Center for Native Health

What Center for Native Health does

The Center for Native Health (CNH) is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Cherokee, North Carolina that addresses health disparities in Native communities through the preservation and application of Cherokee cultural knowledge. The organization operates four interconnected program areas: Art, Language & Healing (Cherokee artisan traditions, river cane restoration, pottery, and the Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources grantmaking program); Land & Wellness (tribally initiated land stewardship, the Cherokee Mother's Garden food sovereignty initiative, Earth Keepers, and the Equitable Water Monitoring Program); Relational Health (maternal and child health programs including a doula training program, monthly Mothers' Gatherings, and the QBMMIW initiative for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives); and Weaving Intergenerational Pathways (youth conservation clubs, Kuwohi Connection Days, and the MedCaT healthcare career pathway in partnership with Western Carolina University and the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity). Supporting projects include Elder Allies for homebound EBCI elders and the Rooted in the Mountains Symposium.

The organization is Native-led and Native-controlled, with guidance from Cherokee principles of Gadugi (mutual aid), Duyvktv (balance), and Tohi (health/peace). Under Executive Director Dr. Trey Adcock (Cherokee Nation) since 2020, the organization expanded from no permanent employees to a staff of nine and increased its funding scope by over $3 million, securing anchor grants from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Dogwood Health Trust, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, First Nations Development Institute, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The leadership team is predominantly Native-identifying, including Deputy Director Bonnie Claxton (Chickasaw Nation, JD), Director of Land & Wellness Katie Tiger (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), and Director of Art, Language & Healing Brett Treadway (EBCI). In December 2024 the Executive Board approved the largest budget in CNH history, the organization's first audit, and a new governance structure intended to replace colonial board forms.

CNH generates revenue through tax-deductible donations (one-time and recurring, directed to the General Fund or the ᏙᎯ TOHI endowment), foundation and government grants, and a fiscal sponsorship program that channels grant funding to Southeastern Indigenous-serving projects (grants over $2,500 reviewed by the Board). Programs are delivered free of charge to community members through direct community-based delivery, tribal government partnerships (EBCI Public Health & Human Services, EBCI Natural Resources, Cherokee Central Schools, New Kituwah Academy), academic partnerships (Western Carolina University, UNC Asheville, Johns Hopkins University, Mountain Area Health Education Center), and a volunteer network. The primary beneficiary community is the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina, with a secondary geographic focus on Southeastern Indigenous communities.

Name

Center for Native Health

Legal name

The Center for Native Health INC

Website

https://centerfornativehealth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Center for Native Health is a Cherokee, North Carolina-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that addresses health disparities in Native communities through Cherokee cultural preservation, land stewardship, maternal and child health, and intergenerational youth programs, primarily serving the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on the Qualla Boundary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indigenous Community Health and Cultural Preservation Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Tribal/Indigenous Public Health Authorities (HLAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Community health programs
• Cultural preservation services
• Indigenous health advocacy
• Tribal wellness initiatives
• Maternal child health

Headquarters

HQ city

Whittier

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: CNH accepts tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations, including one-time and recurring donations to either the General Fund or the ᏙᎯ TOHI endowment fund.
2. Foundation and Government Grants: CNH receives funding from foundations including Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, First Nations Development Institute, Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Dogwood Health Trust, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and federal agencies including USDA Forest Service.
3. Fiscal Sponsorship: CNH provides fiscal sponsorship services to projects and programs that emphasize improvement in overall health and well-being of Southeastern indigenous people, with funding requests for grants exceeding $2,500 reviewed by the Board.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Center for Native Health is a nonprofit organization that delivers community health, cultural preservation, and educational programs to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and other Southeastern Indigenous communities. Its core offerings are organized into four interconnected Program Areas—Art/Language/Healing, Land & Wellness, Relational Health, and Weaving Intergenerational Pathways—supplemented by projects such as Elder Allies and QBMMIW, plus fiscal sponsorship services. Programs are guided by Cherokee principles (Gadugi, Duyvktv, Tohi) and integrate Indigenous Knowledge Systems with Western approaches to address health disparities.

Product overview

The Center for Native Health is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of community health and cultural preservation programs rather than a unified software product. Its offerings are organized into four interconnected Program Areas: Art, Language & Healing (preserving Cherokee artisan traditions and language); Land & Wellness (tribal land stewardship and food sovereignty); Relational Health (maternal/child health including doula training and mothers' gatherings); and Weaving Intergenerational Pathways (youth conservation and healthcare career pathways). Supporting initiatives include Elder Allies (elder support), QBMMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women advocacy), Rooted in the Mountains Symposium, and Grant/Fiscal Sponsorship services. The programs work holistically to address Native community health disparities through cultural revitalization, guided by Cherokee principles of Gadugi (mutual aid), Duyvktv (the right way), and Tohi (for health).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QBMMIW: A grassroots organization tracking and advocating for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, operating under The Center for Native Health.

Products and services

• Art, Language & Healing A program area focused on reducing health disparities in Native communities through preservation and application of Native knowledge, integrating language with artisan resources and methodologies as a pathway towards community healing.
• Land & Wellness A program area working with community members and tribal governments to develop tribally initiated programs designed to safeguard and co-steward land, ecology, and conservation as prioritized by native community members.
• Relational Health A program area advocating to address health disparities in prenatal care, birthing, mothering, and early childhood education in Native communities, including support for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
• Weaving Intergenerational Pathways (WIP) A program strengthening community resilience by bringing together wisdom of elders, knowledge of adults, and creativity of youth through programs that weave Indigenous ways of knowing with Western science.
• Elder Allies A project addressing food insecurity, chronic social isolation, and falls among homebound EBCI Elders through meal delivery, support networks, and home fall risk assessments.
• QBMMIW (Qualla Boundary Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) A grassroots organization tracking identified cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, including missing persons, murdered persons, and domestic violence homicides.
• Grant Support / Fiscal Sponsorship Funding provided to projects and programs emphasizing improvement in overall health and well-being of Southeastern indigenous people, with priority given to education, cultural preservation, community partnerships, and training.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 Native women trained as certified doulas who have delivered 18 babies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary tribal partner for all program areas including health, education, cultural preservation, and land stewardship. EBCI tribal departments including Public Health & Human Services, Natural Resources, and Cherokee Central Schools collaborate on CNH initiatives.
• Western Carolina University (WCU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for MedCaT healthcare career pathway program, Rooted in the Mountains Symposium collaboration with College of Health & Human Sciences, and MedCaT Mentorship Program with School of Nursing.
• Maya Angelou Center for Health EquitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in MedCaT program creating structured pathway for Appalachian Rural and American Indian high school students to pursue healthcare careers.
• Mountain Area Health Education CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in MedCaT healthcare career pathway program providing clinical education and training opportunities.
• The Wilderness SocietymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Judaculla's Kids conservation club and youth conservation initiatives with EBCI Natural Resources and schools.
• National Park ServicemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Kuwohi Connection Days event providing access to Clingman's Dome/Kuwohi for educational programs and community events.
• Museum of the Cherokee PeoplemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Kuwohi Connection Days and youth conservation programs, collaborating on cultural education and preservation.
• USDA Forest ServicemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership Agreement for Buck Creek Forest Visit bringing Cherokee community members to ancestral homelands for stewardship dialogue and collaboration.
• East Fork PotteryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGiving season collaboration where 5% of December 2024 sales benefited CNH, highlighting work in Art, Language & Healing and Land & Wellness program areas.
• Cherokee Central SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary educational partner for youth conservation clubs, Kuwohi Connection Days, and MedCaT healthcare pathway programs.
• EBCI Natural Resources DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Earth Keepers program, Buck Creek Forest Visit, and youth conservation initiatives for Cherokee land stewardship.
• UNC AshevillemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Dr. Ameena Batada for Indigenous Logic Model Cohort building capacity among Cherokee artists.
• Cherokee Arts and Crafts MutualminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on traditional Cherokee artisan resources and pottery programs including Cherokee Potters Master Apprentice Program.
• Ray Kinsland Leadership InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ᎢᏯ ih ya: EBCI Youth River Cane Project and MedCaT programming for youth leadership development.
• Johns Hopkins UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Elder Allies program to provide and install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in homebound EBCI elders' homes.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• First Nations Development Institute: National Native-led nonprofit funding community-driven Native projects across health, land stewardship, arts, and youth — overlapping directly with CNH's program areas and sharing several funders and program officer alumni (e.g., Brett Treadway).
• American Indian College Fund: National Native-led nonprofit providing scholarships and programmatic support for Native students and Tribal Colleges — comparable mission focus on Native education, cultural preservation, and community capacity building.
• Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative: Native-led organization supporting food sovereignty, land stewardship, and agricultural policy in tribal communities — directly comparable to CNH's Cherokee Mothers Garden and Land & Wellness program priorities.
• IllumiNative: Native-led nonprofit amplifying Native representation and addressing inequities through narrative change and grantmaking — comparable peer in Indigenous-led mission framing, though more advocacy and narrative-focused than CNH's direct service model.
• Indigenous Wellness Research Institute: Native-led research and program organization using Indigenous Knowledge Systems to address Native community health — closely aligned with CNH's integration of Cherokee cultural principles and Western science.
• Notah Begay III Foundation: Native-led national nonprofit reducing Native American youth obesity and Type 2 diabetes through community grantmaking — directly comparable to CNH's health-disparities-mission approach for Native communities.

Regional players

• Cherokee Preservation Foundation: Cherokee-specific foundation funding cultural preservation, language, and economic development in the EBCI community — a direct funder of CNH and a closely adjacent regional organization with overlapping program priorities.
• Dogwood Health Trust: Western North Carolina regional health foundation funding health equity, housing, and community programs across 17 counties — a major CNH funder (Elder Allies) operating at a larger regional scale.

Broad incumbents

• National Indian Health Board: National organization advocating for tribal health and representing Tribal Health Authorities nationwide — comparable mission around Native health disparities at a national policy scale rather than community-implementation scale.

Emerging players

• Manaaki Foundation: Native Hawaiian-led foundation using Indigenous values to support community health and cultural revitalization — provides a useful peer on culturally grounded Native health programming in a different tribal context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thecenterfornativehealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-native-health-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/centerfornativehealth501_c_3

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Native Health