Healthy Native North Carolinians Network
We are accepting applicants for the coming year now!
The Healthy Native North Carolinians Network (HNNC), administered by the UNC American Indian Center, facilitates sustainable community changes to support health and wellness within North Carolina’s tribes and urban Indian organizations by leveraging common goals and resources. Using an Indigenous approach to holistic health, HNNC addresses physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Since 2011, HNNC has created a successful model for developing organizational capacity, tribal self-determination, and intertribal collaborations.
There are three key components of HNNC:
1. Support for Self-Determined Action Plans- Financial support for self-determined initiatives enables communities to create and administer the change they wish to see in their communities. Health and wellness activities have included the creation of community gardens, talking circles, walking trails, annual 5Ks, farmers markets, fruits and vegetable powwow concessions, and more.
2. Capacity-Building Consultations and Workshops- Tailored technical assistance is provided to Native leaders in community development, implementation of activities, and evaluation. Capacity-building workshops and webinars are responsive to community health and wellness interests and goals.
3. Cross-Community Collaborations- Participants are encouraged to share stories, challenges, cultures, and successes at annual capacity building workshops and by visiting other communities to learn from one another.
Priority Focus Areas
- Activities that integrate mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing
- Tribal infrastructure improvements
- Cultural revitalization and preservation
- Activities and educational programming that promotes Indigenous ecological knowledge
- Land conservation and increasing access to natural areas (tribal or public lands)
- Practices and policies to increase access to healthy local foods and physical activities
- Equipment, supplies, and strategies to sustain health and wellness programming
- Human resource development
2024-2025 Project Summaries
Lumbee – Exploring agriculture utilizing the past, present and future methods to educate and meet the needs of our community.
Eastern Band Cherokee – Finishing greenhouse infrastructure to cultural revitalize and preserve, through growing of native and culturally significant plants to aid in cultural education and tribal needs.
Waccamaw-Siouan – The Indigenous Market Days project brings together youth and elders to promotes health, cultural preservation, and economic empowerment by hosting market events that feature indigenous vendors, wellness workshops and community engagement activities.
Coharie – The Coharie would like to purchase a High Tunnel so we can grow our own produce and plants that could be transplanted to our Community Gardens.
Meherrin – Reconstruction of the Palisade and Powwow Arena to accommodate elders and community during our annual Powwow and Ceremonies
Occaneechi Band Saponi – Convert existing smokehouse building into mini museum/visitors center at tribal village in Burlington, NC.
Sappony – This project will support the activities of the Sappony Heritage Program, including Sappony Youth Camp, Sappony Quilting day, and Sappony Kirby Arts Exhibit.
Triangle Native American Society – Increasing holistic wellness in our community by promoting healthy Indigenous Foodways during our community events, workshops/skillshares featuring community wellness leaders, and participation visits to learn from our peer HNNC network projects.
Coharie Sorghum
This short documentary entails the relationship between the Coharie people and the Sorghum they grow. This video was made to present the work of the Coharie Tribe at the Annual Network Gathering of the Healthy Native North Carolinians initiative at the NC Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill.
HNNC is generously supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC.
For more information about the HNNC Network contact:
Ryan Dial
American Indian Health Project Manager
Dr. Danielle Hiraldo
AIC Director
919.843.5233 (P) § 919.843.4024 (F)
Past HNNC Events
HNNC Webinar, February 25, 2016: “”Connecting People to the Land through Triple Bottom Line Partnerships”
Co-hosted by the UNC American Indian Center & The Conservation Fund’s Resourceful Communities Program. Click here to watch the archived webinar.
Check out our new video series, One Step at a Time, created by our Health Careers Connection Intern, Harley D. Locklear (Lumbee; Exercise & Sports Science Major).
Episode 1: Setting Healthy Goals
Episode 2: Setting Healthy Eating Habits
Episode 3: Advocacy Through Sharing Our Stories
“Like” the Healthy Native North Carolinians Network on Facebook!