To build on successful vaccine rollouts in Indian Country, organizations to engage Indigenous artists and social media influencers to share resources. IllumiNative and Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) partnered to launch a COVID-19 vaccine campaign – For the Love of Our People – to bring together Native health experts and creatives to provide engaging, up-to-date information about COVID-19 vaccines and other COVID-19-related topics. 

The campaign website provides access to frequently asked questions, conversation guides, videos from Indigenous health professionals, news updates, and social media resources that allow for others to engage with the campaign.  

“This campaign builds upon Indian Country’s strength and our success in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines,” said Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), director of UIHI. “Tribes and urban Indian health programs have been more than leaders, they are the example of how it should be done. We can use momentum to ensure our communities are 100% safe and healthy.”  

As of May 21, a dashboard published by the CDC that tracks the number of COVID-19 vaccinations shows that American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest vaccination rates of any race/ethnicity in the country.  

In January, UIHI released a report with the first national data of American Indians and Alaska Natives regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. Out of 1,435 American Indians and Alaska Natives from 318 different tribes across 46 states, 75% said they would be willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. 74% of participants believed getting vaccinated is their responsibility to their community.  

“The pandemic isn’t over yet, and it’s important that our people have access to resources directly from Native experts to navigate all the information coming at us,” said Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee), founder and executive director of IllumiNative. “This campaign does that while building on Indigenous values.”