IHS Tribal Management

As the 80’s drew to a close, that care was delivered through BIA and US Indian Health Service contracts administered by the Tanana Chiefs Conference, a Fairbanks based, non-profit corporation serving over 40 villages throughout Interior Alaska.

Under the terms of P.L. 93-638, CATG villages sought to take over as much of that care as possible. Helping tribes take over their own functions is a TCC goal, and so, although some there were reluctant to see moneys and jobs transferred from the central office in Fairbanks to the Yukon Flats, CATG ultimately found support at TCC. CATG applied for an IHS Tribal Management Grant.

IHS not only denied the grant application, but criticized it sharply. CATG staff took the criticism to heart, and rewrote and resubmitted the same application a year later. This time, thee grant was awarded and was used to complete a feasibility study that launched a process that ultimately led to the CATG takeover of the Yukon Flats Health Center on June 1, 1994. In October, CATG took over Dental Services, the Health Aid Program, Community Health Representatives, Regional Health Planning and Mental Health and Substance Abuse.