A new healthcare company dedicated to improving the health outcomes of American Indians and Alaska Natives, Indigenous Pact is committed to building health equity in one generation. We speak to Kurt Brenkus, CEO and co-Founder of Indigenous Pact, and Emma Godfrey, Managing Director of global design consultancy Elmwood New York, to learn more.
HEALTHCARE AS UNIQUE AS ITS COMMUNITIES
American Indian and Alaska Native populations have the lowest life expectancy in the US.
Indian Nation adults are nearly three times as likely as non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with and die from diabetes, while women are twice as likely to die of pregnancy-related causes.
These outcomes are compounded by a history of endemic barriers affecting the provision of quality healthcare, including economic adversity, rural isolation, cultural differences, and a chronic shortage of medical personnel.
Underfunding is another critical issue. In fact, federal prisoners receive two to three times as much healthcare funding compared to the Indian Health Service – the government agency in charge of providing health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
This undeniable crisis in health equity can only be overcome by a strong, united platform advocating for Native American healthcare.
That is precisely what Indigenous Pact was created to provide.
“Leveraging an approach that blends tradition with innovation and ensuring Native-led solutions drive lasting impact, Indigenous Pact works alongside our Tribal partners to co-create a future where every Native person has access to the quality care they deserve – no matter where they are,” introduces Kurt Brenkus, CEO and co-Founder.
The organization is a Native-led, woman-owned, certified B Corporation dedicated to achieving health equity for American Indians and Alaska Natives in one generation.
Founded in 2017 by Brenkus and his wife Aimee – Chairwoman of the Board and descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin – Indigenous Pact works in partnership with Tribal Nations to develop and deliver sustainable, revenue-generating healthcare solutions that strengthen sovereignty and improve health outcomes for Native communities.
Operating remotely across the US, the organization serves Tribes in diverse regions and tailors solutions to each community’s needs while offering a comprehensive line of care delivery and strategic services.
Indigenous Pact team members bring decades of experience working and living in Indian Country, and with many being Tribal members themselves, they deeply understand the communities they serve through shared experience.
“True healthcare transformation can only happen when we unite, share knowledge, and work as one,” states Brenkus.
BUILDING HEALTHIER FUTURES TOGETHER
To Indigenous Pact, health equity means ensuring every Tribal citizen has access to quality healthcare regardless of location, funding limitations, or systemic barriers. This is only possible by strengthening Tribal sovereignty and ensuring Native Nations have the resources, infrastructure, and autonomy to lead their own healthcare solutions.
The organization focuses on long-term sustainability, helping Tribes build healthcare systems that generate revenue, expand services, and improve health outcomes.
“By prioritizing self-determination and helping Tribes create long-term, financially sustainable healthcare solutions, we are building a stronger, more resilient healthcare system that will serve Native people for generations to come,” asserts Brenkus.
By ensuring future generations will inherit a stronger, more robust medical system, Indigenous Pact is working to achieve its mission of creating health equity in one generation.
The organization believes this crisis can only be overcome with a strong, united platform of Native American healthcare advocacy.
“Health equity cannot be achieved in isolation,” states Brenkus.
“A unified front allows us to amplify Native voices, secure critical funding, and share best practices that benefit all Tribal communities.”
For too long, Native healthcare has been underfunded and fragmented. The federal trust responsibility has not translated into adequate healthcare access, leaving many Tribes to struggle alone.
Ultimately, when Native populations stand together, they hold the power to drive systemic change – whether by influencing policy, improving funding models, or advocating for culturally competent care.
Indigenous Pact is committed to building this collective movement by working directly with Tribes to strengthen their healthcare systems and ensure they receive the resources, policies, and protections needed to thrive.
TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND COLLECTIVE WISDOM
Indigenous Pact’s Community Care service connects Tribes to a network of proactive healthcare providers and delivers advanced specialty care.
“Community Care is designed to help Tribes build sustainable, culturally relevant systems that improve healthcare access, coordination, and long-term outcomes,” details Brenkus.
The service expands access to healthcare through virtual and in-person services, ensuring Tribal members receive seamless, whole-person support. It also strengthens care coordination so patients can move easily between services – including primary, specialty, behavioral, and traditional medicine – without barriers alongside integrating traditional healing with modern medicine to maintain holistic care that is culturally relevant.
Indigenous Pact helps Tribes strengthen local healthcare infrastructure by training teams and creating systems that are financially and operationally sustainable.
“Community Care helps Tribes take control of their health systems, reduce disparities, and ensure every Native person has access to the care they deserve,” expands Brenkus.
This service represents a transformational shift away from fragmented, crisis-based treatment toward a sustainable, proactive model of care.
With Native healthcare’s history of being underfunded, overburdened, and difficult to navigate, particularly in rural areas, Community Care directly addresses these challenges and helps Tribes build locally-driven, revenue-generating medical systems designed to last.
“This model revolutionizes Tribal healthcare by expanding access through virtual and in-person care, tailored to each Tribe’s unique needs and empowering them with the tools and expertise to manage and sustain their own systems,” details Brenkus.
“Speaking with Tribal leaders and allowing them to shape our creative thinking this way was crucial for making this branding project a success. We had to culturally immerse ourselves in the community while embodying a spirit of empathy-led imagination”
Emma Godfrey, Managing Director, Elmwood New York
EMBRACING TRANSFORMATION
Recently, Indigenous Pact paired with Elmwood New York (Elmwood) – a global design consultancy powering brands for a brave new world – to create a brand identity for its new healthcare model as part of a wider organizational rebrand.
Elmwood is renowned for its design and branding work in the healthcare sector, making it the ideal partner to help take the visual identity of Indigenous Pact to the next level.
“We were looking for a partner who could help us create a brand that would authentically reach and engage with the diverse communities of American Indians and Alaska Natives,” specifies Brenkus.
“Crucially, the visual identity needed to support our ambition of transforming the health of Indigenous Peoples and building health equity in one generation.”
The organization worked with Elmwood to create a new logo, refresh its color palette, provide new design patterns, and develop a seamless design system across its digital and physical touchpoints.
“Through Indigenous Pact, Aimee and Kurt set out to leverage the collective strength of Tribal Nations to bring about change. This mantra became one of the key guiding principles for our design,” informs Emma Godfrey, Managing Director of Elmwood.
“However, we had to balance this unifying approach with the equally important need to capture the diversity and individual sovereignty of Tribal Nations.”
From the company’s extensive interviews with Indigenous leaders, it learned the extent to which the cultural codes and symbols of each Tribe are distinct.
Tribal Nations have been fighting for individual sovereignty for hundreds of years, making it crucial that the identity created for Indigenous Pact could authentically represent and speak to each community.
“Speaking with Tribal leaders and allowing them to shape our creative thinking in this way was crucial for making this branding project a success. We had to culturally immerse ourselves in the community while embodying a spirit of empathy-led imagination,” details Godfrey.
To visualize the diverse Tribal Nations coming together under the mantle of healthcare equity, designers Meg Beckum and Elyanna Blaser leveraged the Indigenous art form of quilt work, specifically looking at the motif of the native star quilt.
A strong cultural tradition across all Tribes, the native star quilt symbolizes honor and generosity. As a storytelling device, quilt work was a perfect representation of diverse Indigenous communities coming together as one.
Elmwood also designed a logo for the organization’s Community Care services, made up of a red circle placed in the center of a star.
“You can think of this red circle as the individual surrounded by an expanding circle of support, whether that’s family, doctors, or fellow Tribe members. Everything flows from the single person in the middle to a wider community founded on values of proactive care and support,” Godfrey proudly concludes.
