A. Where is the Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project?

The Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project is located at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board in Portland, Oregon. Our address is:
Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project
527 SW Hall, Suite 300
Portland, Oregon 97201

B. Can you provide a brief summary of the Project?

Northwest tribal health care programs are currently responsible for providing care to over 81,000 American Indians and their families. Unfortunately, the health concerns of many tribal members are inadequately addressed or treated because of the high number of health care professional vacancies in tribal health care programs.

The Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project aims to improve the quality of Northwest Indian health care by assisting the tribes recruit, place, and retain health care professionals in their health programs. In addition, the Project helps health care professionals find rewarding and challenging positions in tribal health programs.

The Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project maintains a computerized database of health care professionals and their credentials for recruitment purposes. Once a tribe has a job vacancy, the Project forwards the vacancy announcement and tribal application to the health care professionals registered with the Project. Furthermore, the Project shares the professionals’ credentials with the tribes.

C. Who staffs the Project?

Gary Small is the Project Director. He is a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, and has a Masters of Public Administration, as well as a Bachelors of Science in Film and Television from Montana State University. He joined the Project in January of 1999.

D. Do you provide job information to ALL health care professionals?

The tribes send us job vacancy information for the professionals that are most needed. A comprehensive list of the professional categories that we receive is provided below:
Counselors/CDCs
Dental Assistants
Dental Hygienists
Dentists
Health Administrators
Health Educators
Medical Assistants
Nurse Practitioners
Nutritionists
Pharmacists
Physical Therapists/Assistants
Physicians
Physician Assistants
Psychologists
Registered Nurses
Social Workers

Please note that the tribes are mainly in need of primary care providers. We do not post vacancy announcements for podiatrists, midwives, acupuncturists, veterinarians, and surgeons (medical or dental). If you are interested in looking for job opportunities on your own, we can provide you with a list of tribal contact names and phone numbers. Call 1-800-338-8166 for this list.

E. Does the Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project have an application?

You do not need to fill out a Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project application in order to become registered with the Project. We do, however, provide you with the tribal application when we send you job information. If you are interested in applying for a job that we have informed you of, you will need to fill out the tribal application and submit it directly to the tribe. Please do not send any tribal applications to us.

F. What does a health care professional need to provide the Project in order to become registered in their database?

The Project’s single requirement is that you submit an updated Curriculum Vitae or resume every nine months. In addition, a cover letter is required. You must discuss the following points in the cover letter:

1. Why you would like to work with the American Indians
2. What personal/work experience supports your commitment to Indian health care
3. Your professional objective

In your resume or CV, note your licensure, board certification, education, job history with the employers’ address and phone numbers, and three references with their addresses and phone numbers. Your CV or resume will be circulated among the tribes. The Project cannot begin sending job information to health care professionals until we receive a resume and cover letter.

G. How much does it cost to become registered with the Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project?

Absolutely nothing. The services that the Project provides are free to interested, motivated and qualified health care professionals. You must agree, however, to keep the Project informed when you have been invited to an interview or when you are offered a job from the tribe. When you submit your CV or resume to us, we acknowledge that you accept this agreement.

H. Is the Project the hiring authority?

The tribes are the only hiring authority. If you are interested in a job that the Project has informed you of, you will need to submit the tribal application directly to the tribe. (We always provide you with the tribal application.) If you send the tribal application to the Project, we will forward it to the tribe for you, but this will only slow down your efforts.

II. Tribal Information

A. What tribes do you serve?

The Northwest Tribal Recruitment Project serves forty-one tribes in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. Most of the tribes are located in rural and isolated areas. For more information on the tribes that we serve, please refer to our Tribal Profiles website.

B. Are there any tribal health care jobs in Portland or Seattle? Are there any jobs with the tribes in more urban areas?

For the most part, most of the jobs are located in beautiful, outlying areas on the tribal reservations. The exceptions are:
1. Puyallup and the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority located in Tacoma, Washington
2. Native American Rehabilitation Association (NARA) located in Portland, Oregon
3. Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations located in Spokane, Washington
4. Seattle Indian Health Board located in Seattle, Washington

C. Which clinics are tribal-run clinics? Which clinics are Indian Health Service clinics?

The following Tribes are served by Indian Health Service (IHS) clinics:

Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (Grand Ronde, OR)
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Warm Springs, OR)
Colville Confederated Tribes (Nespelem, WA)
Makah Tribe (Neah Bay, WA)
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Fort Hall, ID)
Yakama Indian Nation (Toppenish, WA)

For information on the tribal clinics and the IHS clinics serving these tribes, please refer to our Tribal Profiles web page.

E. Do the tribes provide housing for their health care professionals?

The tribes rarely provide housing for their employees. Exceptions to this rule, however, may occur. For specific information on housing and other arrangements, you should contact the tribe of interest directly. For general information on housing, please refer to our Tribal Profiles web page.

F. Do the tribes sponsor Visas?

Unfortunately, the tribes have asked that we do not refer health care professionals who need a visa sponsorship. Therefore, you will not be able to register with the Project if you are seeking a sponsorship. If you are in need of a visa sponsorship and are interested in pursuing a job opportunity with the tribes on your own, we will be happy to provide you with a list of tribal clinics and contact phone numbers.
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III. Job-Related Questions

A. Do I have to be licensed in the state of the tribe?

As a general rule, you must be eligible to obtain your license in the state of the tribe. Depending upon the tribe, the license should be obtained approximately from ninety days to a year after starting the tribal job. If you are uncertain about the specific tribe’s requirements, you should contact the tribe directly. If you are applying for a job at an Indian Health Service Clinic and have an out-of-state license, you do not have to obtain a license in the state where the clinic is located; your license is applicable nation-wide.

B. Do I need to be an Indian in order to work with the tribes?

You do not have to be Indian to work in tribal health care. The tribes do, however, practice Indian Preference in hiring according to the Indian Preference Act (Title 25, US Code, Section 472 and 473). Except for Indian Preference, the tribes do not discriminate in employment because of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, physical handicap, or martial status.

C. How competitive are the wages?

If the tribes inform the Project of the salary range, we forward this information to the professional. For the most part, the tribes list the salary range as DOE (Depending on Experience) or DOQ (Depending on Qualifications). The tribes try to be competitive; because many tribes are located in rural areas, their wages tend to be lower than wages in urban settings.

D. What are the details of the job compensation? What are the benefits? Do the tribes pay for any relocation expenses?

The Project shares all job compensation information with the professional. If it is not included with the information that the Project sends you, you will need to contact the tribe directly for further information. Generally, the tribes do not inform us of the details of their compensation packages.

Links to Related Organizations
For additional jobs and services relating to health professionals and Indian tribes, please visit the following sites:
Health Field RelatedLinks:
Alaska Native Health Board Provides services for the indigenous tribes of Alaska.
California Rural Health Board Provides services and employment opportunities for tribes in California, in eleven different regions and throughout the state.
Indian Health Service Oversees federally-funded Indian Health Care on the national level.
National Indian Health Board Web site that provides information for Area Indian Health Boards, including contact information, conference schedules, job announcements and policy and legislative updates.
Seattle Indian Health Board A non-profit Organization that provides services to American Indians and Alaska Natives within the greater Seattle/King County region of western Washington.

Tribal Organization Links:
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Website for the Grand Ronde Tribe, with contact information, tribal updates and program information as well as employement opportunities with the tribe
Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council Provides advocacy for, and policy information affecting, tribes within Montana and Wyoming
National Indian Telecommunications Insititute Native-founded and run organization dedicated to bringing technology to Indian Country
Tribal Employment Newsletter Provides job opportunities for American Indians and Alaska Natives in varying fields
Indian Country Today Headlines and editorials regarding recent news from Indian Country. Also has job listings for Indian organizations

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