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About Us
The North American Indian Alliance is a non-profit organization serving Native American clients in the areas of chemical dependency, mental health, employment-related counseling, youth enrichment programs and general health.
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In the 1950s and the 1960s, the federal government passed legislation to terminate its legal obligations to Indian tribes. This led to the development of policies an programs designed to assimilate Indian people into the mainstream of American society. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Relocation and Employment assistance programs were developed to entice Indian families living on impoverished reservations to relocate to various cities across the country.
BIA Relocation offered job training and placement which was viewed by many Indians as a way to escape poverty. The BIA relocated over 160,000 American Indians to select urban cities across the country.
In the late 1960s, urban Indian community leaders began advocating to the local, state and federal levels for culturally appropriate health programs to address the unique social, cultural and health needs of Indians residing in urban settings. Grassroots community-based efforts led to the development of programs to provide health and outreach services. These provided primary outreach and referral services with limited direct care services and often were staffed by volunteers.
In response to the efforts of the urban Indian community leaders, Congress appropriated funds to study health needs of urban Indians in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This assessment identified and documented cultural, economic and access barriers to receiving health care. As a result, Congress appropriated funds through the 1921 Snyder Act for support of emerging urban Indian clinics in several BIA relocation cities. The awareness of poor health status of all Indian people continued to grow and in 1976, Congress passed the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), PL 94-437. Title V targets specific funding for the development of programs for Indians residing in specific urban cities. Since passage of this landmark legislation, amendments to Title V have strengthened urban health programs to expand to direct medical, alcohol prevention, mental health, HIV, health promotion and disease prevention services.
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