Oregon Public Broadcasting

Geoff Norcross / OPB

R. Dale Walker, M.D., President of AAIP

Some 200 American Indian and Alaskan Native physicians are in Portland this week to address the unique health issues among Native Americans.

The annual gathering of the Association of American Indian Physicians is this week. 

Dr. R. Dale Walker is the AAIP President, and he's a professor at Oregon Health and Science University.

Dr. Walker says the group has been meeting for four decades.  And in that time, Indian health has been a mixture of good news and bad.

R. Dale Walker is the President of the Association of American Indian Physicians.  He also runs the One Sky Center at OHSU, which aims to help Native people with mental health and substance abuse problems. 

He spoke with us in his office in Portland.

Association of American Indian Physicians http://www.aaip.org/

OHSU One Sky Center http://www.oneskycenter.org/