Shekuli (Hello)!

In the past 3 years, there has been a great shift in our communities. As we were met with uncertainty, we found solutions, adaptations, and gained insight to problems we had never faced before. As we traversed through challenges, we became stronger in new ways. Now, we can reunite. Celebrating wins and grieving our losses together after our time apart. While we stayed in touch in new ways, we are able to enjoy and experience the beauty of togetherness again.

This year we are grateful and excited to invite you back to a fully in-person Tribal Public Health Conference. To our TPHC veterans, we are overjoyed to see you again. To those we have yet to meet, we are proud to invite you into our TPHC family.

This year is dedicated to “Restoring Health and Uniting Community”. We can come together in new ways, with renewed energies, and healing medicines. We come together and hope to exchange smiles, laughter, and stories that will carry joys we have so longed for.

While we might not be the same as we were, we come together with new knowledge and hope for the future. We thank the past for the lessons and look ahead for our newfound hope. As Public Health professionals, we were at the forefront of the pandemic and watched as our communities trudged through. We were there as support, as leaders, and as guides. We pay homage for the frontline workers; their dedication and perseverance carried us through. We thank them for their relentless efforts to restoring health.

This year we lift them up in gratitude, we see you and everything you have sacrificed to make our communities stronger and healthier. We thank you. Together again, we can share wisdom and look toward our bright future. We hope to learn from your experiences, and we will see you soon!

Yaw^ko (thank you).