Montana is home to federally recognized tribes on seven reservations, one state-recognized tribe, and a large urban American Indian population. Health disparities among American Indian and Alaska Native people are a serious, longstanding problem throughout the United States. In Montana, American Indian/Alaska Native people die at a median age of fifty years (more than twenty years earlier than white Montanans). Death rates for specific illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, respiratory illnesses, injuries, and suicide are substantially higher for American Indian/Alaska Native people in the state as well.
The Montana Healthcare Foundation (MHCF) was formed at the end of 2013 and is Montana's largest health-focused philanthropy. American Indian health is one of the foundation's three major focus areas.
Statistics on health disparities are just a starting point for understanding the health of American Indian and Alaska Native people. To develop the MHCF's approach, we met extensively with tribal health departments, hospitals, urban Indian health centers, and others to learn about the practical realities behind these numbers and to develop a strategy to address them. Four key findings have driven the foundation's strategy.
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