Corina Qaagraq Kramer, Inupiaq form the Native Village of Kotzebue, is social medicine faculty at Siamit and community director of the Della Keats Fellowship. Corina specializes in connecting traditional Indigenous knowledge and values with Western institutional practice for the benefit of Native communities, health, and sovereignty. Her passion is advocacy for Indigenous peoples in restoring their innate connection with their cultures, knowledge, and communities. Corina has developed and led multiple initiatives for youth in Northwest Alaska, including Leadership Through Generations, a program that focuses on nurturing emerging Alaska Native youth leaders and ensuring the continuity of Inupiaq cultural values.

Corina advocates for a culture-as-care model that centers the value of family connection, traditional cultural values, and spirituality. She was instrumental in building Northwest Alaska’s Sayaqagvik system of care for children, youth and families.

Corina is a co-investigator at Siamit Lab. Her current projects include SRx, a Harvard Medical School study examining the health impacts of subsistence practice; and the Rural Reproductive Health Project, a mixed-methods study and quality improvement initiative with the University of Washington. In addition, Corina serves as community director of the Della Keats Fellowship, a postgraduate fellowship based in Northwest Alaska that supports the next generation of Indigenous health leaders.

Siamit in Academic Medicine

American Indians and Alaska Natives have long held state-conferred health rights, but health care disparities persist. This innovation report in Academic Medicine shares the partnership model developed by teams at Harvard, Mass General Brigham, and Maniilaq Social Medicine to advance a health equity agenda in Northwest Alaska.

Realizing Indigenous health rights

New approaches to primary care are on the rise. One tribal health system is working toward health equity by addressing the social determinants of health in primary care settings. Siamit partners Lucas Trout, Corina Kramer, and Lois Fischer write in Health and Human Rights.