{"id":20145,"date":"2022-01-21T11:38:26","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T16:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=20145"},"modified":"2022-01-21T11:38:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T16:38:27","slug":"kaiser-health-news-little-shell-tribe-prepares-for-health-care-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/21\/kaiser-health-news-little-shell-tribe-prepares-for-health-care-milestone\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaiser Health News: Little Shell Tribe prepares for health care milestone"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Little<\/a>
The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians became the 574th federally recognized Indian nation in December 2020. Photo: Senator Jon Tester<\/a> (D-Montana)<\/figcaption>\r\n
\u2018Heart\u2019 of Little Shell: Newest Federally Recognized Tribe to Open First Clinic<\/div>\r\n
The Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic is slated to open in Great Falls on January 31, roughly two years after the tribal nation achieved its long-sought federal recognition.<\/div>\r\n
Friday, January 21, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Katheryn Houghton<\/div>\r\n
Kaiser Health News<\/div>\r\n
khn.org<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nGREAT FALLS, Montana — Louella Fredrickson has long created workarounds to fill gaps in the spotty medical care available to her as a member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians<\/a> of Montana.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe 86-year-old uses dollar-store reading glasses to improve her blurry vision because she\u2019s worried about the cost of an eye appointment. And when she needed hearing aids, she was told it would cost her more than $1,300. So Fredrickson asked a doctor to tweak her husband\u2019s old pair to fit her smaller ears. \u201cMy husband had only used them for a few months before he died, so they work OK,\u201d Fredrickson said.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBut one thing she hasn\u2019t solved is the 200-mile round trip from her home in Great Falls to the closest Indian Health Service clinic that offers such services to tribal members for free.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nSoon, though, getting care will be easier for Fredrickson and other Little Shell members living in and around Great Falls. The Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic is slated to open in this city of about 60,000 people on January 31, roughly two years after the tribal nation achieved its long-sought federal recognition.\r\n

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<\/P>\r\nFor the first time, Little Shell members will have guaranteed access to health services \u2014 and see their culture reflected in the offerings. The brick-and-mortar hub is a powerful symbol for a tribe that lacks a reservation, especially given the clinic\u2019s focus on providing care to people who have faced long-standing health barriers that the pandemic underscored.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe building is a tangible example of what Little Shell can become, said tribal member Darrel Rummel, 81. \u201cThe clinic, it\u2019s going to be the heart of it all.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nLittle Shell became the United States\u2019 574th federally recognized Indigenous tribe in December 2019, roughly 150 years after Little Shell leaders began advocating for the tribe to be acknowledged as a sovereign nation. That recognition came just months before the covid-19 pandemic<\/a> took hold and disproportionately killed Indigenous people<\/a> due to entrenched structural health inequities. Of the nearly 2,800 Montanans who had died by December 3 from covid complications, 12% identified as Native American<\/a>. Indigenous people make up an estimated 7% of the state\u2019s total population.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAmid the health crisis, the Little Shell Tribe used federal pandemic relief dollars to fast-track the opening of its clinic<\/a>. It will offer primary and behavioral health care, plus dental, vision, pharmaceutical, lab, and radiological services.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe tribe has had free access to Indian Health Service clinics statewide since Montana recognized it as a tribal nation in 2000. But such clinics can be scattered far afield and, even then, medical services vary. Little Shell members said their access has faltered when health facility budgets tighten and the clinics must prioritize care for tribal members affiliated with local reservations.\r\n

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The Little Shell Tribal Health Clinic is slated to open by the end of January, the first dedicated clinic for the tribe that lacks a reservation. \u201cThe clinic, it\u2019s going to be the heart of it all,\u201d said one Little Shell member.

\ud83d\udcdd: @K_Hought<\/a>
\ud83d\udd17: https:\/\/t.co\/u4nqOAQ6vr<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/817hYWXI5o<\/a><\/p>— KFF Health News (@KFFHealthNews) January 21, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>