Category: American Indian/Alaska Native workers

How Tribal Communities Can Use the Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program

  The final blog post in our series celebrating Native American Heritage Month highlights a free program available to anyone, including American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, employers, and workers. Some may not be aware of this service, though it has been part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Helath (NIOSH) around Read More >

Posted on by Amy Mobley, MEn; James Couch, PhD, CIH; Elizabeth Dalsey, MA

American Indian and Alaska Native Workers

  This is the second blog post in our series celebrating Native American Heritage Month. It provides a general description of the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) workforce using the NIOSH Employed Labor Force (ELF) Query System. Read the first blog post here. AI/AN workers are employed in various occupations and industries. Understanding where Read More >

Posted on by Amy Mobley, MEn; Jeffrey Shire, MS; Elizabeth Dalsey, MA; Marie Haring Sweeney, PhD, MPH

Native American Heritage Month: Honoring American Indian and Alaska Native Workers

  There are currently 574 federally recognized tribes across the United States. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) workers play a crucial role in the U.S. workforce and economy, yet little is known about the hazards that AI/AN workers face. This is the first in a series of blog posts by the National Institute for Read More >

Posted on by Elizabeth Dalsey, MA5 Comments

Support for Existing Expertise: Community-focused training initiatives to improve the safety and health of Tribal buffalo herd workers

American bison, also known as buffalo, are the largest land mammal in North America and are perfectly adapted to the harsh landscape of the high plains, capable of surviving extreme winters, vast changes in temperature, drought conditions, high humidity, and many diseases that impact other hoofed mammals. In recent decades, indigenous communities across North America Read More >

Posted on by Mystera M. Samuelson, Arlo Iron Cloud Sr., Lisa Iron Cloud, KC Elliott, Jessica Post, Risto Rautiainen, Ellen Duysen, and John Gibbins1 Comment

NIOSH in Denver

NIOSH has had a presence in Denver since the early 1970s shortly after NIOSH was created.  While the name of the office and the functions have changed over time, a commitment to improving occupational health and safety conditions for those working in the Western United States has remained constant. In 2015, the Denver Office became Read More >

Posted on by David L. Caruso

50 Years of NIOSH and 30 Years of NIOSH in Alaska

For the past 30 years, NIOSH has operated a small research office in Anchorage, Alaska. The NIOSH Division of Safety Research established the Alaska Field Station in 1991 to address the high rate of occupational fatalities among workers in the state. Surveillance from 1980-1989 showed Alaska had the highest rate of occupational fatality in the Read More >

Posted on by Theodore D. Teske, MA; CAPT Ryan Hill, MPH; CAPT Mary O’Connor, MS; and Devin Lucas, PhD3 CommentsTags

Partnering to Promote Workplace Safety and Health in Tribal Communities

Over 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) live across the United States. In 2013, approximately 1,319,000 AI/AN workers were employed in the U.S. workforce1,2. AI/AN workers are 42 percent more likely to be employed in a high-risk occupation (defined as an occupation where the injury and illness rate is more than twice the Read More >

Posted on by Liz Dalsey2 Comments

Partnership Increases Capacity in Agricultural Safety on the Navajo Nation

Farming and ranching are important to the livelihood and culture of the Navajo Nation. Nearly all families living on the 27, 000 square mile reservation are involved in agriculture.1 Many of them use traditional farming practices that do not include powered machinery. However, an increasing number of farmers are changing to cash crops and larger-scale Read More >

Posted on by Alyssa Llamas, BS; María Sofía Lioce, M.D., M.S.; and Viji Potula, Ph.D.1 Comment

Improving the Safety and Health of Bison Handlers

  Recent media reports of bison injuring visitors at Yellowstone National Park have raised public awareness of the hazards of interacting with bison. Those who work with these animals face unique risks. Bison are the largest land mammals in North America, weighing in at about 1,000-2,000 pounds.1 They can run 35 miles per hour and Read More >

Posted on by Kelsey Palm, Ellen Duysen, Risto Rautiainen, Clayton Kelling1 Comment