An Interview with AAIP President Dr. Jim Thompson

TC: There are a lot of health related information and self-educational resources available on the Internet right now like MedlinePlus, Tribal Connections, WebMD and others that allow people to take a more proactive approach to their own health. Do you think Indians have begun to avail themselves of this new technology?

JT: You know, I think it’s as in the majority culture. It’s really a generational thing. I think young Indian people are very much connected. There are a number of our members who are connected and there are a number of our members who aren’t. I can tell you that with regard to the AAIP website, we have some original information, but mainly we’ve got an enormous number of links. We decided we weren’t going to try to reinvent the wheel; we just wanted to connect people with information that’s credible. We’ve had an enormous number of hits on the site, and people keep wanting to put their link on our website, so I think that interest is out there. We just have to foster it a little bit. I think the toughest sell probably is to the old codgers like me. I’m kind of a computer nerd personally, but most people my age aren’t, so I think, as with the larger population, we need to push it. And frankly, it’s a wonderful boon to Indian people who are in places like Alaska, New Mexico, Arizona where there is a lot of space between them and the next community perhaps, or a major city. It could be a wonderful source of information.

TC: What about Telemedicine? Is that something you’d like to see used more in isolated or rural areas?

JT: Absolutely. As you are probably aware of, in Alaska, Indian clinics are using Telemedicine. But they send doctors to the communities as well. I don’t think that will ever be a situation where you won’t want to try to send a doctor at various times. But they also have a Telemedicine set-up in Anchorage, and they use it much to the benefit of Alaska Native people.

TC: The president of the United States recently declared November as "American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month". Do you see that as largely ceremonial or something that may have some real benefit for Native Americans in the future?

JT: I think it could be helpful. In Washington, D.C. there is an organization called National Minority Health Month. It's not just a month, but in February, they do a lot of activities that involve a lot of media and a lot of working with different organizations to try to raise awareness about health issues. It is a combination of several different minorities coming together; it's largely African-American because in Washington, D.C., that's the majority population, but I think the model is there to really make a difference. But I think the jury is out on whether there is really going to be an effort at the Federal level to make the Indian/Native month more than simply a nice gesture. I think we're all kind of waiting to see what comes of it. Certainly, AAIP would be delighted to be involved if the Feds wanted to make something of it that would reach out in a big way, and of course that means putting some resources behind it.