Mo Brings Plenty: Empowering Tribal Nations Through Improved Healthcare

Actor and spiritual leader Mo Brings Plenty joins the Insight in Indian Country Podcast guest-hosted by REDW’s Cristin Heyns-Bousliman. With a special appearance with Wesley Jones, Mo discusses Tribal Nations Health, a Native-led organization he co-founded with James Jordan. The organization provides customized healthcare solutions for Tribal communities, focusing on preventive care, empowering elders, and creating culturally tailored solutions that respect Tribal sovereignty. Mo emphasizes how their approach can preserve Tribal culture, create jobs for elders, and improve overall community health. 

Chapters

• 00:00 - Introduction to the Podcast and NNAHRA Conference
• 01:27 - The Vision Behind Tribal Nations Health
• 03:03 - Innovative Healthcare Solutions for Tribal Communities
• 06:21 - Empowering Elders and Cultural Knowledge
• 08:14 - Leadership and Understanding Tribal Needs

Takeaways

• Tribal sovereignty is essential in healthcare decision-making.
• Preventative care is crucial for better health outcomes.
• Elders hold valuable cultural knowledge that should be preserved.
• Healthcare solutions must be tailored to individual Tribes.
• Empowering elders can create job opportunities in the community.
• Community involvement is key to successful healthcare solutions.
• Positive work environments are vital for tribal employment opportunities.
• The leadership team at Tribal Nations Health includes enrolled tribal members.
• Tribal Nations Health aims to improve healthcare for tribal communities.

Resources

• Tribal Nations Health is a Native-led organization providing customized healthcare solutions and benefits services for Tribal communities. Their approach is designed to meet the unique needs of Tribal members while keeping resources within Indian Country. Learn more at tribalnationshealth.com.
• People are fundamental to every organization's success. Are you finding the navigation of complex HR regulations to be challenging and time-consuming? REDW's HR Consulting group helps HR teams (and professionals with HR responsibilities) to create stable work environments where both employees and their organizations can be healthy and poised for growth. Browse our suite of HR Consulting solutions.

REDW Advisors and CPAs is proud to bring you the Insight in Indian Country Podcast, covering important advisory, accounting, and finance topics that impact Tribal Nations and business affairs. Thanks for listening!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Inside in Indian Country Podcast, your premier source of accounting and business discussions affecting Indian Country. Presented by REDW.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Hi there, my name is Kristen Haynes Bosleman. I'm the principal and practice leader of REDW's HR Consulting Group, and I am so excited to be your guest host on this episode of Insight in Indian Country. We're coming to you from the 28th annual Nahara Conference in Durant, Oklahoma. This year it's hosted here in Durant by the Choctaw Nation. I have the honor of sitting down for a quick chat with actor Mo Brings Plenty here at the conference. Mo, how are you enjoying Nahara so far?

SPEAKER_03 0:44

I'm enjoying it. It's wonderful. A lot of amazing folks and a lot of very intelligent people with a lot of amazing uh solutions to a lot of the issues that Indian country faces.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Wonderful. We found it to be the same way. We've been coming for many years, and it definitely is it's beautiful to see so many tribes investing in human resources and investing in the professionals to uh to learn more and make sure that they are being employers of choice and creating really positive work environments for their teams and of course always creating employment opportunities for their members. So we love to see that and we love to be supportive of that. A quick note for our listeners: Tribal Nations Health is a native-led organization that provides customized healthcare solutions and benefit services specifically designed to meet the unique needs of tribal communities and their members. And Mo, I understand that you're the co-founder of Tribal Nations Health and also a spiritual leader. What inspired you to focus on improving healthcare for tribal communities?

SPEAKER_03 1:46

You know, as a kid growing up, my I saw we have the Indian House Service, and it's a system that is overwhelmed. And so due to its being overwhelmed and not getting the resources that it needs as well to better serve the people, I saw my own people struggling, from my mother who has epilepsy, uh my father who barely can even walk now, and has to re has to customize one of his boots just to be able to walk and minimize pain. And so I saw the struggles in and how uh the system is not working for us. And so James Jordan and myself, we you know, and Wes, we've had a lot of amazing conversations and finding solutions. I mean, we obviously know what the issue is, and and I really don't want to talk so much about the issues, I want to have more conversations about the solutions, and we come up with with some amazing solutions. And that's what gave me the inspiration to to put forth this company and and hopefully be a game changer for anymore country.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Right. And that's why we were so excited to talk with you today. Um, it's been, you know, we we as a firm, RADW assists tribes in their 638 transitions to, you know, self-determined health care. And um, our team specifically helps out with the community needs assessment process, as well as recruiting and hiring and creating job descriptions and all of those things as you create a new clinic. And so we're definitely acutely aware of the needs in the tribal communities, and so we were really excited to hear about this approach. Um, can you explain a little more about the approach that tribal nations health takes to uh to health care for tribes?

SPEAKER_03 3:51

You know, look so if we look back, we look at the the care system in Indian country, a lot of our systems are not put in place to help the prevention aspect. If we can get to the to the preventional side of everything, then maybe we could put it, you know, alter and change the outcome and not make uh a long lasting uh patient, so to say. And and and also too, I look at the needs of our elderly people. And they are language keepers, there are cultural knowledge, traditional, knowledgeable people, they know they have a lot of information that you can't Google. So we need to preserve their lives, look out for the longevity of their lives as well. And and so we've come up with different solutions to help reservations or help tribes be able to now come out from underneath the thumb of the IHS and really put forth in practicing their sovereignty and empowering them through whether it's savings. Um, I mean, there's a long list of things that can be occurred that other companies would not, they know they're there, but they're not gonna put into work to get it because they're still getting their paycheck. Where we are gonna put into work because we care about the people. And and so that is, I mean, it's I'm excited for what we have to offer. And and I hope the people get excited about it as well, and and and you know, don't be afraid to take that chance because it could be something very beautiful and positive for their culture, for their for their existence, um, their identity, so on and so forth.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Right. It's wonderful to see that, to see someone in this space working from the perspective of having a passion for the tribes and their health. And and I know that our team at REDW has a passion for helping tribes as well. I'm just so consistently inspired. I love what you did, bringing up the elders. You know, it's just so inspiring to me. And I feel like so many other communities could learn so much from the native community in terms of taking care of your elders and really respecting that information and knowledge that that can't, like you said, can't be Googled. I think that's so beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

And and too, I mean, you know, because you look at our elders are no longer physically able to be employed. They can't do the heavy lifting, they can't do a lot of these jobs that are available. And so what we choose to do when we come in is we're gonna look for ways for that tribe to save money in their employment side. And they can you that tribe can utilize that money to now not just giving a better health care plan to affording health care for their elderly people, but they can also create jobs for them.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

As teachers, right? You know, you give them an opportunity to fill that that void, and those young people's lives have after school programs. So now you're just not giving it to them. They're they're sharing that knowledge and they're passing it on. Now they're employed again because they can do that. And and so is there anything you'd like to add, Wes?

SPEAKER_02 7:27

What we're proud of, really, uh from tribal nations health standpoint is bringing specific individualized solutions to the tribes. And as similar as all the different tribes are, there are differences and sometimes large differences, but those differences need to be addressed by your health plan and by the people that are administering the health plan. That administration has the flexibility to bring point solutions that fit each of the individual tribes.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Absolutely, yes. Well, that's been our experience as well. Our our solutions are always tailored to to the different tribe, which you know, it makes this work rewarding and challenging and really fun. The challenge is is is the fun also. So I understand that 50% of your leadership team is is enrolled tribal members. How would you see that influences the company's understanding of and approach to tribal healthcare needs?

SPEAKER_03 8:25

You said it earlier. I'm considered a spiritual leader. And so, therefore, growing up and knowing and understanding the grassroots of Indian country, that is what separates us from mostly everyone else and brings a great deal of understanding to our company of, you know, um, of who we are we want to serve.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Wonderful. Well, we so appreciate your time, Mo. Thank you for sitting down with us, Wes. Thank you for sitting down with us. We're looking forward to hearing what Tribal Nations Health accomplishes in in Indian country. And we're looking forward to partnering partnering where we can. So thank you guys for the opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 9:08

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

And for our listeners, if you want more information about tribal nations health or the REDWHR consulting practice, please take a look at our show notes.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Thank you for listening. We hope this time has benefited you. For more information or to connect, please visit redw.com.