1st Quarter 2014

On Thursday, February 20, 2014, the Native Youth Enrichment Program (NYEP) hosted a high school symposium called “Fry Bread Nation.”  This one day symposium was to educate Native American and Alaska Native Youth on the diabetes epidemic in Indian Country. NYEP partnered with the University of Washington’s Education Outreach Genome Sciences Director, Dr. Maureen Munn;…

The health disparities between urban Indians and the general population are little known, and they are shocking, writes Seattle Times guest columnist Polly Olsen. In December, the Seattle City Council voted to make a difference in the lives of our city’s urban Indians. Specifically, the council voted to allow the Seattle Indian Health Board to…

The “Healthy Hearts, Healthy Minds” research study was designed to improve the cardiovascular health of a Northwest American Indian population. Local community resources and input from tribal members were used to develop study materials and protocols. The study offers a new health program in hopes of helping community members protect themselves against diabetes, obesity, and…

We see evidence of sugar’s devastating health effects every day. Take a close look. Over there it’s rotting a child’s teeth, over there it’s taking a diabetic’s foot, and, hey, over there it’s costing the clinic thousands of dollars to treat preventable conditions. What can we do about it? A great place to start is…

When I first saw the announcement that Keawe was going to speak at UW, I got excited. It was the same kind of excitement that people get when their favorite music group is coming to town and they can’t wait to see the show. I know…I know…I’m a nerd like that. I suppose it is…

The Indigenous Wellness Research Institute was honored to host presentations and visits by several distinguished scholars of Maori and indigenous people’s education and research in early Spring 2014. During their visits, the visiting scholars met with graduate students to discuss research and indigenous methodologies. Here two School of Social Work doctoral students offer their reflections…

Three leaders of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) visited IWRI on January 29 – 30, 2014:  President and CEO Carrie Billy, JD; Research Committee Chair and Blackfeet Community College (Montana) President Billie Jo Kipp, PhD; and Native American Research Centers for Health 8 Program Director Deborah His Horse is Thunder, PhD. The AIHEC…

IWRI hosted a two-day “collaboratory,” a working meeting with IWRI / UW researchers and guests who serve as researchers at other academic institutions and community research institutions designed to identify potential research collaborations and sharing of research and training opportunities. Dr. Malia Villegas, Director of the National Congress of American Indians Policy Research Center (NCAI-PRC),…

During the week of February 17 – 22, 2014, IWRI hosted six Indigenous (Alaska Native, American Indian, Native Hawaiian) Elders to begin the discussions and conversations for the developing Wisdom Keeper’s Indigenous Elder-in-Residence Program. We were honored to have Elders from different communities sharing stories and providing guidance and input as we weave together the…