Native Behavioral Health Alliance

Native Behavioral Health Alliance
Name	Native Behavioral Health Alliance
Formation	2016
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Region served	United States
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	Tasha Spillett-Sumner

Native Behavioral Health Alliance

The Native Behavioral Health Alliance is a nonprofit organization focused on improving behavioral health services for Indigenous communities in the United States. Founded in the mid-2010s, the Alliance engages with tribal nations, federal agencies, philanthropic foundations, and academic institutions to address substance use, suicide prevention, and cultural resilience. The organization operates in coordination with tribal health programs, state health departments, and national advocacy groups.

Overview

The Alliance provides technical assistance, workforce development, and policy advocacy to tribal nations such as the Navajo Nation, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, White Earth Nation, Tohono O'odham Nation, Yurok Tribe, and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. It collaborates with federal entities including the Indian Health Service, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Health Resources and Services Administration. The Alliance partners with nonprofit organizations like National Congress of American Indians, Native American Rights Fund, Urban Indian Health Institute, First Nations Development Institute, and National Indian Health Board. It engages academic partners such as Harvard University, University of Minnesota, University of Arizona, University of Washington, and Johns Hopkins University.

History

The Alliance emerged amid renewed attention to Indigenous behavioral health following reports by the Surgeon General (United States), recommendations from the Indian Health Service Behavioral Health Program, and policy shifts prompted by the Affordable Care Act and the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. Early supporters included philanthropic actors like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Annie E. Casey Foundation, and tribal leaders from the American Indian Movement era provided historical context. The organization grew during initiatives tied to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline expansion and the Tribal Opioid Response Program, while engaging in dialogues influenced by cases such as the Wounded Knee incident and legal milestones like United States v. Kagama that shaped Native jurisdictional contexts.

Mission and Programs

The Alliance’s mission emphasizes culturally grounded behavioral health interventions for Indigenous populations including the Ojibwe, Lakota, Dakota, Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Sioux Nation, and Hopi. Programs include suicide prevention collaborations similar to efforts by the Zero Suicide Institute, workforce pipelines modeled after the Indian Health Service Scholarship Program, and substance use initiatives aligned with SAMHSA best practices. Training curricula draw on models from the Indian Child Welfare Act implementation discussions, and culturally based healing approaches reference elders and ceremonial knowledge from communities such as the Pueblo peoples and Anishinaabe.

Structure and Governance

The Alliance is governed by a board composed of tribal leaders, clinicians, and scholars from institutions such as Columbia University, University of New Mexico, Arizona State University, Stanford University, and tribal colleges including Sinte Gleska University and Navajo Technical University. Executive leadership liaises with governmental offices like the Office of Minority Health and advisory councils such as the Tribal Advisory Committee of federal agencies. The organization’s staffing includes clinical directors, program managers, and research coordinators with affiliations to organizations such as Indian Health Service Behavioral Health, National Council for Behavioral Health, and Association of American Indian Physicians.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Collaborations span national nonprofits like Mental Health America, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Treatment Advocacy Center; tribal entities including the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Coushatta Tribe; and research centers such as the Northwestern University Center for Bioethics, Mayo Clinic, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The Alliance engages legislative partners in the United States Congress and committees like the House Committee on Natural Resources to advocate for Tribal Behavioral Health funding. Internationally, it connects with organizations such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and World Health Organization initiatives relevant to Indigenous mental health.

Funding and Grants

Funding sources comprise federal grants from SAMHSA Tribal Behavioral Health Grants, Indian Health Service grants, and allocations tied to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act as administered to tribal entities. Philanthropic support has come from foundations such as the Kellogg Foundation, Ford Foundation, Gates Foundation, and regional funders like the Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. The Alliance has received research funding through mechanisms involving the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and National Institute on Drug Abuse, and implements grant reporting aligned with standards used by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.

Impact and Evaluation

Evaluation methods incorporate mixed methods research with partners at University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of North Dakota, and Oregon Health & Science University to measure outcomes such as reductions in suicide attempts, improvements in access comparable to benchmarks from the Healthy People initiatives, and workforce retention metrics similar to those tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Impact assessments reference cultural continuity studies like those led by researchers associated with Harvard Medical School and program evaluation frameworks used by RAND Corporation and Kaiser Family Foundation. The Alliance reports outcomes to tribal councils, federal agencies, and philanthropic partners, informing policy discussions in forums such as the National Congress of American Indians Annual Conference.

Category:Native American health organizations