Indigenous Health Illuminated at Luncheon

Johns Hopkins Legacy Society members learn about groundbreaking DrPH specialization

The Baltimore Museum of Industry was a fitting venue for the Sixth Annual Johns Hopkins Legacy Society Luncheon. The museum highlights Maryland’s industrial legacy with exhibitions and collections featuring the stories of people who built Baltimore.

The event, held on September 19, featured keynote speaker Donald Warne, MD, MPH, (Oglala Lakota), co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, which is part of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is also the university’s new provost fellow for Indigenous Health Policy.

In his presentation, Warne described the sphere that encompasses Indigenous peoples, including Native Americans, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. He shared information on commitments by the federal government to include Indigenous knowledge in policymaking decisions, to focus on Indigenous food and culture, and to recognize Indigenous roots in modern science and medicine.

To address health equity, Warne underscored the need for Indigenous expertise in public health and medicine, a specialty that Johns Hopkins is already advancing. “We’re developing an Indigenous health specialization in the MPH and doctorate in the public health program,” Warne said. “It will be the first DrPH in the world with an Indigenous health specialization, and it will be right here at Johns Hopkins.”

The idea to establish an overarching recognition society for those who include Johns Hopkins in their estate plans or establish a life income gift came to life more than a decade ago. Today, there are more than 1,900 members represented in the Johns Hopkins Legacy Society.

“The legacy society is both a tribute to the history of Johns Hopkins and a way to recognize those who care deeply about the institution’s future,” said Anne Doyle, executive director of the Office of Gift Planning and the event’s emcee.

View the photo gallery below for a closer look at the Sixth Annual Johns Hopkins Legacy Society Luncheon. Photography by Howard Korn.