Indigenous Health and
Community-Based Research

Empowering communities through participatory research

Health disparities in Indigenous communities are shaped not only by individual behaviors, but by histories of colonization, structural inequality, cultural resilience, and ongoing struggles for sovereignty and self-determination. My research examines how health and wellbeing are experienced and understood within Native communities, with particular attention to the ways identity, history, land, and community relationships shape both risk and resilience. Rather than approaching health as a purely biomedical issue, I study how cultural knowledge, lived experience, and social systems interact to influence mental health, substance use, educational pathways, and broader measures of wellbeing.

Grounded in long-term collaboration with partners at the American Indian Health Research and Education Alliance, this work is community-based and applied in orientation. Through surveys, interviews, and participatory research methods, I work alongside Native communities to better understand the social and cultural dimensions of health challenges and to support locally informed responses. By centering Indigenous perspectives and community priorities, my research aims to contribute to more equitable, culturally grounded approaches to health research, policy, and practice.

Social Construction
of Health

Engaged and Activist Methods

Cultural Tailoring

Seven Generations

Seven Generations: A Study of Native Health is an ongoing, national proof-of-concept project designed to build one of the first large, longitudinal cohorts of American Indian participants from across the United States. In 2025, we recruited an initial cohort of 730 participants, exceeding our original target, and we are now in our second year of recruitment and follow-up. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the study explores topics such as discrimination in healthcare and education, spiritual health, body image, substance use, environment and food access, and beliefs about the paranormal. By combining longitudinal data collection with community engagement, Seven Generations aims to strengthen Native representation in research and build a sustainable foundation for future Indigenous health studies.