Tribal Members Research Articles

Effectiveness of an Infection Control Program Among the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in Preventing COVID-19-Related Hospitalizations and Deaths.

In response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the United States declared a state of emergency and implemented large-scale shutdowns and public health initiatives to prevent overwhelming public resources. The success of these prevention methods remains unresolved as restrictions and implementation varied from national, state, and local levels. Despite national and local regulations, individual adherence to preventative guidelines presented an additional layer of variability. Cases of COVID-19 continued to rise and fall over a two-year period on a national level, despite masking recommendations, ease of testing, and availability of vaccines. The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo is a Native American tribal community and sovereign nation located in El Paso, Texas. Speaking Rock Entertainment Center is a major business operated by the tribe, employing many tribal and non-tribal members from the El Paso area. Following nationwide re-openings of non-essential businesses, Speaking Rock implemented an infection control program with strict adherence to recommendations provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and additional disease control. This response would result in a fully vaccinated workforce within the wider community of El Paso, where the vaccination rate was less than 80%. Herein, we examine the efficacy of these measures and report on the success of the program resulting in zero hospitalizations or deaths compared with rates of 1 in 250 and 1 in 40, respectively, in the surrounding community.

Radon mitigation in Native communities: A partnership between a tribal health clinic and University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center.

44 Background: Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, and the Native communities in Wisconsin bear an outsized burden of lung cancer. Radon testing is attainable for these communities, but the cost of one-time mitigation is high and out of reach for many. The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC) partnered with the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation (S-M) Health Center to test homes for radon levels and mitigate (repair) those structures when levels were high to mitigate a structural barrier of health. Prior tests had suggested 10% of homes across Wisconsin test “high” for radon (above 4 pCi/L). The mean radon level among tested homes in Wisconsin is 5.7 pCi/L (American Lung Association, Radon Testing Disparities: Wisconsin, 2022). Methods: The project was co-developed with the UW and S-M. A key partner was the Wisconsin Radon Program, housed at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. We aimed to educate, test for radon, and mitigate all homes that tested high for radon. Education, promotion of the program and testing were done in collaboration between state, university, and tribal officials. The environmental health and community health coordinators at S-M was the key person for distributing and ensuring the return of kits. Mitigation was performed by a private certified contractor over the project. We used descriptive statistics to evaluate the percentage of Wisconsin homes that tested high for radon in our sample. We also surveyed community members about their satisfaction with the mitigation contractor. Results: This project was done from April 2023 to April 2024. Staff reported educational sessions were successful in improving their knowledge of radon and testing and mitigation procedures. The S-M had 1822 enrolled tribal members at the start of the study. A total of 85 kits were distributed, with 64 returned (75.3% return rate). Of those, 42 of 64 tested positive for high radon in the home (65.6%), much higher than the expected 10% positive rate. The mean radon level among all homes was 14.1 pCi/L (0-111.6pCi/L) and 18.7 pCi/L among homes that tested positive. All homes testing high have completed radon mitigation. All reported their homes could not have been mitigated without this collaboration. The community was satisfied with the services of the certified contractor. Conclusions: Radon levels were much higher than anticipated in Native lands in Wisconsin and may explain higher rates of lung cancer. Cancer centers are key partners in addressing high radon levels and mitigating structural determinants of health among Native communities, such as with housing quality.

Drug-Related Violence, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health Challenges in a Southeastern American Indian Tribe: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT Background Drug-related violence [DRV] and substance abuse impact the mental health of economically challenged minority community members. DRV challenges to mental health promotion are exacerbated in American Indian [AI] communities. Purpose To investigate psycho-social and environmental factors influencing DRV, substance abuse, and mental health challenges within the Lumbee, a southeastern American Indian Tribe. Methods In-depth, one-on-one interviews with 37 Lumbee Tribal Members and Key Leaders were conducted. Results Findings align with existing research, revealing the influence of poor socioeconomic conditions, poor coping strategies, broken family structures, and failed federal policy. The substantial influence of local Christian churches on beliefs, attitudes, and practices of the Lumbee community vis-à-vis DRV and mental health was recognized. Discussion Findings indicated that social-environmental factors, seemingly independent of drug use/violence prevention and treatment, play important roles in the Lumbee community’s ability to recover from mental health consequences of DRV. Identifying barriers to, and facilitators of, prevention and treatment are critical to improving the welfare of tribal communities. Translation to Health Education Practice Major competencies associated with this research apply to Areas I & II, Assessment of Needs/Capacity and Planning. Identification of DRV and mental health education, prevention and treatment barriers are critical to quality-of-life improvement in tribal communities.

Abstract B091: Listen, Empower, Co-Create: Conducting listening sessions to create tailored messages about colorectal health for American Indian communities

Abstract Background We conducted Listening Sessions using a modified version of boot camp translation (BCT), a validated community engaged approach, to engage American Indian community members in the Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest to develop culturally and locally relevant colorectal cancer (CRC) screening messages and materials. Methods CRC is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the US and disproportionally affects American Indian adults. Routine CRC screening leads to earlier diagnosis and prolonged survival from the disease. In partnership with Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (GPTLHB), South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA), and National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, we used a modified BCT approach to obtain feedback from tribal communities to create CRC screening messages and materials. To make the BCT process more meaningful for our partner communities, we reframed the BCT sessions by referring to them as Listening Sessions. The Listening Session engagement process was designed to help community leaders and champions learn about local barriers and gaps in care (listen), share health information in a collaborative way (empower), and develop messages and materials that resonate with and motivate community members to take control of their health (co-create). Eligible tribal community members from GPTLHB and SPIPA were between the ages of 45-75 and able to participate in three Listening Session meetings (one five-hour in-person meeting including expert presentations, brainstorming opportunities, and interactive small group sessions, and two follow-up virtual sessions (one-hour each) to refine messages and materials). Results Common Themes. Both groups emphasized the importance of using a multigenerational approach by including grandchildren and Elders in the messages and materials. Additionally, they highlighted the need for materials to be relatable and culturally relevant by incorporating local cultural imagery and traditions and multigenerational family support .Differing Themes. The GPTLHB findings focused specifically on including Lakota words to reinforce cultural identity, using visuals for colon health education, and incorporating details about healing traditions. The SPIPA findings recommended highlighting intertribal milestones like the canoe journey and incorporating water as a symbol of spiritual healing. Materials and Dissemination Methods. Preferred materials and channels for dissemination were: 1) fact sheets, posters, and visual stories to be distributed in-clinic or at community events, 2) animated videos for CRC screening education to be shown in clinic, 3) live action videos with community member CRC stories to be shown in clinic. Final materials will be available here: www.KPCHR-engage.org Conclusion We conducted Listening Sessions to incorporate participant feedback to develop CRC screening messages and materials and identified preferred dissemination channels for tribal communities in the Great Plains and Pacific Northwest. Citation Format: Jamie Thompson, Jennifer Rivelli, Priyanka Gautom, LaToya Brave Heart, Jamie Nikander, Lorrie Graaf, Gloria Coronado. Listen, Empower, Co-Create: Conducting listening sessions to create tailored messages about colorectal health for American Indian communities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B091.

Retribution for tribal sovereignty: Settler colonial policing and civil justice impacts

Unique among marginalized groups, American Indians are both citizens of the United States and citizens of sovereign tribal nations, as recognized (but not granted) by federal Indian law. However, even as tribal nations exert increasing economic and political power, criminal legal outcomes for tribal members—who interface with an array of tribal, local, state, and federal law enforcement and justice systems—remain detrimental or are worsened. These outcomes also include increased contact with state courts and the delegitimization of tribal courts, which uniquely implicate the civil justice context. We use the settler colonial framework to investigate how tools of state criminal law, such as heavy policing and disparate punishment, may impact the civil justice needs of Indigenous people, and more broadly, the very sovereignty these policies aim to protect. Drawing on interviews and observations in tribal and county-level courts, we examine the experiences of American Indians and other stakeholders in Indian country. We identify how enforcement practices, surveillance of space, and the complexities of layered policing within a “jurisdictional maze” contribute to the deterioration of tribal sovereignty. We contextualize our findings by considering the historical, cultural, and socio-economic factors that influence the experiences of American Indians in the criminal justice system, and by examining the civil justice implications.

Educational exclusion and socio-cultural constraints for tribal women in the Ganderbal district

Using a phenomenological approach, this study aims at understanding tribal females' educational deprivation due to socio-cultural limitations. The study, conducted in the Ganderbal district of Kashmir in 2022, included 30 women. A semi-structured interview schedule and observation method was used to collect data, which was analyzed with Moustakas' modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen phenomenological approach. We identified four themes associated with women's challenges in their communities: (a) poverty, domestic duties, and co-education challenges, (b) cultural and structural barriers, (c) economic exploitation, early marriage, and gender bias and (d) intersection of marginality. Deep-seated cultural norms favoring men's education and relegating women to domestic roles hampered tribal women's access to education. These norms, in turn, resulted in detrimental practices such as child marriage, forced labor, child labor, exclusion from the market, social alienation, exploitation and backwardness, poor decision-making power, and increasing school dropouts. To promote educational inclusion among tribal members, it is necessary to implement National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 fully and make both tribal men and women aware of the impact of socioeconomic and cultural exclusion on their mobility.

Reflections on the Collaborative Story Analysis Method to Understand Qualitative Perspectives of Indigenous Syringe Services Program Clients

Many scholars have cautioned that the use of Western research methods is problematic in studies with Indigenous communities given colonialist histories that have exploited Indigenous populations. One solution has been to utilize a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach to enhance equity in research partnerships. Employing a CBPR approach, however, does not necessitate the inclusion of Indigenous Research Methods, an additional step that can further benefit studies with their explicit alignment with Indigenous worldviews and values. In a CBPR project aiming to understand Indigenous harm reduction clients' perspectives of barriers and facilitators to opioid use disorder treatment, our research group assembled a multidisciplinary qualitative data analysis team that included diverse tribal community members and academics. Sparse literature was available to guide the use of Indigenous Research Methods for the qualitative data analysis phase of the research. To address this gap, the aims of this process paper are: (1) to describe the implementation of the Collaborative Story Analysis method, and (2) in the Indigenous tradition of honoring and sharing stories, describe our analysis team's experiences and perceptions of implementing this Indigenous Research Method. Through a series of process discussions, the analysis team found that applying the Collaborative Story Analysis method: (1) honored relationships and story, (2) strengthened the depth of analysis, and (3) exhibited tensions when working in a dominant Western culture. Through sharing our team's experiences, the aspiration is that others can use these insights in their own consideration and implementation of an Indigenous Research Method for qualitative data analysis.

Centering Amah Mutsun voices in the analysis of a culturally important, fire-managed coastal grassland.

Indigenous communities throughout California, USA, are increasingly advocating for and practicing cultural fire stewardship, leading to a host of social, cultural, and ecological benefits. Simultaneously, state agencies are recognizing the importance of controlled burning and cultural fire as a means of reducing the risk of severe wildfire while benefiting fire-adapted ecosystems. However, much of the current research on the impacts of controlled burning ignores the cultural importance of these ecosystems, and risks further marginalizing Indigenous knowledge systems. Our work adds a critical Indigenous perspective to the study of controlled burning in California's unique coastal grasslands, one of the most biodiverse and endangered ecosystems in the country. In this study, we partnered with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to investigate how the abundance and occurrence of shrubs, cultural plants, and invasive plants differed among three adjacent coastal grasslands with varying fire histories. These three sites are emblematic of the state's diverging approaches to grassland management: fire suppression, fire suppression followed by wildfire, and an exceedingly rare example of a grassland that has been repeatedly burned approximately every 2 years for more than 30 years. We found that Danthonia californica was significantly more abundant on the burned sites, whereas all included shrub species (Baccharis pilularis, Frangula californica, and Rubus ursinus) were significantly more abundant on the site with no recorded fire, results that have important implications for future cultural revitalization efforts and the loss of coastal grasslands to shrub encroachment. In addition to conducting a culturally relevant vegetation survey, we used Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to compare the relative severities of the two most recent fire events within the study area. Critically, we used interviews with Amah Mutsun tribal members to contextualize the results of our vegetation survey and remote sensing analysis, and to investigate how cultural burning contrasts from typical Western fire management approaches in this region. Our study is a novel example of how interviews, field data, and satellite imagery can be combined to gain a deeper ecological and cultural understanding of fire in California's endangered coastal grasslands.

Sustainability of an intervention for the prevention of substance use within Native American communities

The outcomes of this study revealed the importance of recruiting local Native American tribal community members as participants in an Adult Facilitator Trainee Program for a cultural based intervention, Intertribal Talking Circle (ITC), that addresses prevention of substance use among Native American youth. Survey results indicate that Native-Reliance (cultural identity) and self-efficacy increased among the trainees from base-line to 3-months post the training session. Themes emerged from qualitative interviews conducted with the participants that described their readiness to implement and sustain the Talking Circle intervention program within their tribal communities after the research project was completed.

Water resource management and land tenure on allotted and tribal lands

Historical land tenure policies often prevent tribal members from accessing and managing resources on lands to which they hold allotment titles. Tribal trust landowners continue to experience challenges in applying long-contested water resource rights for beneficial use on their land. This study examines the relationship between land tenure and water resource management in tribal lands. Conflicts arising from diverse land ownership types and the implications of water rights management of tribal trust and non-tribal assets are analyzed. Watershed analyses of landownership types are performed to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent of tribal control and management of water resources. These analyses provide an estimate of land within the reservation boundary not controlled by the tribe, thus highlighting the restrictions that such land presents for tribal resource management. To further detail the potential impact of these restrictions, the land tenure of the tribal land base is outlined, including the percentage of tribal trust, fee, or non-trust land types, with the goal of specifically addressing the potential limitations on water resource usage for allottee landowners on Crow tribal lands. Using highly fractionated lands as a proxy for idle lands, 33% of tribal trust lands were estimated to be precluded from water resource management. The convergence of large-fee land and fractionated idle land is identified as alienated land. The primary waterway basins consist of over 60% fee and idle land as alienated land. Fee and non-trust lands are subject to state control over water rights, and the reserved rights associated with idle allotted land are inaccessible to the tribal management authority. This leaves allottee landowners unable to use and manage their land and related water resources. The key to effectively managing tribal water resources is to ensure that all landowners have the means to participate in resource management.

A Study of Caste and Tribal System in Kumaon and Garhwal Reasons in Uttarakhand

The Jaunsari, Tharu, Raji, Buksa, and Bhotiya tribes are the five primary groups that make up Uttarakhand's tribe population. The Jaunsari tribe is the largest tribal group in the state in terms of numbers. The ethnic groups living in the state of Uttarakhand are represented by the tribes. In all of Uttarakhand's districts, the proportion of tribal people is roughly moderate. The majority of tribal people in the state of Uttarakhand live in rural areas. According to available data, approximately 94.50% of all tribal members live in rural areas, with the remaining portion residing in urban areas. It is stated that about five tribes call Uttarakhand officially home. The Indian Constitution has designated a schedule for these tribes from Uttarakhand. According to historical accounts, the earliest people to settle in this part of North India were the tribes of Uttarakhand. Their primary populations used to be restricted to isolated, steep, and wooded regions. The ancient customs of the tribes in Uttarakhand have not changed. They stand for the unique way of life and characteristics of a prehistoric society. Their ethnicity is determined by their sociocultural practices and traditional customs. Up to five tribes that are officially located in Uttarakhand are listed as scheduled in the Indian Constitution, which was drafted more than 40 years ago, in 1967.

Morphological structure and ethnic background of the Sudanese Shagia tribe (East Africa)

North Sudan, especially the 4th Nile Cataract region, is home to one of the world’s most isolated human populations. This study aimed to clarify the ethnic background of the Shagia based on anthropological analyses. This study provides a morphological and ethnographic characterisation of the previously unstudied Shagia tribe. Head and body measurements were conducted among 64 adults from three villages. There were observable but relatively small admixture proportions of non-African population genes (light skin colour, narrow noses and masculine proportions) in their morphological build. The Shagia’s uniqueness may have been the result of severe genetic drift episodes resulting from founding events, such as long-term isolation and traditionally small population size. It is useful to trace the ethnic history of Africans and, specifically, for the tribal members of Shagia so that they may better understand and learn about their history. This study shows that the Shagia tribe was displaced from their territory due to the construction of the Merowe Dam. Thus, the results of this research fulfil the assumptions of urgent anthropology, as it contributes to the protection of the heritage of the 4th Nile Cataract region: an area of historical value to the study of the evolution of contemporary civilisation.

Role of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Consortium in Strengthening the Livelihoods of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) gatherers in Tribal Districts of Odisha

Abstract: Minor forest products (MFPs) serve as indispensable pillars supporting the intricate socio-economic fabric of tribal communities, permeating every aspect of their livelihoods. These natural resources not only sustain their existence but also serve as conduits for economic sustenance and cultural preservation. The collection and trade of minor forest products emerge as vital lifelines for tribal households, constituting primary avenues for income generation and economic stability. Through meticulous seasonal gathering, tribal members procure a rich diversity of Non-Timber Forest Products (MINOR FOREST PRODUCESMFPs) essential for their sustenance, encompassing a spectrum of necessities ranging from nourishment to medicinal remedies. These products, intricately woven into the tapestry of tribal life, include a plethora of resources such as medicinal plants, succulent fruits, aromatic resins, and an array of other non-timber forest products, each holding profound significance in the daily lives of forest-dwelling communities.

The Crow Clubwoman

This article explores the history of the Crow Indian Woman’s Club, an organization founded in 1930 that persisted, on and off, through the early 1980s. Marshalling their identities as “educated Indian women” and lacking direct channels of political power, Crow clubwomen relied heavily on the written word, creating a paper trail of the club’s perspectives. Foregrounding sources produced and curated by clubwomen and their descendants, this article recounts these women’s advocacy in health, education, and family life, as well as politics and policy—as women and tribal members, but also as clubwomen who took their responsibility for advancing their people’s welfare seriously. Toward this end, they navigated complicated alliances, including with the colonial state and with white clubwomen whose commitment to Crow causes proved fickle.

Genetic research within Indigenous communities: Engagement opportunities and pathways forward

PurposeAgainst a historical backdrop of researchers who violated trust through lack of benefit sharing, transparency, and engagement, efforts are underway to develop better approaches for genetic and genomic research with Indigenous communities. To increase engagement, there is a need to understand factors that affect researcher and community collaborations. This study aimed to understand the barriers, challenges, and facilitators of Indigenous Peoples in the United States participating in genetic research. MethodsWe conducted 42 semistructured interviews with Tribal leaders, clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and Tribal research review board members across the United States to explore perceived risks, benefits, barriers, and facilitators of genetic research participation. ResultsParticipants, identifying as Indigenous (88%) or non-Indigenous allies (12%), described their concerns, hesitancy, and fears about genetic research, as well as the roles of trust, transparency, and respect for culture in facilitating partnerships. Previous harms—such as sample and data misuse, stigmatization, or misrepresentation by researchers—revealed strategies for building trust to create more equitable and reciprocal research partnerships. ConclusionParticipants in this study offered strategies for increasing genetic research engagement. The pathway forward should foster transparent research policies and practices to facilitate informed research that supports the needs and priorities of participants, communities, and researchers.

Co-Design Smart Disaster Management Systems with Indigenous Communities

Tribal governments bear an uneven burden in the face of escalating disaster risks, climate change, and environmental degradation, primarily due to their deeply entrenched ties to the environment and its resources. Regrettably, accessing vital information and evidence to secure adequate funding or support poses difficulties for enrolled tribal members and their lands. In response to these challenges, this paper collaborates with tribal nations to co-design intelligent disaster management systems using AI chatbots and drone technologies. The primary objective is to explore how tribal governments perceive and experience these emerging technologies in the realm of disaster reporting practices. This paper presents participatory design studies. First, we interviewed seasoned first-line emergency managers and hosted an in-person design workshop to introduce the Emergency Reporter chatbot. Second, we organized a follow-up design workshop on tribal land to deliberate the utilization of drones within their community. Through qualitative analysis, we unveiled key themes surrounding integrating these emergency technologies within the jurisdiction of tribal governments. The findings disclosed substantial backing from tribal governments and their tribal members for the proposed technologies. Moreover, we delved into the potential of chatbots and drones to empower tribal governments in disaster management, safeguard their sovereignty, and facilitate collaboration with other agencies.

Blending Indigenous and western science: Quantifying cultural burning impacts in Karuk Aboriginal Territory.

The combined effects of Indigenous fire stewardship and lightning ignitions shaped historical fire regimes, landscape patterns, and available resources in many ecosystems globally. The resulting fire regimes created complex fire-vegetation dynamics that were further influenced by biophysical setting, disturbance history, and climate. While there is increasing recognition of Indigenous fire stewardship among western scientists and managers, the extent and purpose of cultural burning is generally absent from the landscape-fire modeling literature and our understanding of ecosystem processes and development. In collaboration with the Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources, we developed a transdisciplinary Monte Carlo simulation model of cultural ignition location, frequency, and timing to simulate spatially explicit cultural ignitions across a 264,399-ha landscape within Karuk Aboriginal Territory in northern California. Estimates of cultural ignition parameters were developed with Tribal members and knowledge holders using existing interviews, historical maps, ethnographies, recent ecological studies, contemporary maps, and generational knowledge. Spatial and temporal attributes of cultural burning were explicitly tied to the ecology of specific cultural resources, fuel receptivity, seasonal movement patterns, and spiritual practices. Prior to colonization, cultural burning practices were extensive across the study landscape with an estimated 6972 annual ignitions, averaging approximately 6.5 ignitions per Indigenous fire steward per year. The ignition characteristics we document align closely with data on historical fire regimes and vegetation but differ substantially from the location and timing of contemporary ignitions. This work demonstrates the importance of cultural burning for developing and maintaining the ecosystems present at the time of colonization and underscores the need to work collaboratively with Indigenous communities to restore ecocultural processes in these systems.

“‘Keep the Fire Burning’: Applications and Culturally Congruent Research Strategies for Research on Sexual and Reproductive Health With Indigenous Women”

Because of the long history of exploitative research with Indigenous groups, an ethical and empirical imperative exists for researchers, especially non-Indigenous scholars, to reflect on their own positionality and to use culturally congruent methodologies and strategies when conducting research. A simultaneous need is for research on the reproductive and sexual health experiences of Indigenous women, who experience extensive reproductive health disparities and reproductive injustices. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of a best practice in conducting community engaged research to explore the reproductive and sexual healthcare experiences of Indigenous women, through the identification of factors that promote and that act as barriers to health. We first provide an overview of the literature describing the history of researcher exploitation before providing an in-depth discussion of the methodology used in this study. We then describe an application of the qualitative description methodology in 31 semi-structured life-history interviews with Indigenous women. The strategies used in this study facilitated the provision of rich qualitative information about reproductive health, which will be used to develop interventions for tribal members. This study addresses gaps by providing an example of a culturally appropriate methodology and its application with Indigenous women.

Abstract 3944: Addressing stomach cancer disparities by assessing Helicobacter pylori infections among American Indian adults from the Navajo Nation

Abstract Background. The Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in the United States (US), is experiencing a high burden of stomach cancer, possibly due to a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection. Hp is a major risk factor for stomach cancer and Hp strains that carry the cagA-gene are linked to greater gastrointestinal disease severity. Yet little research has investigated the prevalence and correlates of Hp and cagA infection in Navajo people. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of Hp infection and cagA-gene carriage in adult tribal members residing in the Navajo Nation. Methods and Material. We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study in the Navajo Nation in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were recruited using online and offline platforms, including social media, a study website, newspaper advertisements, flyers, word of mouth, and community outreach. Stool samples collected from participants were analyzed with droplet digital PCR for Hp 16S and cagA virulence genes. Demographic characteristics, health, and dietary factors were collected from self-administered health and food questionnaires sent via mail. Results. Of 99 participants, half (49.5%) were 18-44 years old and 73.7% were female. About sixty percent (57.7%, 95% CI: 47.6-67.3) of participants were infected with Hp, twice the US population prevalence (27%). Among Hp-infected participants, 76.7% (95% CI: 64.0-86.6) were cagA-gene positive, four times the cagA gene prevalence in White people (19%). Controlling for age and sex, monthly use of Navajo herbal medicines was positively associated with Hp infection (OR=3.73, 95% CI: 1.05-17.87). No significant associations with Hp and cagA-gene were observed with other risk factors such as older age, males, lower education, and high sodium intake. Conclusion. A substantial proportion of Navajo adults in our study had Hp and cagA-positive infections. Given studies showing the antibacterial activity of Indigenous herbal medicines, monthly use of Navajo herbal medicines was an unexpected risk factor for Hp infection. This observation may be due to reverse causality, where participants with gastrointestinal conditions used Navajo herbal medicines for gastrointestinal symptom relief, particularly when participants had limited access to healthcare services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible environmental transmission of Hp in the preparation of herbal medicines (i.e., water source, utensils) could be another source of exposure. Given the high burden of Hp and cagA-positive infections, culturally tailored health education strategies and interventions addressing these infections present an opportunity for research and cancer prevention among Navajo adults. Citation Format: Dornell Pete, Nina R. Salama, Johanna W. Lampe, Michael C. Wu, Amanda I. Phipps. Addressing stomach cancer disparities by assessing Helicobacter pylori infections among American Indian adults from the Navajo Nation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 3944.

Navigating University Openness in Research Policy Inconsistent with Indigenous Data Sovereignty: A Case Analysis.

Indigenous nations and communities in the United States have rights as sovereign governments to exercise control and ownership over all data and information generated by or from the tribes, tribal members, or tribal resources. Indigenous nations exercise these rights through data ownership policies established in response to unethical research practices in research involving Indigenous communities. Most universities in the U.S. have "openness in research" policies to ensure academic freedom to publish freely, exercised by retaining university control of data. Here, we describe our study of cultural ecosystem services in the St. Louis River estuary region (Nagaajiwanaang in the language Ojibwemowin) in Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, U.S., an area that includes portions of the 1854 and 1842 Ceded Territories and reservation lands of a local band of Ojibwe (hereafter referred to as "the Band"). In this university-led, Band-supported study, both the university and the Band sought ownership of data collected based on their respective policies, resulting in a research delay of nearly a year. We found that open research policies that do not consider Indigenous sovereignty can hamper collaboration between university researchers and tribal nations, even when there is broad agreement on research goals and objectives. University open research policies that do not explicitly address Indigenous sovereignty fall short of the open research principles they intend to support and should be revised. Formal adoption of principles for ethical research with sovereign tribal governments by universities is needed to improve coordination and trust among university and tribal researchers and members.