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http://www.nb3foundation.org/capacity-building-grants.html

IHS and the Notah Begay III Foundation form partnership to address obesity in Native youth

The Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Notah Begay III Foundation (NB3F) are collaborating on activities aimed at preventing childhood obesity in American Indian and Alaska Native youth. The partnership will include sharing best practices in implementation of community-based activities directed at addressing childhood obesity in Indian Country.

The collaboration, initiated Nov. 12, 2013, was developed in support of the Let’s Move! In Indian Country (LMIC) program, which is part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. The LMIC seeks to advance the work tribal leaders and community members are doing to improve the health of Native youth.

“Today’s partnership is an important step towards helping Native American youth lead healthier lives,” said Sam Kass, executive director of Let’s Move! and White House senior policy advisor on nutrition. “With the LMIC, we’ve seen tribal leaders engage their communities by creating food policy councils and reintroducing sports like lacrosse into schools, but we know there is more work to be done to ensure all our children have the healthy futures they deserve.”

Obesity is a significant problem in Native communities. It is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, which are among the leading causes of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

“Tribal leaders have asked us to focus more on prevention efforts, especially with our youth,” said Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, acting director of the IHS. “Our new partnership with the NB3F gives us an opportunity to identify and share best practices from all of our prevention efforts, including the successful activities and outcomes of our Special Diabetes Program for Indians grantees, to help in the fight against childhood obesity in the communities we serve. We are excited to partner with them as they establish a new national center focused on these issues.”

With a mission centered on reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes and childhood obesity among Native American children, NB3F has developed community-driven, scalable, and replicable prevention models that have seen statistically significant outcomes among child participants in the areas of reduced body mass index or BMI (a measure of weight proportionate to a person’s height), increased self-confidence and endurance, and enhanced understanding of nutrition knowledge. In August of this year, NB3F launched a national initiative, Native Strong: Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures that functions as a national center focused on strategic grant making, research and mapping, capacity building, and advocacy to combat type 2 diabetes and obesity among Native American children.

“This unprecedented partnership between the Obama administration, the IHS, and the NB3F demonstrates the critical importance of leveraging partnerships and resources to tackle the health crisis facing Native American children,” said NB3F founder Notah Begay III. “With 1 out of 2 Native American children expected to develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime, it is vital that effective strategies and best practices are accessible for all Native communities, so together we can turn the tide on childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.”

Make a gift today to support NB3F in addressing the current health crisis Native American children are facing

You can find more information on our focus on Native health by:

Visiting our Website: http://nb3foundation.org/

Hello Everyone! Please remember that this coming Friday, November 15, Ms. Nicole Lim, Director of the American Indian Museum and Cultural Center in Santa Rosa, CA will be presenting "Engaging and Empowering Native Youth in Educational Programs". The webinar will begin promptly at 10 and last 90 minutes, ending at 11:30.

We will send you the information for the link to the webinar and the powerpoint so that you may download it later this week. Please test your computer for access to WebEx prior to the webinar on Friday.  The link for testing your access is:

Test your ability to access the session PRIOR to the start of the event by clicking on this “Test Meeting” URL. To ensure access to WebEx, please utilize the following link to test your computer today:

http://www.webex.com/test-meeting.html?t=ppuUS

Please contact your tech help if you are not able to connect to the test meeting.

**Note: If you have special access needs (e.g., you have a hearing impairment and need alternative access for the audio), please contact Ms. Anu Advani ataadvani@wested.org ASAP so we can make the appropriate arrangements. 

Again, we will start promptly at 10 am and end at 11:30.

Contact us if you have any questions.

Cordially,