American Indians
American Indians constitute the state’s largest ethnic minority (6.4%). In this State Plan, there is not a separate section for strategies designed to impact American Indians. Instead, strategies focusing on supporting Indian communities are integrated throughout the Plan across the seven settings.
The need for effective strategies to prevent and reduce obesity among American Indians in Montana is immense. An analysis conducted in 2008 showed that among Indians obesity prevalence is 60% higher than among whites.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity among whites and American Indians in Montana, 2000-2008:
At the statewide planning meeting to draft the State Plan, stakeholders and partners working to address the needs of Indian populations met for several hours to discuss specific action items and general themes that should be included in the plan.
Specific action items reported back to the full group included:
- Strengthening the American Indian Advisory Council to NAPA; and
- Including youth in project planning and implementation.
In response, NAPA agreed to expand the number of members on its American Indian Advisory Committee by August, 2011. NAPA also agreed to fund and facilitate a meeting of partners working specifically with American Indians across the state to further develop specific action items. That gathering is tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2011.
General themes stressed the importance of linking nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention activities to holistic, culturally-appropriate efforts to promote physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health community-wide. Margaret Marsh, a participant in the discussion group, produced a four-slide power point summarizing major themes:
