2nd Breakout Session

Wednesday, April 16, 2008, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM:     Tribal Knowledge Track

Developing Tribally Owned and Shared Research
Tribal people know that research can be beneficial, but Tribes also want to protect their community from the exploitation that has occurred throughout the years. Building shared trust, developing excellent working relationships, and establishing good communication between Tribes, Universities, Tribal Health programs, administration and clinical personnel at local health care facilities are essential for the success of any research project. The ultimate question in developing these relationships is how can educational and research institutions develop, adopt and embrace the proper Tribal, Community and the Cultural protocols that are intrinsic to the Indigenous people. In this workshop, group discussion and sharing will collectively explore the challenges and barriers in conducting research on the Indigenous Nations and how participants are protecting Tribal members from exploitation. A model that incorporates Tribal Knowledge and community-based organizations with the fusion of research service projects will also be demonstrated.
Presenter: Kathy Prasek, B.S.A.H.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM:     Research/Institutions Track

Addressing the Legacy of Mistrust of Research in Tribal Communities: Building Trust and a Collaborative Research Partnership to Address Breast Cancer Health Disparities
This presentation will focus on the process of developing trust and a new collaborative relationship between a research institution and tribal community that has experienced a legacy of negative research processes. A current research study will provide examples of the application of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and its contribution to the successful implementation of research to address cancer health disparities in a tribal community by: addressing a tribally developed research question, selection of a culturally responsive research methodology, provision of cross-cultural education between partnering organizations, community education/training, and the participation of a community advisory group throughout all phases of research.
Presenters: Cynthia Claus, M.P.H.; Mary V. Thomas; Jody Pelusi, Ph.D.

Ethnicity as a Predictor of Recidivism in Montana’s Prerelease Centers
Social work researchers and graduate students worked with the State of Montana’s Department of Corrections, Community Corrections Pre-release Centers to collect field data from prerelease centers from which predictive models of recidivism could be developed. Variables included length of stay; ethnicity; gender; presence of mental illness; education; age; and number of felonies. Sixteen percent of the sample was female. Seventy percent were white, 21.4% Native American and 6% were of other ethnicity. All predictors considered together, the only variable that statistically and significantly predicts recidivism is being Native American. This paper session will explore possible reasons for this finding and generate additional hypotheses to be tested in future projects. The researcher/presenter (a white male) will also reflect on the personal experience of encountering this disconcerting finding.
Presenter: Timothy B. Conley, Ph.D.

Protecting Tribal Knowledge at a Tribal College: the Salish Kootenai College IRB
Salish Kootenai College created an in-house institutional review board in 2005. The SKC IRB has a dual role in assuring the performance of ethical research involving SKC students, staff, or faculty either as researchers or research participants: protecting human subjects, and protecting the cultural intellectual property of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. This presentation by two members of the SKC IRB will describe the experience of SKC in forming its IRB, and in overseeing ethical research performed either by in-house researchers or researchers from outside SKC.
Presenters: Timothy Olson; William Swaney.

White Researchers in Indian Country: Perpetuating Exploitation or Interrupting Oppression?
Given historic and ongoing colonization and racism, research initiated by white practitioners presents inherent challenges. At the same time, research can be a mechanism to interrupt oppression and correct injustice. In this interactive session, participants will explore a theoretical framework by which to understand systematic oppression and critically reflect on the impact of white researchers in Indian country. Further, participants will identify strategies and skills needed to interrupt oppression in their own practice, as well as in the communities and institutions where they live and work.
Presenter: Amie Thurber

Examining the Role of Grief in the Etiology of Posttraumatic Stress Syndrome
Previous research conducted on multiple Native American reservations found that children had high levels of PTSD symptoms and violence exposure. Many children reported that they were more troubled about the loss of a loved one than by violence exposure (Morsette et al., 2006). The purpose of this presentation is to review our research concerning the role of grief in the development of PTSD symptoms. Additionally, we will share the process we used to obtain permission from multiple institutional and reservation agencies to perform this work.
Presenters: Rick van den Pol, Ph.D.; Aaron Morsette, M.A.

Community-based Participatory Research: Building Trust and Partnerships Between Academic and Tribal Communities
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an applied approach that enables tribal community and university partners to actively participate in the full spectrum of health research with a goal of influencing change in community health, systems, programs or policies. Community members and researchers partner to develop models and approaches to building communication, trust and capacity, with the final goal of decreasing health disparities. This workshop will present lessons learned from CBPR projects that partner Crow and Rocky Boy tribal community members with MSU-Bozeman and UM- Missoula investigators.
Presenters: Blakely Brown; Suzanne Christopher; Alma Knows His Gun-McCormick; Priscilla Friede.