Native American leaders target high maternal mortality in Indian Country

At the age of 25, Rhonda Swaney nearly died giving birth to a stillborn baby. She is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana. Although her experience dates back nearly 50 years, Swaney said Native Americans continue to receive inadequate maternal care. The data seems to support this belief.

In 2024, the most recent year for which population data is available, American Indians and Alaska Natives had the highest pregnancy-related mortality rate among major demographic groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to a CDC analysis of 2021 data from 46 maternal mortality review boards, most, if not all, deaths among American Indians and Alaska Natives were considered preventable.

In response, Native organizations, the CDC and some states are working to increase Native American participation on state maternal mortality review committees, which investigate deaths that occur during pregnancy or within a year of birth. Native organizations are also considering how tribes could create their own committees.

Kim Moore-Salas, of the Arizona Maternal Mortality Review Committee, said tribal sovereignty, experience and traditional knowledge are important factors to consider in developing tribal-led committees.

“Our matriarchs, our mothers, are what move a nation forward,” she said.

In 2024, Moore-Salas, a member of the Navajo Nation, became the first Native American co-chair of the Arizona committee. Last year, she and other Native committee members developed guidelines for an American Indian/Alaska Native subcommittee and reviewed its first cases.

The National Council on Urban Indian Health also works to increase the participation of urban Indian health organizations in state committee processes. Since 2025, the council had connected urban Indian health organizations with state maternal mortality review committees in California, Kansas, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Indigenous leaders such as Moore-Salas find these efforts encouraging.

“It shows that the state and tribes can work together,” she said.

After her stillbirth, Swaney had another complicated pregnancy. She went into labor about three months early and doctors did not expect her son to survive. But he did it, and Kelly Camel is now 48 years old. He suffers from severe cerebral palsy and profound deafness. He lives alone but has caregivers to help him with cooking and other tasks, Swaney, 73, said.

He “has a good sense of humor,” she said. “He is kind to others. We couldn’t ask for a more well-rounded child.”

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