Native American & Indigenous Employees Advocate for Mutual Health and Wellbeing

Launched in 2021, the Native American and Indigenous (NA&I) network resource group (NRG), also called Indigenous NRG, is Humana’s newest of ten NRGs established since 2010. Goals of the voluntary, employee-led group are to support cultural recognition and inclusion of Native American and Indigenous employees and to improve the well-being and health outcomes of Native employees and the Native members, patients and communities Humana serves. To achieve these goals, the group organizes educational opportunities, cultural celebrations, professional development and networking opportunities, while encouraging volunteerism and community outreach initiatives that are open to all employees. 

Building trust allows us to serve
Members of the NA&I NRG were integral to helping our company understand and respect the unique cultural needs of Native populations when Humana began the process of expanding its Medicaid offerings to Oklahoma, a state with roughly 13.4% Native population and home to 39 Tribal Nations. In comparison, the 5.2 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives make up approximately 2% of the U.S. population. The first step to serving our tribal communities is to build trust and understanding that recognizes our country’s long history of violence, subjugation and racism toward Native populations, the impacts of which are still felt today. The NRG brought awareness to the company not only of historic roots of mistrust, but also the customs and cultural differences that must be observed to build meaningful relationships and trust within Indigenous communities. 

Healthier communities and career opportunities
Improving health outcomes and career opportunities for members of Native American and Indigenous communities are important to the NA&I NRG. To address health outcomes, members of the NRG have visited tribal headquarters and engaged in outreach to Indigenous communities and reservations to learn about the complexities associated with physicians, members and Indian Health Services and to ensure a high quality of care.  The Healthier Communities Council in the NRG has organized volunteer initiatives including the collection and distribution of diabetic socks, dental hygiene kits and healthy living education specific to Tribal Nations. Understanding the significant impact of unequal treatment of Native American and Indigenous communities over our nation’s history, members of NA&I have traveled to share employment opportunities with tribal communities at Pow Wows and other events, leveraging tribal affiliations within NRGs membership when possible, and these touchpoints have resulted in an increase in Indigenous applications and employment at Humana. 

Sharing historical and modern perspectives across Humana
NA&I has created a wide range of opportunities and resources to help colleagues better understand the original people who lived on the lands of what is now the United States. At the launch of the NRG, and as a result of the group’s advocacy, people who visit Humana’s headquarters are now greeted by a Land Recognition plaque, acknowledging the tribes who originally inhabited the land upon which the building now sits. Sharing a breadth of knowledge, the NRG shares historical accounts that highlight the rich and varied cultures of the multitude of Indigenous tribes across our nation, as well as unvarnished accounts of historical and present-day violence, such as the on-going crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MWIM). Educational opportunities have included presentations from guest speakers including Sitting Bull’s Great Grandson, Ernie LaPointe, workshops on allyship, cultural presentations, the Moccasin Telegraph podcast series and the monthly Native Pulse Newsletter. Accessible to Humana employees, the NRG’s website includes tribal spotlights, ally and advocate toolkits, a dictionary searchable by tribe or definition and many other resources. 

Learn more about our efforts, goals and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in Humana's Impact Report. Interested in working for an organization committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Visit Careers.Humana.com to learn more about our culture of inclusion and explore open job opportunities.