Tribal Nations have continuously applied their sovereignty to support health for their peoples and lands. Colonialism and attempted genocide have disrupted many Indigenous systems and structures, causing health inequities that include high rates of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illness. Yet, Tribes and Indigenous people are resilient, working to reinforce and restore traditional ways to advance health across Indian Country. The Center supports this work through policy approaches focused on Indigenous foodways, culturally relevant physical activity opportunities, public health problems posed by commercial tobacco, and more.
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Featured Resource
Drafting Tribal Public Health Laws and Policies
This publication is designed to assist Tribal leaders, health departments, public health advocates, and community members in thinking about how to draft written public health laws and policies for their Tribes.
Featured Resources
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Tribal Solutions for Climate Resilient Housing
This issue brief is intended to provide a primer for Tribal Leaders, Tribal employees, and advocates on the nexus of climate resilience, housing, and health in Indian Country.
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Healthy Outdoor Areas in Tribal Communities
Adopting a smoke-free and commercial tobacco-free policy is one public health approach Tribal communities can take that supports healthier community environments while promoting Tribal self-determination.
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Preemption and Tribal Public Health Authority
This resource discusses the history of Tribal-State relations, the Indian Preemption Doctrine, and Preemption provisions within Tribal Codes.
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Tribes’ Access to Public Health Data
This resource aims to address some common questions that come up related to Tribal data sharing.
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Smoke-Free Casinos for California Tribal Communities
This webinar will ground us in a brief history of Tribal casinos in California and focus on exploring the unique opportunity California Tribal nations have to create smoke-free casinos.
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Tribal Communities in New York State
This fact sheet answers commonly asked questions about how New York State and local jurisdictions can work with Tribal communities on public health issues such as commercial tobacco control.
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Commercial Tobacco Product Waste - Considerations for Tribal Communities
This resource explores considerations, policy solutions and educational opportunities for Tribal Nations to enact laws and regulations to protect their lands from the harms of commercial tobacco product waste.
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First Food is Medicine Toolkit
This toolkit was developed to be a source of ideas and support for Tribal leaders, public health staff, child care providers, employers, and community members who seek to protect and sustain first food practices within their communities.
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Commercial Tobacco Policies: A Guide for Tribal Enforcement
This guide lays out different methods for enforcement of commercial tobacco-free policies, and their benefits and drawbacks. It is meant to serve as a companion to the Public Health Law Center’s Drafting Tribal Public Health Laws and Policies resource, which is geared towards communities and Tribal governments that may consider adopting public health policies throughout Indian country.
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Organizational Food Systems within American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Serving Organizations
Many Tribal and Indigenous-serving organizations include food systems components as part of their services and activities to support the health and wellness of their clients and the community. This resource provides a visualization about what these components can look like and how they can work together.
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Gifts Across Generations
This report highlights how Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban American Indian health centers in the Great Lakes Area are using law and policy to support and protect breastfeeding within and for their communities.
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Addressing Tobacco Industry Targeting of Tribes
Overview of the tobacco and e-cigarette industry efforts to target Tribes, and a sample resolution for Tribes on electronic smoking devices and commercial tobacco industry sponsorships.
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Federal Tobacco 21: Considerations for Tribal Communities
This resource discusses the 2019 amendment to the Tobacco Control Act that raised the minimum legal sales age for commercial tobacco products from 18 to 21 in all U.S. states, territories and on Tribal Lands, and its impact on Tribal communities.
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Federal Tobacco 21: Considerations for Tribal Communities (Video)
On December 20, 2019, the federal government made changes to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 that increased the minimum legal sales age for all commercial tobacco products from 18 to 21. This video discusses what this means now for Tribal communities, and how Tribes can continue to exercise their sovereignty through public health and policy considerations.
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Breastfeeding & Expressing Human Milk at Work
Federal, Tribal and Minnesota laws provide important protections for people who want to nurse or express milk at the workplace. This webinar addresses how laws apply in various workplaces in Tribal communities and across Minnesota. In addition, presenters will discuss best practices and how businesses can support nursing employees by passing supportive workplace policies.
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Smoke-free Tribal Casinos
This is a resource to help facilitate education and awareness on adopting smoke-free policies in Tribal casinos.
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Smoke-free Tribal Housing Policies
This is a resource for Tribal communities working on policies to restrict the smoking of commercial tobacco products in Tribal housing.
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Tribal Tax Policies for Commercial Tobacco
This is a resource for Tribal governments and Tribal public health advocates on increasing commercial tobacco taxes and simultaneously protecting Tribal sovereignty and cultural practices. Written in partnership with the National Indian Health Board, the National Native Network, and the Michigan Public Health Institute.