Oglala Sioux Tribe & University of Colorado collaboration to promote a healthier community through public health research

The Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Denver has worked together with the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota in health-related research for more than 20 years. The collaborative relationship between the tribe and university has evolved over this period, with tribal partners taking an increasingly important role in the leadership of research projects. With the award of a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to build community research infrastructure, the partnership has solidified even more. We have identified four specific goals to address together: 1) to develop a research agenda based on community priorities; 2) to provide educational opportunities that will both better prepare tribal members to carry out effective research and better prepare university researchers to work effectively within the Lakota culture and community; 3) to identify best practices for dissemination of research findings in the local community, maximizing the likelihood that research will have a positive impact on public health among Lakota people; and 4) to provide templates for building tribal research infrastructure that can be useful to other tribes seeking to take greater ownership of the research process. The ultimate goal is to build infrastructure for public health research that can help address community health issues and create healthier communities. In this presentation, we will share our experiences in this partnership and ideas for how other tribes can take similar steps to build meaningful research capacity in their home communities.