​Advocates joined critical conversations around best practices and health equity for all American Indian and Alaska Native people. 

Pictured above is a plenary session, Fireside Chat: Ending Cancer as We Know It, with panelists Stacy A. Bohlen, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and chief executive officer, NIHB; Dr. Lisa Richardson, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control; Angela Sailor,  ACS CAN director, Federal Strategic Alliances, Health Equity; and Donald Warne, MD, MPH, co-director, Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health.

Volunteers and leaders from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) attended the National Indian Health Board (NIHB)’s 2024 National Tribal Health Conference (NTHC) at The Monument Convention Center in Rapid City, SD. The annual conference, held May 20 – 23, was designed to provide a forum for health and public health professionals, policy specialists, advocates, and allies to engage in critical conversations around policy, advocacy, Tribal health best practices and health equity for all American Indian and Alaska Native people. 

This year’s conference theme, Tribal Health Equity on Our Terms, focused on health promotion and disease prevention, behavioral health, public health policy, infrastructure and systems, advocacy and strengthening health care delivery in Tribal communities. 

As one of the event sponsors, ACS CAN contributed to the conference's educational opportunities by engaging with over 1,200 attendees. Among its active participation, ACS CAN hosted a Fireside Chat, Ending Cancer As We Know It during the opening plenary. Angela Sailor, ACS CAN Director of Federal Strategic Alliances and Health Equity along with other public health professionals from local health consortiums, served as panelists and discussed the importance of increasing cancer equity in Tribal communities. Throughout the conference, several ACS CAN volunteers and team members spoke as panelists in three distinct workshops aimed to further the dialogue and importance of cancer research, prevention, screening, and treatment, as well as access to health coverage through Medicaid. 

• Cancer Screening – Karen Malcolm, ACS CAN Oregon Vice State Lead Ambassador 
• Medicaid Unwinding and Protecting Access to Coverage – David W. Benson, ACS CAN Senior State and Local Campaigns Manager
• Effective Advocacy Tactics for Today’s Ever-Changing Political Landscape – Kari Hampton, ACS CAN Oregon Grassroots Manager, Nishith Pandya, ACS CAN Director of Federal Relations, Emily Nenon, ACS CAN Alaska Government Relations Director and Nancy Wahtomy, Patient Navigator, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Health & Human Services and ACS CAN Idaho Legislative Ambassador.

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill that provides a variety of services to tribes, Area Health Boards, Tribal organizations, federal agencies, and private foundations.

Panelists posing at right after a Cancer Screening Workshop were Melissa Buffalo, MS (Meskwaki), chief executive officer, American Indian Cancer Foundation; Karen Malcolm, ACS CAN Oregon state lead ambassador; Dr. Daniel Petereit, a radiation oncologist at Monument Health Cancer Care Institute in Rapid City, SD; Dr. Lisa Richardson, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control; and Donald Warne, MD, MPH, co-director, Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health.