The Office of Management of Budgets

The Office of Management and Budget defines American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIAN) as people whose ancestors came from any of the original peoples that resided on the North and South American continents and who have maintained their community attachment since. According to the 2010 Census, 5.3 million persons in the United States are classified as American Indian or Alaska Native (U.S.Department of Commerce 5). A single race or a combination of the two races is classified. 2.9 million of the 5.2 million are classified as Native Americans and Alaskans. In the categorization based on race, it is reported that the race far includes 15 separate response categories with the chief classifications including the Office of Management Budgets (OMB) races. Furthermore, in addition to the White, African America, American Indians, and the Alaska native groups, there are also Asian and a few Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups (O’Malley and Brown 14). 41 percent of the American Indiana and Alaska Native groups either live alone or as a group. Those living in the South constitute the largest population and are followed by those in the Midwest groups. Considering the age factor, it is apparent that age 42 constitutes the mid-age of the AAIA population with the proportion of those over 62 years being 45 percent (O’Malley and Brown 23). Furthermore, based on the data collected in 2009, it is reported that the married population in this ethnic group constitutes 42 percent while those who have never married comprise 33 percent of the total population.

Structural Analysis

The assessment of the structural composition the group includes the categorization based on the social, economic, political, and the environmental influences that determine life patterns. By factoring the economic dimensions, it is noted that the largest group among the AIAN group se to be classed among the relative economic status (O’Malley and Brown 8). The overall trend is that the average median wage income for the adult AIANs is generally less compared to the general population. Poverty levels tend to be consistent with the wage disparity level, with an estimated 20.1 percent of the population falling below poverty levels.

On the social dimension, it is critical to factor the changes that the AIAN population face in the perspective of the benefits that relate to the social insurance programs. The three types of benefits that the group is able to enjoy include the Survivors and Disability Insurance, Old Age and the Supplemental Security Income (Cummings-winfield and Mushani-kanji 24). Most of these services are intended to benefit the vulnerable populations as they constitute a large percentage of the total composition of the group. The group also enjoys a broad range of benefits such as being eligible for medical care through this feature is based primarily on the income potential of the given individual. For example, it is stipulated that those who are recognized by the federal state do not have to pay for out-of-pocket medical costs (James, Schwartz, and Berndt 44).

Apart from the medical benefits, the ethnic group has been on the Centers for Disease Control radar in the efforts to educate the community about the need to observe good practices in the social setting and the environment as a whole. Among the major advantages include working with the Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal leaders to defining scalable and effective approaches that will guarantee better health in the community (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Furthermore, support and technical assistance is offered to the groups to better the community’s effort, linguistics, educational appropriates and the overall cultural competency. Thus, through the input of these considerations, the CDC has enabled the creation of a better health status and prevention of disease outcome for the most at-risk groups and vulnerable populations.

Community Assets/ Resources

As a minority group, the population has for a while been associated with long-suffering and illnesses, which justifies the effort that the CDC has since instituted to ensure that the residents in the community are able to lead stable lives. Two selected cases of victims of heath conditions and that have been used as a basis for the understanding of the health needs of the community. For example, Meet Michael is a man 57 years of age who is cherished for being the youngest reported case of smoking and who is believed to have been diagnosed with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that blocks the respiratory system (Mowery et al. 739). The other leader in the understanding of the heath needs of the populations Meet Nathan, a resident of Idaho who died from the exposure to secondhand smoke that led to permanent lung damage.

The other important feature that characterizes the major assets in the group is the preservation of cultural resources and historical practices. Through the National Tribal Preservation Program, the Indian community has been able to secure, preserve and protect the traditions that they perceive to be important (Dickerson et al. 507). Through funding from related schemes such as the Tribal Heritage grants, the cultural presentations have since been upheld. The other important aspect of the group’s resources is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The act enables the preservation of human remains and cultural items that are crucial for the community.

Works Cited

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “HIV Among American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States.” CDC (2017): n. pag. Web.

Cummings-winfield, Cynthia, and Tayreez Mushani-kanji. “Satisfaction With Telehealth for Cancer Support Groups in Rural American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.” Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing 12.6 (2008): n. pag. Print.

Dickerson, Daniel et al. “Utilizing Drumming for American Indians/Alaska Natives with Substance Use Disorders: A Focus Group Study.” The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 38.5 (2012): 505–510. Web.

James, Cara, Karyn Schwartz, and Julia Berndt. “A Profile of American Indians and Alaska Natives and Their Health Coverage.” Race, ethnicity, healthcare (2009): n. pag. Web.

Mowery, Paul D. et al. “Disparities in Smoking-Related Mortality Among American Indians/Alaska Natives.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 49.5 (2015): 738–744. Web.

O’Malley, Martin, and Anthony G. Brown. “American Indian and Alaska Native Servicemembers and Veterans.” American Indians and Alaska Natives in Maryland: Health Data and Resources (2010): n. pag. Print.

U.S.Department of Commerce. “The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2000.” U.S. Census (2010): n. pag. Web.