The Transformation of Biological Research and Science in Native American Communities

Abstract

Native Americans suffer from drastically higher rates of health disparities than other minorities and have been the subjects of research and colonial classifications for decades. Because of a variety of factors have acted to establish and then maintain systems that essentialize Native Americans into a biologized fiction, such colonial science and scientific racism, Native people are hesitant to participate. This thesis acts to identify and then critique the unique ways that science and biological research are currently interacting with Native Americans. Subjects ranging from ethical, legal, and social implications to research methodologies and the future of genomics are discussed through a critical indigenous research paradigm. As there are very few Native people currently involved in these research forms and there are exponentially more techniques for conducting biological research; the need for analysis has never been higher. Although biological and social research have the potential to provide solutions for many problems, the ethicality of those solutions must be carefully developed with the input of community. Nation building recommendations for the future of research in Native communities as a whole are offered for those seeking to engage in research with Native people, or other at-risk minorities.

Native, Native American, American Indian, Indigenous, Bioethics, Research, Genomics, Genetics, ELSI, Science, Perceptions, Health, Health Disparities, Biologization, Racialization, Precision Medicine, Biomedical, Sovereignty, CBPR, Community Based Participatory Research, Genetic Medicine, Capacity Building, Nation Building, Recommendations