TY - JOUR
T1 - Unsettling Settler Colonialism in Research
T2 - Strategies Centering Native American Experience and Expertise in Responding to Substance Misuse and Co-occurring Sexual Risk-Taking, Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancy, and Suicide Prevention Among Young People
AU - Tuitt, Nicole R.
AU - Wexler, Lisa M.
AU - Kaufman, Carol E.
AU - Whitesell, Nancy Rumbaugh
AU - Rink, Elizabeth
AU - Anastario, Michael
AU - Ivanich, Jerreed D.
AU - Belone, Lorenda
AU - Moore, Roland S.
AU - Huh, David
AU - Campbell, Tessa Evans
AU - Allen, James
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Native American (NA) populations in the USA (i.e., those native to the USA which include Alaska Natives, American Indians, and Native Hawaiians) have confronted unique historical, sociopolitical, and environmental stressors born of settler colonialism. Contexts with persistent social and economic disadvantage are critical determinants of substance misuse and co-occurring sexual risk-taking and suicide outcomes, as well as alcohol exposed pregnancy among NA young people (i.e., adolescents and young adults). Despite intergenerational transmission of resistance and resiliencies, NA young people face continued disparities in substance misuse and co-occurring outcomes when compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the USA. The failure in progress to address these inequities is the result of a complex set of factors; many of which are structural and rooted in settler colonialism. One of these structural factors includes barriers evident in health equity research intended to guide solutions to address these disparities yet involving maintenance of a research status quo that has proven ineffective to developing these solutions. Explicitly or implicitly biased values, perspectives, and practices are deeply rooted in current research design, methodology, analysis, and dissemination and implementation efforts. This status quo has been supported, intentionally and unintentionally, by researchers and research institutions with limited experience or knowledge in the historical, social, and cultural contexts of NA communities. We present a conceptual framework illustrating the impact of settler colonialism on current research methods and opportunities to unsettle its influence. Moreover, our framework illustrates opportunities to resist settler colonialism in research. We then focus on case examples of studies from the Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health program, funded by the NIH, that impact substance use and co-occurring health conditions among NA young people.
AB - Native American (NA) populations in the USA (i.e., those native to the USA which include Alaska Natives, American Indians, and Native Hawaiians) have confronted unique historical, sociopolitical, and environmental stressors born of settler colonialism. Contexts with persistent social and economic disadvantage are critical determinants of substance misuse and co-occurring sexual risk-taking and suicide outcomes, as well as alcohol exposed pregnancy among NA young people (i.e., adolescents and young adults). Despite intergenerational transmission of resistance and resiliencies, NA young people face continued disparities in substance misuse and co-occurring outcomes when compared to other racial and ethnic groups in the USA. The failure in progress to address these inequities is the result of a complex set of factors; many of which are structural and rooted in settler colonialism. One of these structural factors includes barriers evident in health equity research intended to guide solutions to address these disparities yet involving maintenance of a research status quo that has proven ineffective to developing these solutions. Explicitly or implicitly biased values, perspectives, and practices are deeply rooted in current research design, methodology, analysis, and dissemination and implementation efforts. This status quo has been supported, intentionally and unintentionally, by researchers and research institutions with limited experience or knowledge in the historical, social, and cultural contexts of NA communities. We present a conceptual framework illustrating the impact of settler colonialism on current research methods and opportunities to unsettle its influence. Moreover, our framework illustrates opportunities to resist settler colonialism in research. We then focus on case examples of studies from the Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health program, funded by the NIH, that impact substance use and co-occurring health conditions among NA young people.
KW - Alaska Native
KW - Alcohol-exposed pregnancy
KW - American Indian
KW - Native American
KW - Native Hawaiians
KW - Settler colonialism
KW - Sexual risk-taking
KW - Substance misuse
KW - Suicide
KW - Young people
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164170217&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85164170217&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s42844-023-00100-5
DO - 10.1007/s42844-023-00100-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85164170217
SN - 2662-2424
VL - 4
SP - 389
EP - 400
JO - Adversity and Resilience Science
JF - Adversity and Resilience Science
IS - 4
ER -