Center for Rural Health’s National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative announces awards

Grand Forks, N.D.—Several Native groups from across the United States will receive funds to help address elder abuse thanks to grants from the National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative (NIEJI) Innovation program at the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. The NIEJI Innovation program announced $150,000 in “Native Elder Abuse Innovation Awards” for 2017.

Tribes from around the United States submitted proposals to create programs to prevent, identify and address elder abuse, neglect and exploitation in their communities. NIEJI Innovation awarded funding to eight tribes from eight states to help them develop programs for their communities:

Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribe of Montana: $17,148 for “Elder Abuse Infrastructure Development Project.”
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribe of North Carolina: $19,704 for “Elder Justice Project.”
Maniilaq Association of Alaska: $20,000 for “Challenging Elder Abuse in the Northwest Arctic.”
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe of Washington: $20,000 for “Elders Abuse Community Empowerment.”
Ponca Tribe of Nebraska: $17,148 for “Elder Abuse Prevention Project.”
Shoshone Bannock Tribes of Idaho: $18,000 for “Elderly Protection Improvement Project.”
Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe of North Dakota: $20,000 for “Dakota Elders Preservation Traditions Project.”
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York: $18,000 for “Multidisciplinary Team Implementation to Address Elder Abuse Issues.”

NIEIJI Innovation provides grants to tribal community-based organizations to carry out activities to prevent, identify and/or address elder abuse, neglect or exploitation in local tribal communities, rural or urban. There are five distinct areas of intervention in local tribal communities in addressing elder abuse:

Innovative approaches to preventing and addressing elder abuse in Indian Country;
To create awareness of elder abuse, its signs and impact;
Development of tribal resolution code, and laws to address elder abuse, neglect and exploitation;
Development of infrastructure, policies and procedures for reporting, investigating and intervening in elder abuse cases in tribal communities; and
Development of cross-jurisdictional processes for reporting, investigating or intervening in elder abuse cases.

These grants will be for one-year for projects to address the areas above or other innovative projects that will address elder abuse in their community.

These grants are funded by an award (#90EJIG003) from the Administration for Community Living.

UND’s Center for Rural Health works with tribal communities to help improve health outcomes and well-being for American Indians.

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Marv Leier
Communication Manager
Center for Rural Health
(701) 777-4205
marvin.leier@UND.edu