Administrative Core

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 activities that are designed to exemplify this concept in both practical and innovative ways. Lakota Center for Health Research serves to broaden and deepen our examination of health inequities experienced by our three Lakota Tribal partners and the Rapid City Indian community. To strengthen these relations between the Lakota Tribal partners, other NARCH research partners, and the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, to conduct the following administrative activities during the funding period of the proposed project: 1. Facilitate quarterly meetings of the Coordinating Committee whose members compromise of three tribal representatives (one from each tribal partner), Dr. Jeffrey Henderson (PI), and one Lakota youth representative. 2. Facilitate quarterly meetings of the Community and Scientific Advisory Council (CSAC), whose members compromise of three tribal members each from the three Lakota tribal partners and three scientists (Drs. Jeffrey Henderson, Patricia Nez Henderson, and Samantha Sabo). 3. Develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation for the NARCH program.