1st Quarter 2013

IWRI has indeed grown significantly since its inception and thus I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the following bios for our new staff: Nicole Fossos-Wong is a new member of the Sacred Journey Project Team. Nicole grew up in the Seattle area and briefly lived in Austin, TX before returning to…

Photos and descriptions courtesy of Derek Jennings, Tetana Oguara, Chris Charles and Christine Waitai-Rapana.

Kerrie Sumner Murphy Osiyo!  I am of Cherokee, Irish and English descent, growing up mostly in Iowa in a moderately urban setting.  I moved to Washington in 1994 after graduating from the University of Iowa where I majored in anthropology and women’s studies.  One of my first jobs in Washington was with the Native American…

As Director of the Indigenous Wellness Research Center (IWRI), I am humbled and honored to announce that we were awarded a National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Comprehensive Center of Excellence grant in September 2012.  This extremely competitive, 5-year, $5 million grant would never have been awarded to IWRI without the steadfast…

In June of 2012, a small group from the University of Washington’s Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI) and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma walked the historical “Trail of Tears.”  The project was a partnership between Choctaw Nation and IWRI and was named “Yappalli,” meaning “to walk slowly and softly” in the Choctaw language.  The group was…

As an Indigenous person, I was recently reminded that we are connected in so many ways to our relatives beyond the borders of Indian Country or any other country. On November 27, 2012, the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute was honored to act as host for a group of Australian Aboriginal health career students from the…

The Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI), would like to take a moment and recognize the retirement of Denny Hurtado.  Mr. Hurtado, is an enrolled member of the Skokomish Indian Tribe and formerly held the position as its tribal chairman.  He is retiring from the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction as the…

There are two research training programs at IWRI that are drawing up-and-coming scholars and researchers from around the country: IHART and ISMART.  These programs were created to help Native scholars work on their own research projects with the guidance of a mentor.  Indigenous HIV/AIDS Research Training Program, IHART, allows Indigenous students and scholars to conduct…