Center for American Indian Resiliance
Purpose: CAIR is a collaborative effort between Northern Arizona University, University of Arizona, Diné College and American Indian (AI) communities to promote health and document models and meanings of individual, family and community resilience.
Background: Health disparities disproportionately affect AI. Yet, their spirit and culture endure. CAIR is exploring the relationship between community assets and health, e.g. the role of traditional knowledge, the power of collective experiences and the value of integrating cultural strategies in teaching health behaviors and supporting positive health outcomes. Documenting these health strategies and positive behaviors oftentimes is not collected in public health research. An overarching goal is to transfer and integrate cultural strategies and tribal elders’ wisdom, knowledge and experience into contemporary public education and health promotion intervention.
Undertaking: The research core’s focus is to mentor junior investigators and community-investigator teams to document models of resilience in AI communities.
Outcomes Achieved: Two pilot research studies were funded as part of the Center grant, use a community-based participatory research approach to documenting and promoting resilience in urban AIs in Tucson and Flagstaff, Arizona. In addition, five community-based projects have been funded that focus on collaborations between a university partner and AI agency partner. These collaborative projects aim to improve and understand resilience and culture through: (1) strengthening the aging process of AI elders, (2) empowering AI youth with disabilities, (3) reinforcing sports as a cultural strength, (4) addressing uranium contamination of traditional foods, and (5) empowering youth through a radio projects designed to promote community health. The overarching goal of all of this work is to identify, assess, translate and apply models of resilience associated with positive outcomes in AIs.
Conclusions: The projects of the CAIR Research Core are strengthening and enhancing existing community and academic partnerships. Our work is deepening the scientific knowledge of resilience and health of AI. The CAIR project will facilitate the translation of knowledge from research to practice to inform and transform public health education, practice and policy.