Medical licensing for providers of medical alternatives and public memberships for patients seeking for health optimization and wellness

FIRST NATION MEDICAL BOARD

INTRODUCTION: First Nation Medical Board (“FNMB”) was established to preserve, develop, and promote the practice of Indigenous Medicine. FNMB’s purpose is dispel any myths of current and historical treatments, advance tribal healing art practices, and contribute to the future of modern medical practices by introducing, as well as discovering, cutting-edge therapies that promote optimal health and well-being. FNMB works with the federally-recognized Crow Nation to advance the health of tribal citizens and FNMB members alike, whose rights have been recognized by the United Nations Declaration in its Rights of Indigenous Persons. FNMB also provides sovereign immune protection for its licensees, whose rights are supported by the World Health Organization through its 1962 Alma Ata Resolution that formally recognized “Medicina Alternativa” and Traditional Medicine.

PURPOSE: FNMB establishes a tribal licensing board known as “First Nation Medical Board (FNMB)” for issuing certifications for providers of indigenous medicine (“IM”) as part of an economic development initiative for the Crow Nation and in compliance with U.S.C. Title 25, Section 1680u(2010).

INTENT: FNMB is necessary to approve or reject applications received from IM providers. Applications can be submitted to become Certified Tribal Practitioners (“CTP”), Certified Tribal Healers (“CTH”), Certified Tribal Technicians (“CTT”), and Traditional Tribal Healers (“TTH”).

ORGANIZATION:  FNMB is an organized board with members consisting of Certified Tribal Practitioners (e.g., MDs, DOs), Certified Tribal Healers (e.g., NDs, DCs), Tribal Member, and Layperson.

ACCOUNTABLITY: FNMB is accountable to an Indian Tribe to whom it pays tribal tax. Such Indian Tribe has sovereign immunity either independently and/or in affiliation with other tribes as part of a Banding Agreement.

FUNDING: FNMB preserves, protects, and promotes the practice of indigenous medicine. It operates on behalf of the Crow Nation as its health care provider for the practice of indigenous medicine and functions as an IRS 7871 non-profit entity. FNMB receives funding from professional applications, business licenses, private membership fees, and tribal donation fees from the practices of its tribal providers.

OBJECTIVES: FNMB qualifies and certifies providers for the practice of IM. Through FNMB’s administration the following objectives are accomplished:

  1. Licensee complaints are handled by FNMB;
  2. Civil complaints are handled by Tribal Court in Crow Nation;
  3. Licensee records and complaints are the confidential property of the FNMB and Crow Nation;
  4. Tax deductions are be available to IM providers for payments to FNMB;
  5. Indigenous Medicine Institutional Review Board (“IMIRB”) only accepts clinical study applications from tribal providers licensed with FNMB;
  6. Business licenses are only be issued to the practices of its FNMB licensees; and
  7. LLC’s are available to FNMB licensees in Crow Nation.

RESULTS: FNMB providers will increase in number such that Turtle Healing Band (“THB”) members will have greater access to devices, therapies, and substances used in the practice of IM that would otherwise be unavailable to them from practitioners of conventional medicine.

 

OUTCOME: FNMB establishes a network of IM providers for THB members seeking natural treatments and/or products and thereby contribute to improving the optimal health and well-being of such THB members who utilize IM services. THB members will be able to be seen, and FNMB providers will be able to practice, wherever there is a FNMB-licensed facility off the reservation as well as on the reservation of the Crow Nation and other FNMB-recognized Indian Nation affiliates.