UCI School of Medicine Celebrates Native American Heritage Month

This Native American Heritage Month, we reflect upon the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) theme for 2023 Native American Heritage Month, “Celebrating Tribal Sovereignty and Identity.” According to the BIA, “tribal sovereignty ensures that any decisions about Tribes with regard to their property and citizens are made with their participation and consent.”

These salient principles center the communities that are most directly affected by our work in the field of academic medicine, as we pursue health equity as a foundational aspect of our mission to: Discover. Teach. Heal.

Throughout our UCI campus community, the health and well-being of Native and Indigenous communities are addressed across various disciplines. The Native American Studies program, housed in the UCI School of Humanities, is directed by John Gamber, PhD, an accomplished scholar in the areas of Native American literature and environmental issues.

In the UCI School of Law, Professor Heather Tanana, JD, has done extensive work related to tribal water infrastructure and federal Indian law. Justin Richland, PhD, professor and chair in the Department of Anthropology, received a National Science Foundation award earlier this year to ensure that Indigenous communities are included in wildfire mitigation and research.

At the School of Medicine, we happily celebrate the accomplishments of Alexander Red Eagle, MD, PhD, HS clinical assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and chief hospitalist at Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center in Long Beach, CA. At the medical center, Dr. Red Eagle has been commended for his active efforts to recruit underrepresented medical students into the internal medicine residency program.

A member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine-Sioux tribes, Dr. Red Eagle has also given back to his community by serving as a physician in an Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital. Outside of our professional setting, Dr. Red Eagle is involved in his community as a member of the Board of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services and the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP).

There are currently 574 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States, with countless additional bands, tribes, nations and groups of Indigenous People throughout the continental USA. The UCI main campus, as well as the UCI Medical Center and all UCI Health facilities, are located on the ancestral lands of the Acjachemen and Gabrielino/Tongva Nations.

We applaud and thank UCI Libraries and the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing for serving as positive examples in acknowledging this history. Native Land Digital, a Canadian nonprofit organization, has created a map for people to learn about the Indigenous population(s) of any area in the United States, as well as many other global locations. As we celebrate Native American heritage, this map is a vital tool to help us remember that this heritage is interwoven into the very fabric of our country’s history.

We also encourage you all to familiarize yourselves with the following resources to enhance your knowledge of Native and Indigenous communities in medicine and beyond. These storied legacies of cultural preservation, health equity and scientific innovation are outstanding examples that all communities can engage with.

• Los Angeles Pow Wow 2023 – Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Autry Museum of the American West, Griffith Park. Free to attend, no RSVP required. Hosted by United American Indian Involvement (UAII).
• Protecting our Planet to Protect our Children: An Indigenous Vision for Intergenerational Health Symposium – Tuesday, Nov. 28, hybrid event (via Zoom and in-person in Washington, DC) hosted by the AAIP.
• UC San Diego School of Medicine: Program in Medical Education – Transforming Indigenous Doctor Education (PRIME-TIDE) – Mission-based program that prepares medical students for careers focused on providing healthcare to Native populations.
• Association of Native American Medical Students (ANAMS) – a student organization providing support and a resource network for all Native Americans currently enrolled in various allied health professions schools.
• American Medical Association: “Native Peoples Population Care” – A dedicated web page for all AMA news related to Native and Indigenous people.
• Indigenae – Podcast dedicated to Indigenous wxmen’s health and wellbeing, sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Indigenous Health.