Cultural and health implications of fish advisories in a Native American community

Introduction:Fish advisories are issued in an effort to protect human health from exposure to contaminants,but Native American communities may suffer unintended health,social,and cultural consequences as a result of warnings against eating local fish.This paper focuses on the Mohawk community of Akwesasne,which lies downstream from a Superfund site,and explores how fish advisories have impacted fish consumption and health.Methods:65 Akwesasne community members were interviewed between March 2008 and April 2009.Interviews were semi-structured,lasted from 30–90 minutes and consisted of open-ended questions about the impacts of environmental contamination on the community.Detailed field notes were also maintained during extensive visits between 2007–2011.Interviews were transcribed,and these transcripts as well as the field notes were analyzed in NVivo 8.0.This research received approval from the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment Research Advisory Committee,as well as the Brown University Institutional Review Board.Results:Three-quarters of the 50 Akwesasne Mohawks interviewed have ceased or significantly curtailed their local fish consumption due to the issuance of fish advisories or witnessing or hearing about deformities on fish.Many of these respondents have turned to outside sources of fish,from other communities or from grocery stores.This change in fish consumption concerns many residents because cultural and social connections developed around fishing are being lost and because fish has been replaced with high-fat high-carb processed foods,which has led to other health complications.One-quarter of the 50 interviewees still eat local fish,but these are generally middle-aged or older residents;fish consumption no longer occurs in the multi-generational social context it once did.Conclusions:Human health in Native American communities such as Akwesasne is intimately tied to the health of the environment.Fish advisories should not be used as an institutional control to protect humans from exposure to contaminants;if Akwesasne are to achieve optimal health,the contaminated environment has to be remediated to a level that supports clean,edible fish.

Genetic differentiation between and within Northern Native American language groups:an argument for the expansion of the Native American CODIS database

The National Research Council recommends that genetic differentiation among subgroups of ethnic samples be lower than 3%of the total genetic differentiation within the ethnic sample to be used for estimating reliable random match probabilities for forensic use.Native American samples in the United States’Combined DNA Index System(CODIS)database represent four language families:Algonquian,Na-Dene,Eskimo-Aleut,and Salishan.However,a minimum of 27 Native American language families exists in the US,not including language isolates.Our goal was to ascertain whether genetic differences are correlated with language groupings and,if so,whether additional language families would provide a more accurate representation of current genetic diversity among tribal populations.The 21 short tandem repeat(STR)loci included in the Globalfiler^(■)PCR Amplification Kit were used to characterize six indigenous language families,including three of the four represented in the CODIS database(i.e.Algonquian,Na-Dene,and Eskimo-Aleut),and two language isolates(Miwok and Seri)using major population genetic diversity metrics such as F statistics and Bayesian clustering analysis of genotype frequencies.Most of the genetic variation(97%)was found to be within language families instead of among them(3%).In contrast,when only the three of the four language families represented in both the CODIS database and the present study were considered,4%of the genetic variation occurred among the language groups.Bayesian clustering resulted in a maximum posterior probability indicating three genetically distinct groups among the eight language families and isolates:(1)Eskimo,(2)Seri,and(3)all other language groups and isolates,thus confirming genetic subdivision among subgroups of the CODIS Native American database.This genetic structure indicates the need for an increased number of Native American populations based on language affiliation in the CODIS database as well as more robust sample sets for those language families.

Psychotherapy with American Indians

American Indians are a substantial minority in both the United States and Canada and present with a disproportionate share of mental health and behavioral health problems. While a large proportion of the native population resides on reservations that are self-managed and have few non-Indian residents, professional health services are mostly provided by clinicians from the dominant culture. The essay tries to highlight specific historical, sociological, and cultural variables the clinician must be aware of to work effectively in this setting. Particular emphasis is placed on using a flexible, eclectic approach, and a case vignette is included to illustrate the principle.

Shaping American Identity

After the War of Independence, America stood out as a new country, while its literature was greatly influenced by those ofEuropean. In many people's eyes, Americans had no literature. Washington Irving, together with James Fennimore Cooper, firstbroke the dependence on English literature, and created plenty of works in the native style. In this article,"Rip Van Winkle"is an-alyzed to show how Irving revealed the American culture and style, which is mainly presented in the respect of American dream.

Description of the Health Status of Colombian Indigenous Communities Through Basic Laboratory Tests

Colombia enjoys considerable ethnic diversity, although its indigenous population, part of the world＇s shared cultural heritage has been reduced by various factors, including displacement, poverty, and poor access to timely and quality healthcare. The present study is focused on diagnosing health problems, particularly anemia, through a description of hematological findings amongst men and woman aged 18 to 50 years, living at various altitudes, and belonging to several different indigenous communities： the Huitoto and Embera of Caqueta, Florencia; the Born, Muinane, Okaina, Huitoto communities of La Chorrera, Amazonas; and the Yanaconas of Bogota, D.C. Tests performed included automated hemogram tests, ferritin, c-reactive protein, and parasitological assessment to correlate the presence of anemia and parasitism. The authors used a quantitative and transversal, structured, non-experimental, correlational, stratified sample design with 105 samples （51 men, 54 women）. The results showed that 7.8% （4/51） of the men had anemia, compared with 29.6% （16/54） of the women--more than triple the incidence of the male population. Moreover, we found a higher incidence of anemia in rural areas, where the majority of the country＇s indigenous populations live. In the parasitological study, 87.7% （50/57） of the participants tested positive for intestinal parasites. These findings are expected to help authorities implement more effective responses to health issues in these communities.

Why we gather:traditional gathering in native Northwest California and the future of bio-cultural sovereignty

Introduction:The concept of bio-cultural sovereignty is drawn from Native American Studies scholar Stefano Varese who explores the daily forms of biological and cultural resistance and adaptation in South America.This article extends Varese’s notions by exploring biological and cultural resistance in Native California with a particular focus on the continuing cultural practice of gathering.Methods:This article provides a case study analysis of the Lyng v.Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association(1988)Supreme Court case and uses traditional ecological knowledge to evaluate how bio-cultural sovereignty is affected by federal land management policies and Western constructions of ecology and the law.The methods are based in an interdisciplinary approach that embraces theoretical notions from linguistics,cultural anthropology,law,environmental justice,history,ecology,and Native American Studies.Results:As a practitioner of traditional ecological knowledge,I offer an analysis of ecological gathering practices to argue that policies,procedures,methodologies,or experiments should be designed in a way that acknowledges the indigenous bio-cultural sovereignty of the land space.Conclusions:Tribes have enacted and continue to enact bio-cultural sovereignty,which solidifies their relationship with the land.Written policies can be used to protect Native interests and to develop a relationship between Native peoples and other agencies.Federal agencies can benefit from these partnerships as tribes can offer assistance to care for these land spaces,state agencies can alleviate potential funding issues for maintaining these areas,and researchers and academics can construct knowledge that incorporates traditional ecological practices to build solid,informed best practices.

Racial and Health Disparities among Cirrhosis-related Hospitalizations in the USA

Background and Aims:Alcohol-associated liver disease(ALD)is the most common cause of advanced liver disease worldwide,including in the USA.Alcohol use and cirrhosis mortality is higher in American Indian/Alaska Native(AI/AN)compared to Whites.Data are scanty on ALD as a liver disease etiology in AI/AN compared to other races and ethnicities.Methods:The National Inpatient Sample on 199,748 cirrhosis-related hospitalizations,14,241(2,893 AI/AN,2,893 Whites,2,882 Blacks,2,879 Hispanics,and 2,694 Asians or other races)matched 1:1 for race/ethnicity on demographics,insurance,and income quartile of the residence zip code analyzed.Results:After controlling for geographic location and hospital type,odds ratio(OR)and 95%confidence interval(CI)for ALD as cirrhosis etiology was higher among admissions in AI/AN vs.Whites[1.55(1.37–1.75)],vs.Blacks[1.87(1.65–2.11)],vs.Hispanic[1.89(1.68–2.13)]and Asians/other races[2.24(1.98–2.53)].OR was also higher for AI/AN vs.all other races for alcohol-associated hepatitis(AH)as one of the discharge diagnoses.The findings were similar in a subgroup of 4,649 admissions with decompensated cirrhosis and in a cohort of 350 admissions with acute-on-chronic liver failure as defined by EASL-CLIF criteria.Alcohol use disorder diagnosis was present in 38%of admissions in AI/AN vs.24–30%in other races,p<0.001.A total of 838(5.9%)admissions were associated with in-hospital mortality.OR(95%CI)for in-hospital mortality in AI/AN individuals was 34%reduced vs.Blacks[0.66(0.51–0.84)],but no difference was observed on comparison with other races.Conclusions:ALD,including AH,is the most common etiology among cirrhosisrelated hospitalizations in the USA among AI/AN individuals.In-hospital mortality was observed in about 6%of admissions,which was higher for Blacks and similar in other races compared to admissions for AI/AN.Public health policies should be implemented to reduce the burden of advanced ALD among AI/AN individuals.