Alma Knows His Gun McCormick
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Alma Knows His Gun McCormick, a member of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Indian Tribe, is a founder and the Executive Director of the non-profit Messengers for Health,[1] and a member of the Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee (CEHSC).[2] An educator, mentor, and advocate,[3] McCormick has been nationally recognized for her development of community-based research programs that have improved Indian women's health.[4][5][6]
Early life and education
After her mother's death, McCormick was traditionally raised by her grandparents. As a result, she became fluent in the Crow language as well as English.[7] McCormick earned her bachelor's degree in health and wellness from Montana State University Billings.[8]
Career
In 1985, one of McCormick's twin daughters died of neuroblastoma, a type of cancer. Her loss led McCormick to become involved in cancer outreach and advocacy.[9]
From 1996–2000 McCormick served as the Outreach Coordinator for the Montana Breast and Cervical Health Program, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[1][10]
Also in 1996,[6][11] she helped to found the non-profit Messengers for Health, of which she is Executive Director.[1][7] Working with Montana State University, Messengers for Health is nationally recognized for its community-based research programs. McCormick initially focused on issues of women's health and wellness such as preventative cancer screenings. She worked to provide culturally sensitive information to Indian women at reservations and urban clinics throughout Montana.[8][5][12][13][14] Her work at Messengers for Health now addresses a range of health and wellness issues for both men and women.[6][15] She has had a significant impact on local health patterns.[8][16]
McCormick is also a member of the Montana Cancer Coalition and the Montana American Indian Women's Health Coalition.[17] During 2020- 2023, she served on the Advisory Panel on Patient Engagement of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).[18]
Awards and honors
- 2017, Local Impact Award, National Indian Health Board[8]
- 2018, RWJF Award for Health Equity, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (with Suzanne Held)[5][6][19][20]
- 2019, Bette Bohlinger Leadership Award, Montana Cancer Coalition[17][4]
- 2019, Dr. Frank Newman Rural Health Leadership Award, Montana Office of Rural Health & Area Health Education Center[8]
- 2022, Named an "extraordinary, ordinary" woman, Montana State University[3]
- 2024, Outstanding Community Partner Award, Mountain West CTR-IN (Clinical & Translational Research Infrastructure Network)[21]
Selected publications
- Christopher, Suzanne; Gidley, Allison L.; Letiecq, Bethany; Smith, Adina; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun (2008). "A Cervical Cancer Community-Based Participatory Research Project in a Native American Community". Health Education & Behavior. 35 (6): 821–834. doi:10.1177/1090198107309457. ISSN 1090-1981. JSTOR 45056059. PMID 18077653.
- Christopher, Suzanne; Watts, Vanessa; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Young, Sara (August 2008). "Building and Maintaining Trust in a Community-Based Participatory Research Partnership". American Journal of Public Health. 98 (8): 1398–1406. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.125757. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 2446462. PMID 18556605.
- Real Bird, Sloane Florence Deanna; Held, Suzanne; McCormick, Alma; Hallett, John; Martin, Christine; Trottier, Coleen (June 30, 2016). "The Impact of Historical and Current Loss on Chronic Illness: Perceptions of Crow (Apsáalooke) People". International Journal of Indigenous Health. 11 (1): 198–210. doi:10.18357/ijih111201614993. ISSN 2291-9376. PMC 5628757. PMID 28989931.
- Held, Suzanne; Hallett, John; Schure, Mark; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Allen, Sarah; Milne-Price, Shauna; Trottier, Coleen; Shows, Brianna Bull; Medicine, Lucille Other; Inouye, Jillian (October 3, 2019). "Improving chronic illness self-management with the Apsáalooke Nation: Development of the Báa nnilah program". Social Science & Medicine. 242. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112583. PMC 6927405. PMID 31622915.
- Keene, Shannen; Allen, Sarah; McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun; Trottier, Coleen; Bull Shows, Brianna; Hallett, John; Deernose, Rae; Held, Suzanne (January 2023). "Developing and Implementing a Culturally Consonant Treatment Fidelity Support Plan with the Apsáalooke Nation". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20 (21): 6989. doi:10.3390/ijerph20216989. ISSN 1660-4601. PMC 10647712. PMID 37947547.
- Held, Suzanne; Feng, Du; McCormick, Alma; Schure, Mark; Other Medicine, Lucille; Hallett, John; Inouye, Jillian; Allen, Sarah; Holder, Shannon; Bull Shows, Brianna; Trottier, Coleen; Kyro, Alexi; Kropp, Samantha; Turns Plenty, Nicole (February 29, 2024). "The Báa nnilah Program: Results of a Chronic-Illness Self-Management Cluster Randomized Trial with the Apsáalooke Nation". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 21 (3): 285. doi:10.3390/ijerph21030285. ISSN 1660-4601. PMC 10970069. PMID 38541285.
References
- ^ a b c "Staff and Board | Messengers For Health | Crow Reservation". Messengers for Health.
- ^ Eggers, Margaret J.; Moore-Nall, Anita L.; Doyle, John T.; Lefthand, Myra J.; Young, Sara L.; Bends, Ada L.; Committee, Crow Environmental Health Steering; Camper, Anne K. (March 2015). "Potential Health Risks from Uranium in Home Well Water: An Investigation by the Apsaalooke (Crow) Tribal Research Group". Geosciences. 5 (1): 67–94. Bibcode:2015Geosc...5...67E. doi:10.3390/geosciences5010067. ISSN 2076-3263.
- ^ a b Cantrell, Anne (December 1, 2022). "Five new 'extraordinary, ordinary' women to be honored at Montana State University". Montana State University. Archived from the original on March 4, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ a b "Montana Cancer Coalition honors McCormick with Bette Bohlinger Leadership Award". Billings Gazette. May 21, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Leaders of longtime Messengers for Health program receive national award". Montana State University. December 5, 2018. Archived from the original on March 7, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "RWJF Award For Health Equity". Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- ^ a b Schmidt, Carol (November 27, 2007). "Cure the Women and You Cure the Tribe". Montana State University. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Alma Knows His Gun McCormick | Montana State University". Montana State University. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Patient Advocate Spotlight: Alma McCormick". Building Trust. September 9, 2021.
- ^ Schmidt, Carol (March 23, 2005). "Messengers for Health use traditional Crow relationships to teach about contemporary health". Montana State University. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Montana Cancer Summit Speaker Bios". American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. September 29, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Becker, Michael (November 21, 2016). "MSU and Crow Nation partner to address chronic illness using cultural strengths". Montana State University. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Sharing Messages of Health in the Crow Nation to Fight Chronic Disease". NIMHD. November 12, 2019. Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Schmidt, Carol (July 23, 2007). "Messengers deliver new tool to enhance traditional Crow health care". Montana State University. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Suarez, Ray (January 26, 2021). "Montana's suicide epidemic explained by culture, geography and guns • Daily Montanan". Daily Montanan.
- ^ Burhansstipanov, Linda; Braun, Kathryn L. (September 6, 2022). Indigenous Public Health: Improvement through Community-Engaged Interventions. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-9587-2.
- ^ a b Riley, John (May 8, 2019). "Hardin woman receives 2019 Bette Bohlinger Leadership Award". KTVH. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Alma McCormick | PCORI". www.pcori.org. September 14, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Partnership with Messengers for Health (Crow Reservation) and Montana State University win 2018 RWJF-CCPH Award for Health Equity! | Community-Campus Partnerships for Health". Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH). January 27, 2025. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Winners of RWJF 2018 Award for Health Equity Announced". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). December 11, 2018. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Our Partners | Messengers For Health | Crow Reservation". Messengers For Health. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.