A phone app for reducing exposure to harmful contaminants from fish consumption was developed for the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe and associated Great Lakes Tribes). It is called Gigiigoo’inaan, which means “our fish” in the Ojibwe language. Phone apps and online environmental health literacy resources can be effective ways to reach community members with important health information.
In a new resource, THRO summarizes key observations made by Dr. Donald Warne in his November 2021 guest lecture about the interconnectedness of Native culture and science. Recorded lecture is also available.
This newsletter provides THRO-curated Tribal health research and funding news from across NIH.
NIH releases supplemental information to the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy on “Responsible Management and Sharing American Indian/Alaska Native Participant Data” that was developed in response to the Tribal Consultation on the Draft NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy. The new information promotes trustworthy and mutually beneficial research partnerships respectful of Tribal sovereignty and incorporates input from Tribal leaders, the NIH Tribal Advisory Committee, and public comments from Native organizations and community members, researchers, institutions, data providers and users, and others. To learn more about this policy, you can watch the recordings of a two-part webinar series. In the second webinar, NIH takes a deeper dive into considerations for privacy protections for sharing human participant data when working with Native communities.
Part of the Implementing a Maternal health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, a $3 million challenge competition seeks to encourage community-based and advocacy organizations to develop the infrastructure and capabilities necessary to conduct maternal health research. The initiative places special emphasis on health disparities and engaging underrepresented populations in research, including American Indian and Alaska Native and Black women who are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Sponsored by the NIH HEAL Initiative, Strengthening Communities: Opportunities for Native Youth is a pre-recorded, 60-minute webinar that introduces Native teens and young adults to ways they can strengthen their communities through substance use prevention. Viewers can learn about careers in prevention research and practice, community-based prevention and education opportunities, and ways to get involved.
This video showcases the winners of the I Strengthen My Nation Challenge Competition from NIDA and We R Native. This competition involved Native youth between the ages of 14-25 using art or community projects to share their ideas about Indigenous resilience to substance misuse.
Environmental Factor highlights the work of NIEHS-funded researchers to examine the harmful effects that burning plastic waste can have on human health and the environment. This includes a solid waste disposal project from the Center for Native Environmental Health Equity Research, Navajo Nation, Crow Nation, and the Cheyenne River Sioux.
Dr. David Wilson, the director of THRO, wrote a post for NIH’s Science, Health, and Public Trust blog about the importance of understanding history of the Tribes in U.S. to better communicate with and about Native communities.
In a Q&A with THRO, Leah Nez discusses her background, experience as a post baccalaureate fellow with NIH, her path to studying bioethics, and advice for other Native students interested in science research and health.