Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing professor John Lowe, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN, was recently awarded a $2.9 million grant, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to conduct and evaluate an after-school substance abuse prevention intervention – Intertribal Talking Circle – among Native American Indian youth.

 

“Intertribal Talking Circle for the Prevention of Substance Abuse in Native Youth” is a five-year research project targeting sixth grade Native American youth in three tribal communities – the Ojibwe/Chippewa in Minnesota; Choctaw in Oklahoma; and Lumbee in North Carolina. A community-based participatory research approach will be used to culturally and technologically adapt the Intertribal Talking Circle to be delivered as a web-based virtual Talking Circle that connects participants from all three tribal communities during the intervention sessions.

 

The goal of the study is to evaluate the use of the Talking Circle to increase Native American youth cultural identity while decreasing their substance use. The study also will train tribal personnel throughout the three regions on how to implement the Talking Circle intervention as a more permanent program in their communities.

 

Dr. Lowe, the John Wymer distinguished professor, is a Cherokee Native American tribal member. He advocates for culturally-competent healthcare for Native Americans and Indigenous people globally.