fbpx
facebook app symbol  twitter  linkedin  instagram 1
Donate Get Newsletter
Donate Get Newsletter
 

Oklahoma State University Receives $3.5M for Indigenous Foodways and Health Initiative.

Tags

Details

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy received a $3.5 million donation from a Denmark-based pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk Inc.

The money will go toward the center’s Indigenous Foodways and Health Initiative, supporting language revitalization and access to traditional foods.

Screenshot 2025 11 28 102949

 

“After 20 years of working in public health with Native American communities, I have found that initiatives that support and strengthen cultural practices and traditions are the
most effective strategies for promoting health,” said Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the director of the Center for Indigenous Health Research and Policy. “Gifts like this one from Novo Nordisk support Native peoples to implement programs of greatest priority to them, which are culturally centered and use indigenous research methods.”

Novo Nordisk Inc. is a healthcare company leading initiatives to prevent and treat chronic illness—including diabetes and obesity— around the world.

More Stories Like This

Diné-led nonprofit immerses children in their native language
The mystery of wildlife and a world beyond our understanding
Feds close to releasing draft environmental review of Colorado River management options
Happy Holidays from Native News Online
After Trump cuts, seeds sit in the warehouse

Help us defend tribal sovereignty. 

At Native News Online, our mission is rooted in telling the stories that strengthen sovereignty and uplift Indigenous voices — not just at year’s end, but every single day.

Because of your generosity last year, we were able to keep our reporters on the ground in tribal communities, at national gatherings and in the halls of Congress — covering the issues that matter most to Indian Country: sovereignty, culture, education, health and economic opportunity.

That support sustained us through a tough year in 2025. Now, as we look to the year ahead, we need your help right now to ensure warrior journalism remains strong — reporting that defends tribal sovereignty, amplifies Native truth, and holds power accountable.

Levi headshotThe stakes couldn't be higher. Your support keeps Native voices heard, Native stories told and Native sovereignty defended.

Stand with Warrior Journalism today.

Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher

 
About The Author
Native News Online Staff
Author: Native News Online StaffEmail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at [email protected].

Apache Leader Walks 60 Miles to Court Hearing That Will Decide Fate of Sacred Oak Flat

January 06, 2026 Elyse Wild
The leader of an organization that has been facing off against a foreign mining company with designs on destroying a sacred Indigenous site is walking more than 60 miles across Arizona to attend a court hearing that will decide the fate of 2,400 acres of federal public lands.
Currents

Deb Haaland Talks Youth, Jobs and Opportunity in Governor Bid

January 07, 2026 Levi Rickert Currents 584
Native Vote. Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), a candidate for governor of New Mexico, said she is focused on speaking directly with voters about her vision for the state, emphasizing affordability, education, health care and public safety.
Opinion

Superhuman. Should We Be Better Than We Are?

January 05, 2026 Professor Victoria Sutton Opinion 616
Guest Opinion. We enhance ourselves with glasses and contacts and even canes and crutches, and we think nothing of it. But what if we enhance ourselves with technology that makes us not just up to normal performance, but better than normal human performance—or with different capabilities than a human?

Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell Proved Representation Matters

January 05, 2026 Levi Rickert Opinion 1888
Opinion. Even after retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2005, former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who passed away on Dec. 30, 2025, remained a familiar presence in Indian Country. He was easy to spot in the crowd — at White House Tribal Nations Conferences during the Obama administration, at the National Congress of American Indians State of Indian Nations address in Washington, D.C., and at Indian Gaming Association conventions.
Sovereignty

Navajo Council Committees Tackle Grazing Enforcement, Code Revisions

January 07, 2026 Native News Online Staff Sovereignty 522
The Navajo Nation Council’s Resources and Development Committee and Law and Order Committee held a joint meeting Monday to address ongoing problems with enforcement of grazing permits and violations of the Nation’s Agricultural Resource Management Plan.

U.S. Must Fulfill Obligations by Protecting Programs

January 06, 2026 Native American Rights Fund Sovereignty 427
On December 24, 2025, NARF filed an amicus brief supporting an injunction that has blocked the destructive, broad-based freeze of federal funding that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed in January 2025. The injunction blocks the January directive, as well as similar policies the Administration may seek to implement. NARF filed the brief on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians, the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund, the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, the California Tribal Chairman’s Association, and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.
Education

Native Americans Could Be Hit Hard as Education Department Resumes Student Loan Wage Garnishment

December 25, 2025 Native News Online Staff Education 5706
On Dec. 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education said it will begin administrative wage garnishment for borrowers with defaulted federal student loans in early 2026, marking the first resumption of such collections since the pandemic-era pause that began in 2020.

Hanging a Red Dress for Christmas: MMIP, Native Higher Education, and Hope for a Better New Year

December 10, 2025 American Indian College Fund Blog Education 3023
It’s a scene straight from a Dickens novel: a family sits around the table on Christmas Day with an empty chair amongst them and a somber air. Except this isn’t the Victorian classic, it’s real life for far too many Native families and no well-intentioned spirits to save the day. The epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) in the United States that has existed for years continues unabated. And while Native students deal with the same end of semester pressures and holiday stresses as other students, they’re more likely to also be living in a state of fear or mourning for a relative who may never make it home.
Arts & Entertainment

Two Indigenous Group Exhibits Opening January 9, 2026 at Watermark

January 06, 2026 Native News Online Staff Arts & Entertainment 559
Watermark Art Center is excited to announce two Indigenous group exhibitions opening January 9, 2026.

Watermark Art Center to Host “Minwaajimowinan — Good Stories” Exhibition

December 26, 2025 Native News Online Staff Arts & Entertainment 1208
Watermark Art Center will welcome several artists from the Naytahwaush community in a collaborative exhibition titled Minwaajimowinan — “Good Stories” — on view Jan. 9 through March 28, 2026. The public is invited to an afternoon reception for the artists from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. Live music will be performed by Doyle Turner and Jayme Littlewolf.
Health

Cherokee Nation Proposes $30 Million OU Nursing School Partnership to Expand Health Workforce

January 06, 2026 Anadisgoi

Health Stories We’ll Be Following in 2026

January 06, 2026 Elyse Wild
Environment

Apache Leader Walks 60 Miles to Court Hearing That Will Decide Fate of Sacred Oak Flat

January 06, 2026 Elyse Wild Environment 4769
The leader of an organization that has been facing off against a foreign mining company with designs on destroying a sacred Indigenous site is walking more than 60 miles across Arizona to attend a court hearing that will decide the fate of 2,400 acres of federal public lands.

Rappahannock Tribe Raises Sovereignty and Environmental Concerns Over Caroline County Water Permit

January 05, 2026 Native News Online Staff Environment 2176
The Rappahannock Tribe of Virginia has raised serious concerns following the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) decision in early December to grant Caroline County a permit authorizing the withdrawal of up to 9 million gallons of water per day from the Rappahannock River. The 15-year permit allows for the extraction of a total of 49.275 billion gallons of public water and authorizes the construction of a new water intake system along one of Virginia’s most culturally and environmentally significant rivers—the ancestral homeland of the Rappahannock Tribe.