American Indians face significant health disparities in the United States. In fact, American Indians have a 208 percent times greater chance of dying from diabetes, a 526 percent greater chance of dying of alcoholism, and a 60 percent greater chance of dying by suicide than their non-native peers (Indian Health Service). The desire to assist tribal nations in improving health outcomes inspired Dr. Donald Warne to develop the American Indian Public Health Resource Center (AIPHRC) under the umbrella of the Public Health Department at North Dakota State University.
Founded in August of 2014, the AIPHRC's mission is to address American Indian public health disparities through technical assistance, policy development, self-determination feasibility analysis, education, research, and programming in partnership with tribes in North Dakota, across the Northern Plains, and the United States. This article gives a brief overview of the AIPHRC and how they work with and support tribal communities throughout the United States.
North Dakota's population of color dramatically increased by 53.5 percent from 2010 to 2016, which is the highest rate of any state. However, racial diversity has not grown consistently among age groups; the younger the age group, the more diverse the population.
One in four young children (0 to 4 years old) is a person of color as compared to 1 in 50 for people age 85 and older.
