Native American Studies
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/51
The Department of Native American Studies was established to provide and advance quality education for and about American Indians of Montana, the region, and the nation. In fulfilling this mission, the Department is committed to meet the changing needs of Montana's Indian tribes and all Montana citizens through excellence in teaching, research, and service. In its academic program, the department provides concentrated study through an undergraduate minor, the first online graduate certificate in Native American Studies offered, and a Master of Arts degree in Native American Studies. Students in any major can also gain a multicultural perspective through NAS offerings in the University's core curriculum. The Department, through its research and other creative efforts, actively pursues interdisciplinary scholarship in the field of Native American Studies.
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Item Frailty in Older American Indians: The Native Elder Care Study(2019-06) Turner Goins, Ruth; Schure, Mark B.; Winchester, BlytheIntroduction Frailty is often described as a reduction in energy reserves, especially with respect to physical ability and endurance, and it has not been examined in American Indians. The goals of this study were to estimate the prevalence of frailty and identify its correlates in a sample of American Indians. Methods We examined data from 411 community-dwelling American Indians aged ≥55 years. Frailty was measured with weight loss, exhaustion, low energy expenditure, slowness, and weakness characteristics. Results Slightly over 44% of participants were classified as pre-frail and 2.9% as frail. Significant correlates of a combined pre-frail and frail status identified in the fully adjusted analyses were younger age, female gender, lower levels of education, increased number of chronic medical conditions, and increased number of activities of daily living limitations. Marital status, chronic pain, and social support were not associated with pre-frail/frail status. Conclusions Our findings point to specific areas in need of further research, including use of frailty measures that also capture psychosocial components and examining constructs of physical resilience. Targeting those with multiple chronic medical conditions may be an important area in which to intervene, with the goal of reducing risk factors and preventing frailty onset.Item Type 2 diabetes management among older American Indians: Beliefs, attitudes, and practices(2018-07) Goins, R. Turner; Jones, Jacqueline; Schure, Mark B.; Winchester, Blythe; Bradley, VickieObjective: The purpose of this study was to examine beliefs, attitudes, and practices of older American Indians regarding their type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) management. T2DM is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among American Indians. American Indians are more than twice as likely to have T2DM and have over three times a T2DM mortality rate as Whites. Design: Study participants were older members of a federally recognized tribe who had T2DM. A low-inference qualitative descriptive design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews with a mixed inductive, deductive, and reflexive analytic team process. Results: Our study sample included 28 participants with a mean age of 73.0 ± 6.4 years of whom 16 (57%) were women. Participants’ mean self-confidence score of successful T2DM management was 8.0 ± 1.7 on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 representing the greatest amount of confidence. Participants’ mean HbA1c was 7.3% ± 1.5%. Overall, participants discussed T2DM management within five themes: 1) sociocultural factors, 2) causes and consequences, 3) cognitive and affective assessment, 4) diet and exercise, and 5) medical management. Conclusions: It is important to be aware of the beliefs and attitudes of patients. Lay understandings can help identify factors underlying health and illness behaviors including motivations to maintain healthy behaviors or to change unhealthy behaviors. Such information can be helpful for health educators and health promotion program staff to ensure their efforts are effective and in alignment with patients’ realities.Item Lifetime Trauma and Depressive Symptomatology Among Older American Indians: The Native Elder Care Study(2018-08) Cayir, Ebru; Burke, Michael P.; Spencer, Mindi; Schure, Mark B.; Goins, R. TurnerWe examined the association between lifetime traumatic events with or without trauma response symptoms and depressive symptomatology in American Indians aged ≥ 55 years from a tribe in the Southeastern US (N = 362). Twenty-three percent of the sample experienced a traumatic event without trauma-response symptoms, whereas 14% experienced a traumatic event with at least one trauma-response symptom. After adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and social support, participants who experienced a traumatic event with one or more trauma-response symptoms had higher odds of clinically relevant depressive symptomatology compared to (1) those who never experienced a traumatic event [odds ratio (OR) 3.2, p < 0.05], (2) and those who experienced a traumatic event without further symptoms (OR 3.7, p < 0.05). Our results suggest that mental health providers who serve older American Indians should consider the experience of traumatic events followed with response symptoms as a potential risk factor for further disruptions in psychological functioning.Item Lower body functioning and correlates among older American Indians: The Cerebrovascular Disease and Its Consequences in American Indians Study(2018-01) Goins, R. Turner; Schure, Mark B.; Jensen, Paul N.; Suchy-Dicey, Astrid; Nelson, Lonnie; Verney, Steven P.; Howard, Barbara V.; Buchwald, DedraBackground More than six million American Indians live in the United States, and an estimated 1.6 million will be aged ≥65 years old by 2050 tripling in numbers since 2012. Physical functioning and related factors in this population are poorly understood. Our study aimed to assess lower body functioning and identify the prevalence and correlates of “good” functioning in a multi-tribe, community-based sample of older American Indians. Methods Assessments used the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). “Good” lower body functioning was defined as a total SPPB score of ≥10. Potential correlates included demographic characteristics, study site, anthropometrics, cognitive functioning, depressive symptomatology, grip strength, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, prior stroke, smoking, alcohol use, and over-the-counter medication use for arthritis or pain. Data were collected between 2010 and 2013 by the Cerebrovascular Disease and Its Consequences in American Indians Study from community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years (n = 818). Results The sample’s mean age was 73 ± 5.9 years. After adjustment for age and study site, average SPPB scores were 7.0 (95% CI, 6.8, 7.3) in women and 7.8 (95% CI, 7.5, 8.2) in men. Only 25% of the sample were classified with “good” lower body functioning. When treating lower body functioning as a continuous measure and adjusting for age, gender, and study site, the correlates of better functioning that we identified were younger age, male gender, married status, higher levels of education, higher annual household income, Southern Plains study site, lower waist-hip ratio, better cognitive functioning, stronger grip strength, lower levels of depressive symptomatology, alcohol consumption, and the absence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease. In our fully adjusted models, correlates of “good” lower body functioning were younger age, higher annual household income, better cognitive functioning, stronger grip, and the absence of diabetes mellitus and heart disease. Conclusions These results suggest that “good” lower body functioning is uncommon in this population, whereas its correlates are similar to those found in studies of other older adult populations. Future efforts should include the development or cultural tailoring of interventions to improve lower body functioning in older American Indians.Item What Touched Your Heart? Collaborative Story Analysis Emerging From an Apsaalooke Cultural Context(2017-07) Hallett, John; Held, Suzanne; Knows His Gun McCormick, Alma; Simonds, Vanessa W.; Real Bird, Sloane; Martin, Christine; Simpson, Colleen; Schure, Mark B.; Turnsplenty, Nicole; Trottier, ColeenCommunity-based participatory research and decolonizing research share some recommendations for best practices for conducting research. One commonality is partnering on all stages of research; co-developing methods of data analysis is one stage with a deficit of partnering examples. We present a novel community-based and developed method for analyzing qualitative data within an Indigenous health study and explain incompatibilities of existing methods for our purposes and community needs. We describe how we explored available literature, received counsel from community Elders and experts in the field, and collaboratively developed a data analysis method consonant with community values. The method of analysis, in which interview/story remained intact, team members received story, made meaning through discussion, and generated a conceptual framework to inform intervention development, is detailed. We offer the development process and method as an example for researchers working with communities who want to keep stories intact during qualitative data analysis.Item Older American Indians' Perspectives on Health, Arthritis, and Physical Activity: Implications for Adapting Evidence-Based Interventions, Oregon, 2013(2017-06) Conte, Kathleen P.; Schure, Mark B.; Goins, R. TurnerINTRODUCTION: Despite the high prevalence of arthritis and physical disability among older American Indians, few evidence-based interventions that improve arthritis self-management via physical activity have been adapted for use in this population. The purpose of this study was to identify beliefs about health, arthritis, and physical activity among older American Indians living in a rural area in Oregon to help select and adapt an arthritis self-management program. METHODS: In partnership with a tribal health program, we conducted surveys, a focus group, and individual interviews with older American Indians with arthritis. Our sample comprised 6 focus group participants and 18 interviewees. The 24 participants were aged 48 to 82 years, of whom 67% were women. Forms B and C of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) instrument, modified for arthritis, measured MHLC. RESULTS: The concepts of health, arthritis, and physical activity overlapped in that health was a holistic concept informed by cultural teachings that included living a healthy lifestyle, socializing, and being functionally independent. Arthritis inhibited health and healthy behaviors. Participants identified barriers such as unreliable transportation and recruiting challenges that would make existing interventions challenging to implement in this setting. The Doctor subscale had the highest MHLC (mean = 4.4 [standard deviation (SD), 1.0]), followed by the Internal subscale (3.9 [SD, 1.4]) and the Other People subscale (2.8 [SD, 1.1]). CONCLUSIONS: Existing evidence-based programs for arthritis should be adapted to address implementation factors, such as access to transportation, and incorporate cultural values that emphasize holistic wellness and social interconnectedness. Culturally sensitive programs that build on indigenous values and practices to promote active coping strategies for older American Indians with arthritis are needed.