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Michael Bird on Health Disparities for Native Americans, Migrant Crisis, Female Full-Contact Sports in NM

This week on New Mexico in Focus, correspondent Megan Kamerick sits down with a groundbreaking local figure in the field of public health. Michael Bird is a regular contributor on our Line opinion panel segments. But he is also a former president of the American Public Health Association, the first Native American to ever hold the position. Bird talks about his decades working on issues like health care administration and policy, as well as closing the gap on health disparities for Native Americans.

 

NMiF continues to look at all aspects of the current migrant crisis facing our state and country. This includes the mass exodus of people from Central American countries ravaged by civil wars, including El Salvador. Correspondent Russell Contreras looks into that turbulent history and how it is shaping the crisis we see today with Todd Greentree, a National Security Advisor and former political officer at the U.S. Embassy in El Salvador.

 

This week, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will compete for World Cup glory in France. The team’s success is a source of great pride, but it’s just one example of the way female athletes are competing at the highest levels. Here in New Mexico, that can also include sports you might not think about, like full contact football and roller derby. Correspondent Khalil Ekulona talks with local athletes to find out why they’re drawn to these more violent games, and what the community can do to better support these sports.

 

Host:    Gene Grant   

Correspondents:
Russell Contreras
Khalil Ekulona
Megan Kamerick 

Guests:
Michael Bird, Past President, American Public Health Association

Todd Greentree, National Security Advisor

Merlinda Chavez, Co-Founder, Rio Grande Heat Football Team
Kimberlee “Kap’n Krush” Haines, Participant, Duke City Roller Derby
Danni Nava, Team Assistant, Rio Grande Heat Football Team

**No Line Opinion Panel This Week**