A Tribal Partnership to Address Violence and Suicide: Building Tribal Research Evidence and Increasing Tribal Research Capacity

Violence and suicide are crucial public health issues facing tribal communities. Native American children witness and experience violence and adolescents engage in risky behavior at alarming rates, yet there is limited research available for tribes to address these issues. Tribal community partnerships are increasingly recognized as an effective strategy for research that is conducted within tribal jurisdictions. Establishing such partnerships and collaborating to conduct research with tribal communities promotes building tribal research evidence and increases tribal research capacity. Here we describe the unique collaboration between the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center and the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes geared towards addressing violence and suicide, two issues which continue to threaten the safety and well-being of this community. The establishment of the partnership was guided by the Conceptual Model for Establishing an Academic – Tribal Collaborative Partnership, which was developed from work in a similar Northern Plains tribal community. In 2011 data were collected to understand risk behaviors among adolescents and young adults in this community. The partnership is in its fourth year and currently disseminating key research findings using site visits and video teleconference technology with a goal of improving tribal systems and translating data into action. Data and tribal knowledge (contemporary and historical) will be utilized to design a culturally sensitive feasibility study to test an innovative suicide/violence prevention intervention for Native American children that uses community based participatory research methods.