According to the Indian Health Service, about 16 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives suffer from diabetes.

Tribes nationwide are looking to change the situation by developing programs to fit their needs. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is adding more healthy foods to its casino menu, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is helping elders find fresh produce at local farmers markets and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is encouraging its youth to eat more fruits and vegetables.

"Things have been changing. There's a new energy," Chippewa Ann Bullock, a medical consultant for the Eastern Band, told USA Today.

Congress recently reauthorized the Special Diabetes Program for Indians to provide annual grants of $150 million a year. The program is due to expire in September 2011.

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Native Americans embrace tradition to defeat diabetes (USA Today 6/24)