Lakota Center for Health Research

Mitakuye Oyasin is a well-known Lakota phrase that means “we are all related.” This phrase is often used to signify the Lakota people’s appreciation for and relationship with the environment (Unci Maka or Grandmother Earth). This Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) XII program application, entitled Lakota Center for Health Research, describes a body of research and activities that are designed to exemplify this concept in both practical and innovative ways. Specifically, the program of research and activities proposed herein serves to broaden and deepen our examination of health inequities experienced by our three Lakota Tribal partners and the Rapid City Indian community by 1.) Partnering with Dr. Tami Sullivan of Yale School of Medicine, an expert on intimate partner violence (IPV), in pilot testing a culturally tailored, trauma-informed, smoking cessation trial for Norther Plains Tribal women who have experienced IPV in Rapid City, SD; 2.) Increasing the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s environmental surveillance capacity in very important ways, including implementing a newly developed community wastewater treatment testing process for SARS- CoV-2 RNA coupled with biogenome sequencing; 3.) Strengthening our Lakota Center for Health Research program project efforts by developing and implementing an evaluation approach with Dr. Samantha Sabo of Northern Arizona University; and 4.) Continuing to promote a forward-thinking, strategic, synergistic, holistic research direction among the partners of our growing NARCH collaborative. The objectives of this proposed NARCH XII program project, if accomplished, will improve the wellness of a group of most underserved Native women who have experienced intimate partner violence; improve the capacity of the innovative Native BioData Consortium lab and biorepository; and improve the processes and capacity of our long-running NARCH-supported Lakota Center for Health Research.