Native American Heritage Month recognizes the histories and continuing invaluable contributions of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people in the United States. This month honors the rich diversity of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian cultures, traditions, and languages, and focuses on how heritage intersects with health. By providing a platform for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian health organizations to discuss challenges and opportunities, we can all help move communities toward health equity and reduce disparities in breastfeeding rates.

Organizations, Resources, Tools, and Materials

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• ​Association of State Public Health Nutritionists
  
  • An ASPHN Brief: Complimentary Feeding: Children Born to Native American Families 
    
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Celebrate Native American Heritage Month
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Safe to Sleep
  • ​Healthy Native Babies Project Workbook Packet (includes Workbook, Handout, Toolkit Disk, and Toolkit User Guide)
• Indian Health Service
  • Breastfeeding Toolkit
• National Institute for Children's Health Quality
  • Historic Trauma is Affecting Tomorrow's Children
• National Native American Heritage Month​
• Native Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington
  • Sample Tribal Breastfeeding Policy
• The White House
  • ​A Proclamation on National Native American Heritage Month, 2023
• United States Lactation Consultant Association
  • Honoring Indigenous Heritage: How Traditional Birthing Practices Strengthens Communities
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health 
  • ​2018 National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month Observance
• U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs
  • National Native American Heritage Month - 2019
• Wisconsin Association of Perinatal Care
  • Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding

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Organizations Focused on Indigenous Breastfeeding

• Indigenous Lactation Counselor
• Indigenous Milk Medicine Collective
• Indigenous Women Rising
• Native American Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington
• Native Breastfeeding Coalition of Wisconsin
• Navajo Breastfeeding Coalition
• Oregon Inter-Tribal-Breastfeeding Coalition
• Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Breastfeeding Coalition

Webinar Spotlight

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Building a Breastfeeding Support Program within the Ho-Chunk Nation Community

Shawn Meyer, RN, WI State MCH, and Allie Isaacson, RN, MCH, Ho-Chunk Nation, presented this webinar in February, 2018. They provide a history of the Ho-Chunk Nation and explore the coalition-building strategies used within this community to build a breastfeeding support program. 

​Watch the recorded session by clicking here!