American Indian Health Research and Education Alliance (AIHREA) was officially formed in 2003 to promote the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health of Native communities in the Heartland. Some of our founding organizations include PAICH- Program in American Indian Community Health (Now CAICH- Center for American Idian Community Health), American Indian Council of Kansas City, Haskell He
alth Center, Heart of America Indian Center (Now Kansas City Indian Center), Johnson County Community College, and Nakota Designs, Inc. Our Goals-
• To work with American Indian peoples, nations, communities, and organizations to ascertain the current health needs for American Indians
• To address cultural and social issues, such as ethnocentrism, racism, socio-economic disparities, that negatively affect the well-being of American Indians
• To partner with colleges, universities, and other academic institutions to develop culturally-appropriate research methodologies and frameworks that can be utilized to address the health needs of American Indians
• To collaborate with governmental and non-governmental organizations, both Native and non-Native, to obtain and coordinate needed health-related resources for American Indian peoples, nations, communities, and organizations
• To educate both Natives and non-Natives about the current state of Indian affairs in the United States through partnerships with academic institutions
• To create scholarship funds for American Indian students who wish to pursue higher education to further the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of American Indians and their communities.