As we celebrate the holiday season and the lengthening days after the northern hemisphere’s winter solstice, let us acknowledge the affirmation of Native American sovereignty in 2016, including the halting of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Washington State’s Lummi Nation’s defeat of a coal export terminal on treaty lands, the return and soon-to-be reburial of 9,000…

Malia Villegas, EdD, was the inaugural speaker for the wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (“Intellectual House” in the native Lushootseed language of Puget Sound) Academic Programming Committee Lecture on November 15, 2016. Dr. Villegas was the director of the National Congress of American Indians Policy Research Center (NCAI-PRC), where she supported the building of tribal data capacity, helped to…

This year, for the first time since canoes were a regular form of transport for gathering, hunting and fishing, many of the Plateau Tribes embarked on a canoe journey on the Columbia River from various traditional starting points to Kettle Falls in northeastern Washington State. Kettle Falls is where—in the pre-dam, pre-contact era—the tribes would…

The Indigenous HIV/AIDS Research Training program (IHART2) is recruiting postdoctoral through mid-career PhDs and MDs to apply for up to five 24-month-long HIV/AIDS research mentoring fellowships. Qualifying applicants will primarily be from Indigenous populations (American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and Latino Indigenous) as well as Underrepresented Ethnic Minority or non-Native scholars from socially or…

I RARO I TE ATARAU KAROHIROHI: E WHAKATERE HAERE ANA NGĀ WAKA I TE MOANA-NUI-Ā-KIWA (BY THE SHIMMERING LIGHT OF THE MOON: SEA VESSELS ARE NAVIGATING THE SHARED WATERS AND KNOWLEDGES OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN) This past June, eight Indigenous trainees and two Tuakana (Māori for “mentor”) fellows embarked upon the transformative journey of a…

On September 27, 2016, the IWRI family celebrated with four dedicated staff members who will take what they learned at IWRI to new, exciting ventures. Photo from left to right: Teresa (Tess) Abrahamson-Richards, Spokane Tribe, Master of Public Health, joined IWRI as a student research assistant in October 2012 and as a Research Coordinator in…

At IWRI, our partnerships not only form the cornerstone of our research approach, they provide personally meaningful grounding in the work that we do. Many of us are able to maintain links to our own indigenous identities by stepping outside of the university to collaborate with our tribal partners. The partnerships and friendships we have…

I joined the IWRI family in July 2013 and the past three years have been an incredible experience, both professionally and personally. As an Aleut (Alaska Native), I found that everyone at IWRI was very supportive of my commitment to continue working with Alaska Native Elders and bringing their experience and wisdom to IWRI and…

In June 2016, IWRI received a gift of appreciation from the Clear Sky Native Youth Council, associated with the Urban Native Education Association. Drawing from greater North Seattle, Clear Sky is made up of both middle school and high school Native students, along with their adult mentors and other volunteers. Its goals are to foster…

Student Intern, Morgan Paige IWRI was lucky to have Morgan Paige join the Ethics Training for Health in Indigenous Communities Study (ETHICS) as an intern for Summer 2016. Originally from Mercer Island, Washington, Morgan will be starting her senior year in the fall at the University of Southern California where she is majoring in Global…