Native America Research Articles

Qualitative genomic research with Indigenous peoples: a scoping review of participatory practice

IntroductionIndigenous peoples and perspectives are under-represented within genomic research. Qualitative methods can help redress this under-representation by informing the development of inclusive genomic resources aligned with Indigenous rights and interests....

Plants of the USA: recordings on native North American useful species by Alexander von Humboldt

BackgroundThe German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt conducted an expedition through the American continent, alongside Aimé Bonpland, from 1799 to 1804. Before finally returning to Europe, they decided to take a side trip to the USA between May 20 and July 7, 1804. Humboldt’s most detailed account of his time in the USA consists of a manuscript entitled “Plantae des États-Unis” (1804), containing information on useful plants and timber of the country. The aim of this paper is to retrieve, for the first time, ethnobotanical information regarding North American plants and their uses inside this Humboldt’s manuscript as well as to highlight the erasure and invisibilization of North American Indigenous knowledge within historical documents and bibliography, mainly during the nineteenth century.Methods“Plantae des États-Unis” (digitized version and its transcription) was carefully analyzed, and information on plant species mentioned in the manuscript (including botanical and vernacular names, traditional uses, and general observations) was retrieved. Traditional uses were correlated with ethnobotanical data from the Native American Ethnobotany Database and encyclopedic literature on North American plants from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as recent pharmacological studies searched in scientific papers.ResultsIn the manuscript are mentioned 28 species distributed in 15 botanical families, with Fagaceae (9 Quercus species) being the most representative. All species are USA natives, except for one undetermined species (only the genus was mentioned, Corylus). Four species were directly mentioned as medicinal (Toxicodendron radicans, Liriodendron tulipifera, Actaea racemosa, and Gillenia stipulata), while other four were described as tanning agents (astringent) (Cornus florida, Diospyros virginiana, Quercus rubra, and Quercus velutina). Two species were described as bitter (Xanthorhiza simplicissima and A. racemosa). Nine Quercus species were described, but five were reported as the most useful oaks for cultivation in Europe (Quercus bicolor, Quercus castanea, Quercus virginiana, Quercus michauxii, and Quercus alba); three of them were used for ship construction (Q. virginiana, Q. michauxii, and Q. alba), two as astringent (Q. rubra and Q. stellata), and one had wood of poor quality (Quercus phellos). One species was described as a yellow dye (Hydrastis canadensis), and the other was mentioned as toxic (Aesculus pavia). Ten species did not have any useful applications listed.ConclusionsAlthough “Plantae des États-Unis” is a brief collection of annotations, these data reveal a historical scenario of outstanding plants with social and economic interest in the USA at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The data highlight a clear process of suppression of the traditional knowledge of Native North American Indigenous peoples in past historical records and literature, due to the lack of acknowledgment by white European settlers and American-born explorers. This ethnobotanical inventory may help us understand the relationship between plants and Native North American Indigenous peoples, as well as European naturalists and settlers, and USA-born people in the past, and reflect on the importance of Indigenous traditional knowledge, bioeconomy, sustainable management, and conservation of biodiversity in the present and future.

Does the distribution of Wormian bone frequencies across different world regions reflect genetic affinity between populations?

BackgroundWormian, or sutural bones, are additional, irregularly shaped bone fragments that can occur within cranial sutures. These bones may arise due to various factors, including mechanical pressure on skull bones during early ontogenetic stages, such as during artificial cranial deformations, or due to genetic and environmental influences. This study investigates the potential genetic basis of sutural bones by comparing their frequencies across diverse global regions. It analyzed 33 craniological series, encompassing 2059 crania, to assess the frequency of sutural bones in the coronal, squamous, lambdoid, and occipitomastoid sutures among skeletal populations from regions including Aboriginal Australia, Melanesia, Southeast Asia, Siberia, Europe, and Native America. Biological distances between populations were calculated using Smith’s mean measure of divergence (MMD), with results visualized through multidimensional scaling.ResultsThe analysis identified distinct clusters of Caucasian and Siberian populations. Siberian aboriginal populations are compactly grouped, consistent with mtDNA data indicating genetic roots dating back to the Neolithic inhabitants of the Lake Baikal region. Further, differentiation within these populations is linked to the founder effect and gene flow. Notably, genetically related groups like the Inuit and Chukchi of Chukotka differ from other Siberian groups. In contrast, southern Siberian populations, such as the Buryats and Mongols, are closely positioned, aligning with genetic data. The differentiation between Southeast Asian and African regions was subtler, with their clusters largely overlapping. Yet, genetic links between populations were observed in some cases. Thus, Australians, Melanesians, and Papua New Guineans were located close to each other on the multidimensional scaling map, as were two African populations.ConclusionsThe findings tentatively suggest a potential genetic component in the expression of Wormian bones, although this hypothesis requires further empirical support, particularly through genetic studies. While genetic factors may influence the expression of Wormian bones, environmental conditions and pathological processes also play significant roles. It can be suggested that Wormian bones could potentially serve as an additional tool in kinship analysis within burials; however, their utility significantly depends on the extent of their genetic influence. If future genetic studies confirm a substantial genetic component and its dominance over environmental factors, the use of these bones in anthropological and forensic analyses would receive additional validation.

Anti-Indigenous racism in Canadian healthcare: a scoping review of the literature.

Health inequity between Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) peoples and other citizens is an important policy concern in Canada, as in other colonial countries. Racism in healthcare has been identified as contributing to poorer care and to worse outcomes. Despite a large literature regarding racism in other healthcare contexts, the dimensions of the existing literature on anti-Indigenous racism in Canadian healthcare are unclear. A scoping review examined the evidence of anti-Indigenous racist experiences in healthcare in the research literature, including the types of racist behaviours identified, settings studied, and Indigenous populations and geographic regions included. We identified English and French language journal articles on anti-Indigenous racism in Canadian healthcare settings in Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, and the Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America, and grey literature reports. A total of 2250 journal articles and 9 grey literature reports published since 2000 were included in screening, and 66 studies were included in the final review. Most used qualitative interviews with patients, but a large proportion included healthcare providers. Most were conducted in urban settings, a majority in Ontario or British Columbia, with mixed Indigenous populations. The largest proportion focussed on patient experiences with healthcare in general, rather than specific clinical contexts. Most racist experiences identified were 'covert' racism, including patients feeling treated differently from non-Indigenous patients, being ignored, treated more slowly, or not believed. Stereotyping of Indigenous peoples as substance users, poor patients, or poor parents was also commonly reported. 'Overt racism', including the use of racist slurs, was not widely found. Some quantitative studies did use standardized or validated instruments to capture racist experiences, but most did not result in generalizable estimates of their prevalence. The few studies linking racism to health outcomes found that experiencing racism was related to reluctance to seek healthcare, potentially leading to higher unmet healthcare needs. Gender was the intersecting dimension most identified as shaping healthcare experiences, with Indigenous women and girls at risk to specific stereotypes. Some papers suggested that socio-economically disadvantaged Indigenous people were at the highest risk to experiencing racism. Types of anti-Indigenous racism identified in Canadian healthcare appear similar to those reported in other jurisdictions. Indigenous peoples facing multiple dimensions of disadvantage, especially gender and social class, may be the most likely to experience racism. It is likely that the experience of racism in healthcare has implications for Indigenous peoples' health, mainly by reducing healthcare access.

Native North America in Motion

Two Indigenous long-distance walking performances, by the Mother Earth Water Walkers and by the Standing Rock Youth Runners, employ walking as a performance of Indigenous sovereignty, generating tribal knowledge, resistance, and cultural resurgence. What can these acts of long-distance walking tell us about the ways in which Indigenous people create, embody, and perform cultural sovereignty in North America?

Novel Mito-Nuclear Combinations Facilitate the Global Invasion of a Major Agricultural Crop Pest.

A fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in biological invasions is crucial to developing effective risk assessment and control measures against invasive species. The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a highly invasive pest that has rapidly spread from its native Americas into much of the Eastern Hemisphere, with a highly homogeneous nuclear genetic background. However, the exact mechanism behind its rapid introduction and propagation remains unclear. Here, a systematic investigation is conducted into the population dynamics of FAW in China from 2019 to 2021 and found that FAW individuals carrying "rice" mitochondria (FAW-mR) are more prevalent (>98%) than that with "corn" mitochondria (FAW-mC) at the initial stage of the invasion and in newly-occupied non-overwintering areas. Further fitness experiments show that the two hybrid-strains of FAW exhibit different adaptions in the new environment in China, and this may have been facilitated by amino acid changes in mitochondrial-encoded proteins. FAW-mR used increases energy metabolism, faster wing-beat frequencies, and lower wing loadings to drive greater flight performance and subsequent rapid colonization of new habitats. In contrast, FAW-mC individuals adapt with more relaxed mitochondria and shuttle energetics into maternal investment, observed as faster development rate and higher fecundity. The presence of two different mitochondria types within FAW has the potential to significantly expand the range of damage and enhance competitive advantage. Overall, the study describes a novel invasion mechanism displayed by the FAW population that facilitates its expansion and establishment in new environments.

The Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis on First Nations and How We Can Work With Communities to Prevent It.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is prevalent in many Indigenous North American First Nations (FN) and tends to be seropositive, familial, and disabling, as well as associated with highly unfavorable outcomes such as early mortality. The risk of developing RA is based on a perfect storm of gene-environment interactions underpinning this risk. The gene-environment interactions include a high frequency of shared epitope encoding HLA alleles, particularly HLA-DRB1*1402, in the background population, and prevalent predisposing environmental factors such as smoking and periodontal disease. Together, these provide a compelling rationale for an RA prevention agenda in FN communities. Our research team has worked in partnership with several FN communities to prospectively follow the first-degree relatives of FN patients with RA, with the aim of better understanding the preclinical stages of RA in this population. We have focused on specific features of the anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) and other proteomic biomarkers as predictors of future development of RA. These studies have now led us to consider interventions having a favorable risk-benefit ratio if applied at a stage prior to a hypothetical "point of no return," when the autoimmunity potentially becomes irreversible. Based on a supportive mouse model and available human studies of curcumin, omega-3, and vitamin D supplements, we are undertaking studies where we screen communities using dried blood spot technology adapted for the detection of ACPA, and then enrolling ACPA-positive individuals in studies that use a combination of these supplements. These studies are guided by shared decision-making principles.

Among-population variation in drought responses is consistent across life stages but not between native and non-native ranges.

Understanding how widespread species adapt to variation in abiotic conditions across their ranges is fundamental to ecology. Insight may come from studying how among-population variation (APV) in the common garden corresponds with the environmental conditions of source populations. However, there are no such studies comparing native vs non-native populations across multiple life stages. We examined APV in the performance and functional traits of 59 Conyza canadensis populations, in response to drought, across large aridity gradients in the native (North America) and non-native (Eurasia) ranges in three experiments. Our treatment (dry vs wet) was applied at the recruitment, juvenile, and adult life stages. We found contrasting patterns of APV in drought responses between the two ranges. In the native range, plant performance was less reduced by drought in populations from xeric than mesic habitats, but such relationship was not apparent for non-native populations. These range-specific patterns were consistent across the life stages. The weak adaptive responses of non-native populations indicate that they can become highly abundant even without complete local adaptation to abiotic environments and suggest that long-established invaders may still be evolving to the abiotic environment. These findings may explain lag times in invasions and raise concern about future expansions.

On Tragedy and Triumph in Native America

On Tragedy and Triumph in Native America

Equity in the Setting of Heart Failure Diagnosis: An Analysis of Differences Between and Within Clinician Practices.

Timely heart failure (HF) diagnosis can lead to earlier intervention and reduced morbidity. Among historically marginalized patients, new-onset HF diagnosis is more likely to occur in acute care settings (emergency department or inpatient hospitalization) than outpatient settings. Whether inequity within outpatient clinician practices affects diagnosis settings is unknown. We determined the setting of incident HF diagnosis among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries between 2013 and 2017. We identified sociodemographic and medical characteristics associated with HF diagnosis in the acute care setting. Within each outpatient clinician practice, we compared acute care diagnosis rates across sociodemographic characteristics: female versus male sex, non-Hispanic White versus other racial and ethnic groups, and dual Medicare-Medicaid eligible (a surrogate for low income) versus nondual-eligible patients. Based on within-practice differences in acute diagnosis rates, we stratified clinician practices by equity (high, intermediate, and low) and compared clinician practice characteristics. Among 315 439 Medicare patients with incident HF, 173 121 (54.9%) were first diagnosed in acute care settings. Higher adjusted acute care diagnosis rates were associated with female sex (6.4% [95% CI, 6.1%-6.8%]), American Indian (3.6% [95% CI, 1.1%-6.1%]) race, and dual eligibility (4.1% [95% CI, 3.7%-4.5%]). These differences persisted within clinician practices. With clinician practice adjustment, dual-eligible patients had a 4.9% (95% CI, 4.5%-5.4%) greater acute care diagnosis rate than nondual-eligible patients. Clinician practices with greater equity across dual eligibility also had greater equity across sex and race and ethnicity and were more likely to be composed of predominantly primary care clinicians. Differences in HF diagnosis rates in the acute care setting between and within clinician practices highlight an opportunity to improve equity in diagnosing historically marginalized patients.

Ancient and historical cooking pots and food: an eternal communion. A topical review

AbstractThis contribution provides a topical view at and review of traditional clay‐based utilitarian cooking pots that were used for millennia to prepare, serve, display, and distribute foodstuff. Key mechanical and thermal properties of ceramic cooking vessels will be discussed and strategies of property optimization outlined. In addition, some important chemical changes food constituents undergo during cooking will be explained. Mass‐produced ancient ceramic cooking pots from Neolithic Mesopotamia have revolutionized the art of cooking by allowing foodstuff to be processed in water. As an example of successfully optimizing the properties of cooking vessels, emphasis is being given to Indigenous prehistoric North American ware of the Mississippian culture (c. 800 to 1600 CE) that show impressively how ancient potters overcame the technological challenges posed by essentially unsuitable smectite‐rich clays with extreme plasticity and high swell–shrink ratio by adding copious amounts of burnt mussel shells as temper material.

Our Fight Has Just Begun: Hate Crimes and Justice in Native America

Book review

The Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis on First Nations and How We Can Work With Communities to Prevent It.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is prevalent in many Indigenous North American First Nations (FN) and tends to be seropositive, familial, and disabling, as well as associated with highly unfavorable outcomes such as early mortality. The risk of developing RA is based on a perfect storm of gene-environment interactions underpinning this risk. The gene-environment interactions include a high frequency of shared epitope encoding HLA alleles, particularly HLA-DRB1*1402, in the background population, and prevalent predisposing environmental factors such as smoking and periodontal disease. Together, these provide a compelling rationale for an RA prevention agenda in FN communities. Our research team has worked in partnership with several FN communities to prospectively follow the first-degree relatives of FN patients with RA, with the aim of better understanding the preclinical stages of RA in this population. We have focused on specific features of the anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) and other proteomic biomarkers as predictors of future development of RA. These studies have now led us to consider interventions having a favorable risk-benefit ratio if applied at a stage prior to a hypothetical "point of no return," when the autoimmunity potentially becomes irreversible. Based on a supportive mouse model and available human studies of curcumin, omega-3, and vitamin D supplements, we are undertaking studies where we screen communities using dried blood spot technology adapted for the detection of ACPA, and then enrolling ACPA-positive individuals in studies that use a combination of these supplements. These studies are guided by shared decision-making principles.

Decolonizing gender through ICT: a semiotic analysis of web images from Two-Spirit people websites

ABSTRACT Freedom of self-expression is essential for human development. Recent studies have investigated ICT’s role in bringing visibility to activist movements working to improve the lives of gender and sexual minorities. However, this literature often characterizes visibility based on gender or sexuality alone, with little regard for ethnic identity and gender traditions of Indigenous cultures. This paper conducts a semiotic analysis of images from Two-Spirit websites to examine how websites bring visibility to Two-Spirit people. Two-Spirit is a contemporary term used by Indigenous Peoples of North America that denotes the fluidity of gender identity through the coexistence of feminine and masculine qualities. The analysis shows how values of empowerment, supportiveness, and restoration in web images bring visibility to Two-Spirit people through cultural emancipation. This study contributes to the ICT for development literature by broadening our understanding of ICT’s role in bringing visibility to efforts for self-expression free of racism and homophobia.

Eloquence Embodied: Nonverbal Communication among French and Indigenous Peoples in the Americas by Céline Carayon (review)

Eloquence Embodied: Nonverbal Communication among French and Indigenous Peoples in the Americas by Céline Carayon (review)

The circus of liberation: Clowning as social creativity in insane clown posse's dark carnival

The Detroit band Insane Clown Posse (ICP) and their fan subculture of ‘Juggalos’ have created an alternative culture with its own symbolism, rituals, and forms of kinship, called the ‘Dark Carnival’. This article connects ICP and the Juggalo subculture to the cross-cultural study of clowning in European and Indigenous North American and Oceanian societies. It is argued that ICP and the Juggalos use clowning as a creative method to develop new ways of living and being and mount liberatory political challenges within an egalitarian counter-cultural space. ICP's clowning is situated within the post-industrial Rust Belt and is posed in relation to economic grievances, masculinity, class, Whiteness, and intergenerational violence. Clowned forms of performative violence are used in lyrics and rituals to create a communitarian ethos of ‘Juggalo family’ which accepts participants unconditionally, rejects actual violence, and eschews social taboos in favour of creating its own symbols and norms.

Introducing the Euro-Invasion Conflict Database 1513–1901

Abstract We introduce a comprehensive new dataset of conflicts, in chronological order, between the Indigenous Peoples of North America and Europeans seeking to colonize what is now the Continental United States. These data, covering 1,375 conflicts, were originally compiled as a book in 2007 by Michael L. Nunnally, a self-taught historian with a talent for careful data collection and analysis. A research team within the Rights Lab (University of Nottingham, U.K.), drew upon Nunnally’s American Indian Wars to code each recorded conflict (battle, skirmish, raid, massacre, etc.) along with other relevant information. The conflicts were then further researched by the Rights Lab team to add any missing information, resolve ambiguities or questions, and to find common conflict patterns through these centuries. The database holds thirty possible variables for each conflict. An example of one such variable is “genocidal massacre,” following the work of historian Benjamin Madley. Other variables include specifying and/or clarifying the identity of all participants; introducing, as often as possible, the exact or approximate GPS coordinates for each conflict; and noting who were the initiators of each conflict. The full Codebook is an Appendix to this article. To our knowledge, the database we are presenting is unique. We offer this dataset to scholars in the hope that it will allow for a more nuanced and deeper consideration of the history of the European invasion of North America over a four-hundred-year period.

Landscape of Métis health and wellness: protocol for a scoping review

IntroductionIn Canada, Métis people are one of three distinct Indigenous peoples whose rights are recognised and affirmed in Section 35 of the federal Constitution Act, 1982. In line with Métis...

An assessment of cardiovascular disease hospitalizations and disparities by race in patients with rheumatic disease hospitalizations in Alaska, 2015–2018

BackgroundThere is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in people with many rheumatic diseases. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate cardiovascular disease hospitalizations in Alaska for people with and without a rheumatic disease diagnosis and assess disparities by race, with a focus on Alaska Native and American Indian people.MethodsThis study used the Alaska Health Facilities Data Reporting Program data on inpatient hospitalizations from 2015 to 2018. We identified people with a rheumatic disease diagnosis based on any hospitalization with a set of rheumatic disease diagnoses and compared them to people hospitalized but without a rheumatic disease diagnosis. We determined the odds of cardiovascular disease hospitalization by rheumatic disease diagnosis and assessed the influence of race and other factors, using univariate analyses and multivariable models.ResultsPeople with a rheumatic disease diagnosis other than osteoarthritis had higher odds of cardiovascular disease hospitalization. The odds ratio was highest in people with gout compared to other rheumatic diseases. In multivariable models, there was an interaction between race and rheumatic disease status. Specifically, having gout increased the odds of cardiovascular disease hospitalization for people of all races, while having a rheumatic disease other than gout or osteoarthritis increased the odds of cardiovascular disease hospitalization in Alaska Native/American Indian people but not in people of other races.ConclusionsThe association between rheumatic disease status and cardiovascular disease hospitalization in Alaska varied by type of rheumatic disease and race. This adds substantially to the literature on associations between rheumatic disease and cardiovascular disease in Indigenous North American populations.

Episode 119: Inside the Monitor – Challenges Abound for Indigenous Peoples of North America

Episode 119: Inside the Monitor – Challenges Abound for Indigenous Peoples of North America