National Preparedness Month Launch is Part of Larger Efforts to Partner With Tribal Nations as They Prepare for Disasters

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced the launch of the Ready Indian Country campaign as a part of its ongoing National Preparedness Month outreach. The new campaign will provide disaster preparedness information resources for the 565 federally-recognized tribal nations and communities across the country.

The goal of Ready Indian Country is to partner with tribal leaders in asking individuals and families in Indian Country to take basic steps to prepare themselves for emergencies.

“Our tribal nations and organizations are a key member of our nation’s emergency management team and this campaign will help us build on the already strong partnership we have developed,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “By strengthening these communities’ ability to be better prepared in the face of emergencies and disasters, together we can save lives and bolster our resiliency against all hazards.”    

Ready Indian Country is designed to promote preparedness within tribal communities through education and outreach. It is intended to serve as a resource for Tribes to prepare their citizens and provide support in developing and implementing pre-disaster policies and procedures.

“The National Congress of American Indians supports the efforts by FEMA to include Indian Country. Tribal governments are continually striving to develop, improve, and enhance their emergency preparedness capabilities in order to better ensure the safety of their citizens. Staying proactive and creating lasting partnerships will help tribes achieve this goal and will build sustainable and resilient tribal communities in the process. NCAI appreciates this opportunity to work with FEMA and the Ready.gov program,” said Jefferson Keel, President, National Congress of American Indians.

Ready Indian Country’s resources include existing Ready Campaign messaging and builds on existing capacity with specific tools customized for Indian Country. These include:

• Brochures, posters and billboards customized by geographical region to reflect diverse local conditions and American Indian and Alaska Native cultures.
• Radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in :60, :30 and :15 second formats; and,
• Tribal Leader Resources to help guide community emergency and disaster planning efforts.

Ready Indian Country resources can be found at http://www.ready.gov/IndianCountry.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.