In this episode of A Look at Urban Indian Health in Oklahoma City with Robyn Sunday-Allen, host River Carroll, M.L.S. (Cheyenne and Arapaho), Policy and Events Communications Associate at the National Council of Urban Indian Health, talks with Robyn Sunday-Allen, RN, MPH (Cherokee Nation), Chief Executive Officer of the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic and incoming NCUIH Board President. Robyn reflects on her leadership journey from a new nurse fulfilling a service commitment to leading one of the nation’s largest urban Indian health organizations. She discusses the clinic’s work serving more than 25,000 patients from over 220 tribes, with a strong focus on preventive care and whole person wellness across the lifespan. The conversation also explores emerging health challenges in urban Indian communities — including rising cancer rates and growing behavioral health needs among youth — as well as the importance of advocacy, urban confer, and equitable funding to ensure urban Indian organizations have a voice at decision making tables and the resources needed to deliver high quality care.

To learn more about the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, visit www.okcic.com.

In this episode, we share highlights from the National Council of Urban Indian Health’s recent virtual briefing for Congressional staff on the rising rates of opioid use and Substance Use Disorder in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Jeremy Grabiner, Associate Director of Policy at the National Council of Urban Indian Health, interviews Kerry Hawk Lessard, Executive Director of Native American Lifelines, as the conversation explores frontline interventions, the urgent challenges facing Native communities, and ways Congress can help strengthen resources and support.

Drawing on her experience, Kerry stresses the necessity that Native patients feel seen and respected when addressing stigmatized issues such as substance use disorder and mental health. Culturally grounded care builds trust, increases willingness to seek treatment, and improves health outcomes, while disrespect and stigma can actively drive people away from life-saving services. American Indian and Alaska Native people have the highest overdose death rates in the U.S. and the largest treatment gaps, compounded by systemic invisibility in public health data. Misclassification and undercounting prevent resources from reaching Native communities. Native American Lifelines responds through trusted partnerships, advocacy, and culturally rooted interventions. The episode closes with a discussion on the chronic underfunding for Native health.

For more resources on Substance Use Disorder (SUD), visit NCUIH’s Overdose Prevention Resource HUB at ncuih.org/overdoseprevention.

To learn more about the Native American Lifelines, visit nativeamericanlifelines.org.

In this episode of A Look at Urban Indian Health in Tulsa with Carmelita Skeeter, host Meredith Raimondi, Vice President of Policy and Communications at the National Council of Urban Indian Health, sits down with Carmelita Skeeter (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa. Carmelita shares her remarkable journey as a trailblazing leader in urban Native healthcare, from launching a grassroots clinic in 1976 to building a comprehensive, community-driven health center serving over 14,000 Native patients in Tulsa. Together, they discuss the systemic barriers Native people have faced in accessing care, the power of community-led advocacy, and how Carmelita's decades of leadership have helped shape national policy and promote health equity for urban Indian communities.

To learn more about the Indian Health Care Resource Center of Tulsa, visit www.ihcrc.org.