CNAIR Curriculum Enhancement Grant Award Announced
September 30, 2019
CNAIR affiliate Beatriz Reyes received a Curriculum Enhancement Grant that enabled her to teach two new courses in 2020. In winter 2020, she will reintroduce her “Native American Health” course as “Native American Health Research and Prevention” with an increased emphasis on community health issues and methods. During the Spring 2020 quarter, she will introduce a new course, “Native Nations, Healthcare Systems, and U.S. Policy.” These courses do not focus on traditional medicine and healing; they interrogate the impact of settler colonial structures and policies on Native American health outcomes and healthcare, respectively. Students will become familiar with approaches Native nations engage in to address health disparities and wellness for their citizens. Specifically, the “Native Nations, Healthcare Systems, and U.S. Policy” course will add a new dimensions to Global Health Studies course offerings, tasking students with comprehending the legal foundation outlining the trust responsibility and fiduciary obligation of the federal government including the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court decisions (such as Cherokee Nation V. Georgia). Notable federal policies including the Snyder Act, exemption from sequestration, the Special Diabetes Programs for Indians, Violence Against Women Act, and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be examined to gain a nuanced perspective on the federal systems and policies impacting the overall health of Native people. Additionally, state policy topics include Medicaid expansion, tobacco cessation and prevention, and behavioral health. This course will extend CNAIR’s course offerings in Indigenous policy through an emphasis on Native American health policy and how they relate to various health care systems. Situated within the Global Health Studies Program, these courses challenge students to consider how Native nations and citizens should be situated within conversations of global health especially in pursuit of recognizing and respecting the sovereign status of Native nations and citizens in what is currently known as the United States.