USDA adds $10M to Fort Belknap health care center project

Fort Belknap Indian Community announced it has received a $10 million boost in its effort to create a wellness center on the reservation.

Fort Belknap said in a release a north-central Montana health care consortium, led by the Fort Belknap Indian Community and Bear Paw Development Corp., was awarded a $10 million grant from USDA Emergency Rural Health Care.

The new grant is on top of an $11 million dollar allocation received from the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council’s American Rescue Plan Act, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, the release said.

“The Fort Belknap Indian Community is grateful to the (President Joe Biden) administration and USDA. As a result of this award, we can finally provide high-quality health care to our Tribal members, many of whom have never had access or have limited access to such services, especially on the southern end of our reservation,” Fort Belknap Indian Community Council President Jeffrey Stiffarm said in the release. “The grant will help us build a state-of-the-art health care facility in our Hays community, and, as such, tribal members won’t have to travel great distances to get the health care they need and deserve.”

“Bear Paw Development Corp. is grateful for the decades-long partnership we have with the Fort Belknap Indian Community and for the opportunity to be involved with this incredible project,” Bear Paw Executive Director Paul Tuss said in the release. “This Wellness Center will be a game-changer for the residents of Fort Belknap and will significantly enhance the quality of life of this special part of northern Montana for years to come.” 

Tuss is a Democratic candidate for House District 28, challenging incumbent first-term Rep. Ed Hill, R-Havre.

Island Mountain Development Group, a for-profit corporation on the Fort Belknap Reservation, in partnership with the Fort Belknap Health Department, will coordinate and manage the delivery of the Aaniiih Nakoda Health Care Model Program. Island Mountain will oversee the Anaakyaaniiin Wellness Center’s construction schedule.

Following extensive community engagement sessions in each of the Fort Belknap communities in 2021, the Fort Belknap council identified the need for better access to health care, and especially behavioral health services to address the ongoing youth suicide crisis, as a significant priority, the release said.

The release said the wellness center will use an integrated health care model and incorporate primary care, substance abuse services, behavioral health services, physical therapy and diabetes treatment with traditional cultural beliefs and healing practices of the Aaniiih and Nakoda peoples on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

The program will provide equitable, high-quality health care services to Fort Belknap and other area residents, the release said.

Called The Anaakyaaniiin Wellness Center, plans include a recreation center, fitness facility, medical wing and nutrition room/community kitchen. The center will provide essential services to keep Fort Belknap and area residents healthy and serve as a gathering place for healthy activities, the release said. Additionally, the center will offer extensive telehealth opportunities to connect especially youth and veterans with caregivers.

Even before the community engagements sessions, improving health care and wellness had become a higher and higher priority for the reservation, the release said.

“Health care has always been a council priority and that need became even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the release said. “Fort Belknap community members’ COVID infection rates were some of the highest in the region. The pandemic exacerbated mental health concerns in the community, as evidenced by a dramatic increase in suicide among Fort Belknap youth, particularly young females.”

An extensive consortium has been working on the project. Bear Paw Development was the lead applicant, and other members includeOpportunity Link Inc., Montana Health Care Foundation, and the Fort Belknap Community Economic Development Corp. It is supported by Montana health Care Foundation, Aaniiih Nakoda College, the University of North Dakota Indigenous Health Program and the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.

Each consortium member will contribute to community planning, health care programs, and implementation of services to make the project successful for Aaniiih and Nakoda people, as well as other Fort Belknap Indian Community residents and area neighbors, the release said.

“The Anaakyaaniiin Wellness Center will be open to everyone and, we hope, become an example of excellence in rural health care delivery and culturally informed wellness practices,” Stiffarm said.