This book serves as a much-needed source of information on the social and health issues that impact the health of Native American women in the United States, accompanied by invaluable historical, cultural, and other contextual data about this sociocultural group.
The Department of Health and Human Services reported that Native American women are second only to African American women in terms of death rate due to homicide and drug abuse. Psychiatric disorders such as depression and obesity-related diseases like diabetes are also common among Native populations. Not surprisingly, poverty, limited access to preventive health care, and some cultural barriers are at the heart of many of these persistent health disparities.
Health and Social Issues of Native American Women is the first book that specifically explores and discusses health and related social issues within the world of Native American women, providing strong historical and cultural perspectives as well as other contextual information that is often missing or misrepresented in other works about Native American women.
Comprising contributions from mostly Native American women scholars, the work presents key background information on native women's health, health care delivery systems, and sociocultural history, and its chapters address the changing role of native women in Alaska and other parts of Indian country. Each author taps her specific area of expertise and knowledge to spotlight specific native women's health problems, such as nutrition, aging, domestic violence, diabetes, and substance abuse.
Highlights
• Examines the changing role and contribution of Native American women in confronting various health and social issues
• Provides a context for explaining why some health disparities persist
• Presents relevant epidemiological data and comparisons that shed light on the key differences in morbidity and mortality pattern between Native women and other racial/ethnic groups
• Represents an essential resource for those studying or interested in medical anthropology, public health, medical sociology, women's studies, ethnic studies, and Native American studies
Jennie R. Joe, PhD, MPH, MA, is professor emeritus in family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. Her scholarly activities and work is in the area of cross-cultural health with an emphasis on health concerns of Native Americans. Some of her national and international work is with the Institute of Medicine and aboriginal health programs in Canada.
Francine C. Gachupin, PhD, MPH, CIP, is operations manager of the Human Research Protection Office at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She has extensive experience working with American Indian tribal communities focusing on chronic disease surveillance, public health practice, epidemiology and research. Gachupin obtained her doctorate from the University of New Mexico and her master's degree in public health from the University of Washington.
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Judith Salmon Kaur
1: Introduction
Jennie R. Joe and Francine C. Gachupin
2: Changing and Diverse Roles of Women in American Indian Culture
Teresa D. LaFromboise and Bayley J. Marquez
3: Alaska Native Women: Forty Years of Sociocultural change
Rosita Kaahani Worl
4: The Impact of Federal Government Policies on American Indian and Alaska Native Health Care
Terry M. Maresca
5: Health Disparity: The Morbidity and Mortality Picture
Linda Burhanisstipanov
6: Becoming an Elder: Native Women Aging
Emily A. Haozous and R. Turner Goins
7: Addressing Food Security and Food Sovereignty in Native American Communities
Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan
8: The Struggle with the Devastation of Diabetes
Jennie R. Joe
9: Domestic Violence in American Indian Communities: Background, Culture, and Legal Issues
Mary Rogers and Jennifer Giroux
10. Native American Women: HIV/AIDS Risk and Activism
Irene S. Vernon
11. Differences in Cancer Patterns in American Indian/Alaska Native Women Across the U.S.
Teshia G. Arambula Solomon and Carol Goldtooth-Begay
12. Three Native Sister: Being Young and the Need to Fit-in
Nina S. Wampler and Lorenda Belone
13. Protections to Consider when Engaging American Indians/
Alaska Natives in Human Subject Research
Francine C. Guchapin
14. Contributors’ Biographies
Reviews
"This groundbreaking work expressly ties social problems such as poverty and domestic violence to the state of women's health in Indian Country. . . . This rigorous piece of scholarship calls upon those in the forefront of studying the impact of social problems on Native women's health, delivering a thorough assessment."—Choice
"Those interested in contemporary Native American issues, or readers interested in women’s studies, will discover a wealth of information in these essays."—Library Journal
