Today, there are many needs and challenges in realizing this vision; there are significant disparities between the health status of over 130,000 Alaska Natives and that of most Americans:

• Unprecedented rates of cancer, obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions
• High rates of depression, suicide, alcohol abuse and child abuse and child neglect
• Rural communities lack running water and safe sanitation systems

Moreover, travel, weather and administrative hurdles can be barriers to access medical care. One of our greatest challenges is the insufficient funding for the Indian Health Service that is simply not enough to cover basic health services.