November is recognized as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, a time for us to celebrate and honor Native American communities and Indigenous people across the United States.
According to the U.S. Census, the number of people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native nearly doubled from 5.2 million in 2010 to 9.7 million in 2020.1
Unfortunately, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people have long experienced health disparities compared to the rest of the U.S. population.
In a 2024 report, KFF found that AI/AN people have an average life expectancy at birth that is almost ten years less than that of white people (67.9 years vs 77.5 years).2 In addition, AI/AN patients experienced double the infant mortality rate of white patients (9.1 vs 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births) in 2022, and were more than three times as likely as white people to experience a pregnancy-related death (63.4 vs. 18.1 deaths per 100,000 live births) in 2020.3
Another report from KFF reveals that AI/AN people were more likely to live below the poverty line and experience barriers to receiving health care than white people. Though health coverage has improved over the years, AI/AN people saw a 21% uninsured rate compared to only 7% for white people in 2022.4 The AI/AN community also experienced higher rates of diabetes, asthma, and COVID-19 deaths than other demographics.
Our current, profit-driven health care system fails far too many in our country, with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and low-income and rural communities disproportionately affected. That’s why we must continue to fight for Medicare for All.
Additionally, we support dramatically increasing funding for the education of future health care and public health professionals — in particular for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities — and Indigenous stewardship as a key means of stopping infectious disease outbreaks and protecting the ecosystems that are vital to the health and survival of us all.
We stand in solidarity with movements for Indigenous sovereignty, reparations, and justice, and demand the equitable application of services, health care resources, and infrastructure to improve the standard of living for Native peoples across the country.
Together, we will continue to build our inclusive movement to achieve health care justice for all — including Indigenous justice.
In solidarity,
Nurses’ Campaign to Win Medicare for All
PS — This month is also for celebrating the countless contributions that AI/AN people have made throughout history, including Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, a nurse and the only woman to be elected chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Watch our video to learn more about her inspiring story →
1 - Facts for Features: American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2024
2 - Race, Inequality, and Health
3 - Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health: Current Status and Efforts to Address Them
4 - Health and Health Care for Indigenous People
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