2024 Wičhóyaŋke Network Grant Awardee
The University of Arizona Wassaja Center in Tucson, Arizona, will form a local collaborative with justice stakeholders and system-impacted individuals. The collaborative will primarily consist of Native American individuals, but also include key stakeholders from the Pima County Attorney’s Office, Pima County Justice Service, and Pima County Pre-Trial Services. The Attorneys General from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation will also be invited to serve on the Committee. Over the life of the grant, these stakeholders will work to create a regional tribal and non-tribal resource guide including information about judicial, social services, workforce, education, housing, medical, and/or assistance programs tailored to meet the need of incarcerated families and justice-impacted individuals.
Career Advancement and Transition Scholars (INCATS) award from the Indian Health Service
The University of Arizona College of Nursing (UA CON) will collaborate with the UA Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health to work across key Tribal Academic and Practice Partners (TAPP) advisory and tribal access groups, and state and tribal community colleges to address the critical shortage of AI/AN registered nurses (RNs) in Arizona's tribal healthcare systems. This collaboration is supported by the INCATS grant, a five-year renewal grant awarded by the Indian Health Service (IHS) Department of Health and Human Services.
The overall goal of this award is to increase the number of AI/AN students admitted to, retained in, and graduated from the UA CON to bolster the Tribal Nursing Workforce and strengthen the culturally congruent delivery of nursing care within Arizona’s tribal communities and agencies. The INCATS program will continue to strengthen relationships with tribal, academic, and practice stakeholders and offer extracurricular support programming and services to address the academic, personal, and professional needs of Indigenous nursing students.
Wassaja Center Alternative Credentials in Nursing and Public Health, Grant Award from the Kellogg Foundation
Wassaja Center’s Alternative Credentials Program (ACP), funded by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, will significantly increase the number of Native American (NA) individuals employed in healthcare related fields on Tribal land. This innovative approach is the first of its kind to foster professionals that are highly trained in their field while simultaneously remaining culturally competent regarding the unique issues facing Tribal communities. This program has been developed by Wassaja Center and our Tribal Advisory Board, a unique partnership that ensures Tribal voices are centering the work we do, and that all aspects of our Center are Indigenous led. The ACP will meet the Tribes’ need to create pathways to higher education and employment. It is a short-term solution to “growing-your-own" where the individual is able to gain quicker employment and boost his/her self-esteem by completing and serving in a paraprofessional position. The ACP will increase high-quality jobs and more equitable employment opportunities for Tribal members while pursuing their degree. Many NA students struggle to navigate Western university systems and employment structures. Due to the frustration, many NA do not make it past the first semester. Our ACP will not only provide students with the proper credentialing to connect them to a 4-year institution, but we also aim to provide each student with individualized guidance/resources to help them navigate the university experience and connect them to future employment on Tribal land. The ACP is part of a larger initiative within the Wassaja Center to work with Tribal Nations, students, practitioners, and community to assist Indigenous families in healing the body, mind, spirit, and environment. The Center uses a culturally appropriate holistic approach through Indigenous knowledge, research, data, public health, law, and policy.