In early 2012 the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center (NAWHERC), an arm of grantee NACB, produced a report entitled “Roundtable Report on the Accessibility of Plan B as an Over-the-Counter Within the Indian Health Service,” which draws attention to the lack of emergency contraception for Native American women through the Indian Health Service (IHS; the primary health care provider for women on reservations). As the existing climate in the US towards reproductive rights continues to deteriorate its local impact affects indigenous communities disproportionately. The report calls for IHS to provide equal access to safe, EC in the form of Plan B, especially for survivors of sexual assault. Rape is a major issue in their community as Native Americans are raped at a rate nearly double that of rapes reported by all races annually – 3.5 per 1,000. Funds were requested to support the printing of the report in order to increase the distribution and the movement to discuss reproductive health issues in their communities.
The Native American Community Board’s (NACB) mission is to address health issues pertinent to our community through cultural preservation, education, coalition building, environmental and natural resource protection while working toward a safe community for women and children at the local, national and international levels to obtain our goals. This organization anticipates a groundswell of social media and traditional media coverage, bringing this issue to the attention of tribal governments.
