISASTER READINESS IN 2023. *DBA PROGRAMS OF PWNA FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES: SOUTHWEST RESERVATION AID (SWRA), NORTHERN PLAINS RESERVATION AID (NRPA), SOUTHWEST INDIAN RELIEF COUNCIL (SWIRC), NAVAJO RELIEF FUND (NRF), SIOUX NATION RELIEF FUND (SNRF) AND NATIVE AMERICAN AID (NAA).

EDUCATION SERVICES: PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM: TO INCREASE RESOURCES FOR NATIVE AMERICAN EDUCATION, SUPPORT ACCESS AND RETENTION OF NATIVE STUDENTS FROM PRE-KINDERGARTEN THROUGH COLLEGE, AND SUPPORT COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS. SITUATION: EDUCATION IS A CORNERSTONE OF ECONOMIC MOBILITY. HOWEVER, DUE TO SYSTEMIC FAILURES AND UNREALIZED TREATY PROMISES, HALF OF NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE NOT FINISHING HIGH SCHOOL. ABOUT 8% OF NATIVE STUDENTS ATTEND RESERVATION SCHOOLS OPERATED BY THE BUREAU OF INDIAN EDUCATION (BIE) OR OPERATED BY TRIBES WITH BIE FUNDING. MUCH LIKE THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE, THESE FEDERALLY RUN SCHOOLS ARE UNDERSTAFFED AND UNDERFUNDED, LEAVING STUDENTS WITH THE LOWEST READING SCORES IN AMERICA. STUDENTS WHO GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL THEN FACE BARRIERS TO HIGHER EDUCATION, SUCH AS POVERTY AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION - EVEN WHILE MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE COLLEGE IS FREE FOR NATIVE AMERICANS. ONLY 19% OF NATIVE AMERICANS AGED 18-24 START COLLEGE, AND ONLY 16% OF NATIVE AMERICANS HOLD A COLLEGE DEGREE (COMPARED TO 40% OF WHITES). THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IS ALSO A BARRIER, AS 65% OF ALL JOBS IN THE ECONOMY REQUIRE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION OR TRAINING BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL, INCLUDING TECHNOLOGY, AND SOFT SKILLS. PWNA RESPONSE: IN 2023, PWNA'S AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION FUND (AIEF) PROGRAM INVESTED IN NATIVE STUDENTS FROM CRADLE TO COLLEGE AND CAREER. APPROXIMATELY 13,280 K-12 STUDENTS AT 52 PARTNER SCHOOLS RECEIVED SCHOOL SUPPLIES AND BACKPACKS, WITH SUPPORT FROM THE BRAD LEMONS FOUNDATION AND THE WALMART FOUNDATION. IN ADDITION, 603 CHILDREN FROM THE LAKE TRAVERSE, OMAHA, PINE RIDGE, AND ROSEBUD RESERVATIONS BENEFITED FROM BOOKS AND OTHER SUPPLIES, MOTIVATING READING AND PARENT-CHILD READING TIME AND SUPPORTING READING COMPREHENSION. ON THE COLLEGE FRONT, MANY NATIVE STUDENTS NEED EQUITABLE ACCESS TO RESOURCES FOR A 21ST-CENTURY EDUCATION, FROM SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO LAPTOPS, SOFTWARE, AND INTERNET ACCESS. SO, PWNA'S STRENGTH-BASED SERVICES HELP FUEL SELF-SUFFICIENCY. PWNA AWARDED $550,000 IN UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS, PRIORITIZING SCHOLARS IN THE MIDDLE RANGE OF THE ACADEMIC RANKING WHO MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED BY OTHER PROVIDERS DESPITE THEIR SERIOUS DRIVE. THE ACADEMIC-YEAR COMPLETION RATE FOR STUDENTS WHO RECEIVE OUR SCHOLARSHIPS IS 90-95%, MUCH HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. PWNA CREDITS THIS SUCCESS TO INDIVIDUALIZED MENTORING PROVIDED BY THE PEPSICO RISE NATIVE AMERICAN EMPLOYEE WORKFORCE GROUP AND SELECTING CANDIDATES WITH A LIKELIHOOD OF OVERCOMING THE FIRST-YEAR CHALLENGES UNIQUE TO NATIVE STUDENTS. THIS AWARD LEVEL WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH SUPPORT OF THE GROW WITH GOOGLE INDIGENOUS CAREER READINESS PROGRAM, WHICH ALSO HELPED US AWARD 58 VOCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS AND PROVIDE FREE DIGITAL TRAINING TO 1,520 STUDENTS. THE WALMART FOUNDATION HELPED US PROVIDE LAPTOPS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS. WE ALSO PROVIDED STUDENT CARE PACKS AND HOLIDAY GIFTS TO SCHOLARS AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS. OUR FOUR DIRECTIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (4D) TRAINS EMERGING LEADERS WHO WANT TO MAKE A GREATER IMPACT IN THEIR TRIBAL COMMUNITIES. THE CURRICULUM FOR A SIX-MONTH COHORT OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING MAY ENCOMPASS CPR AND SELF-DEFENSE, HEALTHY ANCESTRAL FOOD AS MEDICINE, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, PERSONAL BRANDING, AND MORE. WITH THE SUPPORT OF GENERAL MOTORS AND THE WALMART FOUNDATION, WE CONDUCTED 3 ADULT COHORTS AND 4 ALUMNI EVENTS WITH YOUTH AND/OR ADULTS. ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND SOUTHWEST REGIONS, WE GRADUATED 33 NEW 4D PARTICIPANTS IN 2023 AND REGATHERED 61 PRIOR GRADS FOR A REFRESH AND NETWORKING. *DBA PROGRAMS OF PWNA FOR EDUCATION: AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION FUND (AIEF)