Our Center’s mission is to cultivate health and wellness in Indigenous communities by reconnecting with Indigenous traditions and knowledge and using research for change.

The Center builds upon and extends the mission of Oklahoma State University (OSU) to improve the health of Oklahoma’s most underserved populations. The Center’s efforts are focused in three primary areas:

Reconnection

  • The recognition and strengthening of Indigenous knowledge and practices that foster wellness

Education

  • The provision of pipeline programs that are culturally-grounded and scientifically rigorous to develop the next generation of health sciences professionals who work with Indigenous communities

Training

  • The development of cross-cultural and equitable learning opportunities that bring university and community partners together to address training needs within both settings to foster long-term, collaborative and co-learning relationships between Indigenous Nations and OSU

Community-Based Participatory Research

CIHRP projects are driven by the principles of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), which is “an approach that equitably involves all partners in the research process” (Minkler and Wallerstein, 2003).

CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change to improve community health and eliminate health disparities.

Community-Based Participatory Research

CIHRP projects are driven by the principles of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), which is “an approach that equitably involves all partners in the research process” (Minkler and Wallerstein, 2003).

CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change to improve community health and eliminate health disparities.

Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Food sovereignty is regularly expressed using the 1996 definition from La Via Campesina, a global activist group focused on the rights of Indigenous farmers, as “the right of people to have access to healthy and culturally appropriate foods, while defining their own food systems” (Global Small-Scale Farmers’ Movement Developing New Trade Regimes, 2005).

Similar to food sovereignty is the concept of Indigenous food sovereignty, which extends the focus of food sovereignty in a number of ways, including primarily by emphasizing not only a community’s right but also their relational responsibilities to care for their food systems according to their traditional practices and beliefs (Morrison, 2011; Cote, 2016).

CIHRP identifies and partners with grassroots Indigenous communities to highlight and uplift their efforts regarding creating healthier food systems and food sovereignty.

Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Food sovereignty is regularly expressed using the 1996 definition from La Via Campesina, a global activist group focused on the rights of Indigenous farmers, as “the right of people to have access to healthy and culturally appropriate foods, while defining their own food systems” (Global Small-Scale Farmers’ Movement Developing New Trade Regimes, 2005).

Similar to food sovereignty is the concept of Indigenous food sovereignty, which extends the focus of food sovereignty in a number of ways, including primarily by emphasizing not only a community’s right but also their relational responsibilities to care for their food systems according to their traditional practices and beliefs (Morrison, 2011; Cote, 2016).

CIHRP identifies and partners with grassroots Indigenous communities to highlight and uplift their efforts regarding creating healthier food systems and food sovereignty.