A home at Ohkay Owingeh in New Mexico. Photo from AIA Western Mountain Region

Ohkay Owingeh will use a $155,000 grant from the state of New Mexico to build a community wellness center, Indian Country Today reports.

The center will help the tribe combat high rates of diabetes and obesity among its youth. In the last five years, the number of diabetes cases grew 5 percent and nearly a quarter of youth are considered obese by the time they enter high school.

“We have a very high rate of childhood obesity. We have no physical education in our tribal school or our head start,” Christy Mermejo, the tribe's planning manager, told Indian Country Today.

The situation isn't unique to the tribe. According to a 2014 update from the New Mexico Department of Health, 52.8 percent of Indian third-grade students in the state are considered obese or overweight.

The money for the center at Ohkay Owingeh comes from the Tribal Infrastructure Fund, a program administered by the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department.

Get the Story:
Fighting Third-World Conditions for NM Tribes (Indian Country Today 7/7)

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