Voices from the Margins: California Indian Health Identity Framework Project

Project Summary

The project team will explore the intricacies of California Indian identity from the perspective of California Indians to bridge a gap between health disparities arising from narrow colonial definitions that are tied to federal definitions. In order to propose a community health identity framework that will be prioritized and operationalized, the team uses oral histories, kinship mapping, storytelling, and place-based narratives to highlight the perspectives of California Indians.

Research Questions/Aims

Document tangible and intangible determinants of California Indian identity beyond those typically used to establish eligibility for health systems access and resources, such as federal recognition and enrollment status, and explore how these aspects of identity benefit California Indian health.
Develop a new framework for California Indian health identity that can be prioritized and operationalized in health policy making to drive health improvements.

Actionability

Generate policy recommendations for expanding healthcare eligibility criteria; and Influence the underlying data system California relies on, potentially improving access for 200,000+ currently excluded California Indians and future generations.

Meeting the Moment

Crucially, this research comes at a time when many data sets are being made inaccessible. One of the pressure points in many communities right now is the lack of federal funding for Indigenous activities that have previously transpired regarding health. This project has immediate and long-term implications for creating data and processes to determine Tribal affiliation and allocate associated resources.

Outcomes

Health Outcomes: Health benefits of relational identities over time

Other: Comprehensive testimonials about identity origin stories supplemented with narratives about health barriers arising from restrictive identity definitions

Methodology

This qualitative narrative research will be grounded in the principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) to privilege and bolster Indigenous perspectives and knowledge in the research framework and design. These principles will also allow the team to remain sensitive to complex, interrelated structural realities, as well as to the place-based viewpoints of diverse California Indian communities. An Indigenous Participatory Action Research (IPAR) Circle will be convened and engaged in guiding the project investigators and making decisions on research aspects as co-designers. This Circle will constitute California Indian elders, scholars, legal scholars, health practitioners, leaders, and policymakers.