A new Washington state law is reshaping Spokane’s Board of Health to include multiple Native voices, a move driven by persistent health disparities among Indigenous communities. For three years, a seat intended for tribal representation remained vacant due to legal ambiguity. The updated legislation now mandates that local health boards include members appointed by tribes or urban Indian organizations recognized by the Indian Health Service.
“This speaks to how representation matters,” said Rep. Natasha Hill, who sponsored the bill. “When we have folks representing directly from their community and having a say in the policy, it is always more effective.”
The Spokane and Kalispel tribes, both with trust land in Airway Heights, are expected to appoint members. The Native Project, a health provider for Native populations in Spokane, will also gain a seat. Dylan Dressler, the clinic’s director, emphasized the urgency: “We have so many co-morbidities with chronic disease like hypertension, cardiovascular diabetes and mental health like depression and anxiety.”
Native communities in Washington face stark health outcomes. They are the only racial group in the state whose life expectancy has declined this century, dropping from 73.2 years in 2000 to 71.6 in 2020. Nationally, Native people had the highest drug overdose death rates in 2020 and 2022.
Dressler, who previously applied for a board seat, hopes the new law will finally bring change. “We’re still not at the life expectancy of others, but we are keeping our culture and keeping our elders to tell stories and show us the land and the water important to us,” she said.
See “Facing extreme health disparities, Native voices must be added to Spokane’s Board of Health under new state law” (May 22, 2025)