Jamie Stuck of Scotts, tribal chairperson of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, has been appointed to a U.S. Health and Human Services Tribal Advisory Committee.
The two-year appointment begins immediately. Stuck will serve as the Bemidji Area Office primary delegate. The office of the Indian Health Service provides service and support to 34 federally-recognized tribes and four Urban Indian Health programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Tribes include Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Mohican, Oneida, Odawa, Potawatomi and Sioux.
The advisory committee “creates a department-wide strategy to incorporate Tribal guidance on HHS priorities, policies and budget, as well as improve the Government-to-Government relationship between HHS and Tribes,” committee representatives told Stuck in a congratulatory email.
“Jamie has long been an advocate for health care issues,” said tribal Vice Chairperson Dorie Rios, who nominated Stuck. “He obtained a bachelor’s of science from Central Michigan University in the Preventive and Rehabilitative Health Program and views healthcare in a holistic manner. Jamie believes that it is essential for people to be involved in determining the goals and methods of their wellness plans, as well as choosing their support group for the implementation of their plans.”
Stuck’s nomination was supported by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Director Elizabeth Hertel of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. “While his efforts target taking care of his own citizens, Stuck also looks at the bigger picture of how Native Americans receive health services and are counted within the systems that track their data,” Hertel wrote.