Indigenous Trauma & Resilience Research Center
In 2021, the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences received a $10 million NIH award to develop an Indigenous Trauma & Resilience Research Center (ITRRC).
American Indians in North Dakota and throughout the region suffer from significant health disparities, relative to the non-Native population, and much of this is related to historical trauma, adverse childhood experiences, forced boarding school participation, social marginalization, and toxic stress. The ITRRC will establish resource cores and support three research projects led by assistant professors in the Public Health Program and the Department of Indigenous Health. The program will also fund smaller pilot grants and provide research mentorship to early career faculty to establish them as independent investigators.
Dr. Jonathan Geiger, Interim Principal Investigator
As of September 2022, Dr. Jonathan Geiger is Interim PI of the COBRE-funded Indigenous Trauma & Resilience Research Center, the goal of which is to address the impact of historical and unresolved trauma on health inequities within the American Indian and Alaska Native population. The project's original PI, Dr. Donald Warne, will continue to support the center as part of an internal advisory committee.
2024 Indigenous Trauma & Resilience Research Center COBRE Symposium
April 18-19 | Grand Forks, ND | Memorial Union, Henry Family Ballroom
The goal of the ITRRC is to address the impact of historical and unresolved trauma on health inequities within the American Indian and Alaska Native populations. Research Ethics Training for Health in Indigenous Communities (rETHICS) will be featured on the first day (available in-person only). The second day will be the ITRRC COBRE showcase and invited speakers who will speak on community-based, health equity, and Indigenous health research (available in-person & online). The Symposium is free to attend and welcomes UND faculty/staff/students, tribal community members, stakeholders, and the public.
The deadline to register is April 16. For online attendees, we will email the Zoom link on April 17.
Agenda
Time (CT) | April 18, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. |
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8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. | Check-in & Breakfast |
8:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m. | rETHICS Training, Tonya Kjerland, MS |
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
1:00 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. | rETHICS Training, Tonya Kjerland, MS |
Time (CT) | April 19, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. |
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8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. | Check-in & Breakfast |
8:45 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. | Morning Blessing & *Opening Remarks - Daniel Henry, Ph.D., and Donald Warne, M.D., MPH |
9:20 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. |
Morning Session * Screening for Drivers of Maternal Mortality: A Catalyst for Health Equity for All- Andrew Willaims, Ph.D., MPH * An Indigenous Food for Indigenous People: An Update on the Health Effects of Traditional Chokeberry- Joel Steele, Ph.D. * Social Determinants of Indigenous Prenatal Drug Use: Trauma and Resilience- June-Yung Kim, Ph.D., LMSW * Preliminary Findings from Focus Group Discussions of Intergenerational Sexual Violence Against Indigenous Peoples in North Dakota- RaeAnn Anderson, Ph.D. |
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Lunch |
1:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. |
Afternoon Session * Toward an Equitable Future: The Science of Social Determinants of Health- Shannon Zenk, Ph.D., MPH, RN. Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research. * Intersections of Healing: Trauma Research, Cultural Immersion, and Mental Health Professionals in Action- Julie Smith-Yliniemi, Ph.D., LPCC, and Brynn Luger, Ph.D., LPCC * The Importance of Community Engaged Approaches to Address HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Among Indigenous Youth- Julie Baldwin, Ph.D. NARBHA Institute Vice Presentation for Northern Arizona University Health, Executive Director of the Center for Health Equity Research, and Regents’ Professor in the Dept. Health Sciences. * Exploring Indigenous Data Sovereignty – Key Considerations- Melanie Nadeau, Ph.D., MPH |
3:55 p.m.- 4:15 p.m. |
Cultural Closing- Daniel Henry, Ph.D. |
4:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. |
Symposium Evaluation- Alessandra Rader, B.A. (ACET Inc) |
4:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. |
ITRRC COBRE External/Internal Advisory Committee Meeting, Invitation only |
ITRRC COBRE Colloquium Series Events 2024
The all COBRE Colloquium Series events will include a 45-minute presentation, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session, providing attendees with a direct opportunity to engage with the speaker. After the presentation, a taco bar lunch will be served, offering a chance to visit with the speaker and engage in meaningful conversations with others.
Recordings available: Symposiums, seminars, and meeting page.
We are excited to present Dr. Danielle R. Gartner, a distinguished population health scientist from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Her presentation, "Equity & The ACA's Impact on Indigenous Birth Givers," will delve into crucial insights.
Date: February 21, 2024
We are excited to present Dr. Jessica Saniguq Ullrich, a Tribal citizen of the Nome Eskimo Community and descendant of the Native Village of Wales. She brings a unique perspective to her role as an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health (IREACH) Program at Washington State University. Dr. Ullrich will present on the topic, "How Indigenous Connectedness Can Support Relational Wellbeing.
Date: March 13, 2024
Resource Cores
Human Subjects Core (HSC) |
The goal of the HSC is to build human subjects research capacity at UND while promoting effective and appropriate tribal engagement. Contact roselle.martin@und.edu for assistance with human subjects research and compliance. |
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Community Engagement and Outreach Core (CEOC) |
The goal of the CEOC is to increase culturally appropriate research with AI/AN communities through bidirectional outreach and training. The CEOC offers a Research Ethics Training for Health in Indigenous Communities (rETHICS) training toolkit through the UND continuing medical education portal. Contact julie.smithyliniemi@und.edu for more information. |
Administrative Core |
The AC provides administrative support for the ITRRC and pilot projects program. Contact darcia.pingree@und.edu if you have any questions regarding the development of your application. |
Research Projects
American Indian populations suffer disproportionately from health problems, including nutrition-related chronic diseases like diabetes. This project will investigate how a traditional Indigenous food, the chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), impacts epigenetic and metabolic health in relation to resiliency markers in Great Plains Indian participants. Research with American Indian communities is significant in that it can inform best practices in community engagement orientations, approaches, and models in future research settings.
Check out Joel Steele's publications and presentations.
American Indians that attended boarding school experienced repeated stress as a result of their attendance. Repeated stress in childhood increases allostatic load in adulthood. This study tests whether allostatic load (chronic stress) is related to American Indian boarding school attendance.
Check out Ursula Running Bear's work:
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UND Today's Truth and Reconciliation article -
American Indians forced to attend boarding schools as children are more likely to be in poor health as adults. -
Federal Boarding School Initiative Press Conference -
Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report -
Tribal Values, Tribal Justice Podcast
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality among American Indian populations, and investigations of early-life determinants of cardiovascular disease are warranted. The proposed project will examine multiple pathways linking maternal ACEs and infant growth, a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adulthood. This project will highlight specific pathways that could potentially be modified to reduce future risk of cardiovascular disease among American Indian populations.
Check out Andrew William's publications and presentations.
The ITRRC is supported by the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM139759.