Projects

Tribal Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE)

The Tribal Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE) project was implemented between 2013 and 2018 in partnership with Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and was the first healthy retail intervention study implemented in tribally-owned and operated convenience stores.

This project aimed to increase vegetable and fruit intake among Native Americans by addressing the availability, variety, promotion, placement and pricing of healthier foods in the retail environment.

Sponsor: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Grant Number: RO1HL117729
Principal Investigator: Dr. Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, DrPH, MPH

Food Resource Equity and Sustainability for Health (FRESH)

The Food Resource Equity and Sustainability for Health (FRESH) project began in 2016 and is in partnership with Osage Nation. This five-year project supports the vision of the Osage Nation to work towards its self-determined food sovereignty goals.

This intervention included installing edible garden plots at tribal elementary schools, adopting farm-to-school menus, and implementing a preschool healthy eating and gardening curriculum and healthy eating and food sovereignty parent curriculum.

As the only evaluation of a multi-component, multi-level gardening intervention with Native American families, this study contributes much-needed evidence on the efficacy of gardens in improving the food environment and health of rural Indigenous families.

Sponsor: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Grant Number: R01MD011266
Principal Investigator: Dr. Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, DrPH, MPH

The Chickasaw Healthy Eating Environments Research Study (CHEERS)

The Chickasaw Healthy Eating Environments Research Study (CHEERS) is a five-year project that began in 2016 in partnership with Chickasaw Nation. This project aims to improve blood pressure control and body mass index among Native American adults with uncontrolled hypertension.

The intervention consists of home-delivery food boxes containing canned vegetables, canned fruits, nuts, beans/lentils and lean proteins, vouchers for fresh produce, healthy and culturally relevant recipes and educational materials. All participants also received a free membership to the Tribal Wellness Center, Fitbits and access to the “AYA” mobile walking application.

Sponsor: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Grant Number: U54MD011240
Principal Investigator: Dr. Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, DrPH, MPH

Camp Sevenstar Traditional Foods and Medicine Garden

The Camp Sevenstar Traditional Foods and Medicine Garden project will be co-developed by CIHRP and the American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) to establish a traditional Cherokee garden at Camp Sevenstar. Camp Sevenstar, operated by AIRC, is a 260-acre experiential outdoor campus with programming dedicated to the revitalization of Cherokee culture.

The garden will include traditional Cherokee varieties of edible, medicinal and pollinator plants along with an outdoor kitchen and community gathering area. The goals of this project are to promote Cherokee culture and health through expanding the curriculum offered at Camp Sevenstar, improving access to fruits and vegetables by growing them onsite, and developing a space for the intergenerational transfer of Indigenous knowledge.

Funding for this project is provided by Anthem and Aetna.

Center of Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity (CIIHE)

The Center of Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity (CIIHE) will begin in Fall 2021. For this two-year project, CIHRP is partnering with Osage Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska and the Center for Alaska Native Health Research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

This project will focus on building community research capacity through education, training, research, evaluation and dissemination with the goal of restoring Indigenous food systems and traditional food practices to promote healthy eating and reduce diet-related health disparities. 

Sponsor: Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health
Grant Number: 1CPIMP211317
Principal Investigator: Dr. Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, DrPH, MPH

Indigenous Supported Agriculture (ISA)

The Go Healthy project began in Fall 2021. This five-year study builds upon our eight-year CBPR partnership with Osage Nation and will implement a new Indigenous supported agriculture (ISA) program in which Osage citizens will receive a weekly share of freshly grown farm produce for four months.

The produce will be sourced from Harvest Land, a farm owned and operated by the tribe. Along with the ISA program, Osage citizens will receive culturally-tailored nutrition and cooking education. CSAs have improved diet and health in non-Native American (NA) populations and are evidence-based strategies recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Institute of Medicine to reduce health disparities. This will be the first randomized controlled trial of an ISA program to be conducted in the NA population.

Sponsor: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Grant Number: R01MD016191
Principal Investigator: Dr. Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, DrPH, MPH