2024 Wičhóyaŋke Network Grant Awardee
The University of Arizona Wassaja Center in Tucson, Arizona, will form a local collaborative with justice stakeholders and system-impacted individuals. The collaborative will primarily consist of Native American individuals, but also include key stakeholders from the Pima County Attorney’s Office, Pima County Justice Service, and Pima County Pre-Trial Services. The Attorneys General from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O’odham Nation will also be invited to serve on the Committee. Over the life of the grant, these stakeholders will work to create a regional tribal and non-tribal resource guide including information about judicial, social services, workforce, education, housing, medical, and/or assistance programs tailored to meet the need of incarcerated families and justice-impacted individuals.
Career Advancement and Transition Scholars (INCATS) award from the Indian Health Service
The University of Arizona College of Nursing (UA CON) will collaborate with the UA Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health to work across key Tribal Academic and Practice Partners (TAPP) advisory and tribal access groups, and state and tribal community colleges to address the critical shortage of AI/AN registered nurses (RNs) in Arizona's tribal healthcare systems. This collaboration is supported by the INCATS grant, a five-year renewal grant awarded by the Indian Health Service (IHS) Department of Health and Human Services.
The overall goal of this award is to increase the number of AI/AN students admitted to, retained in, and graduated from the UA CON to bolster the Tribal Nursing Workforce and strengthen the culturally congruent delivery of nursing care within Arizona’s tribal communities and agencies. The INCATS program will continue to strengthen relationships with tribal, academic, and practice stakeholders and offer extracurricular support programming and services to address the academic, personal, and professional needs of Indigenous nursing students.