Theoretical frameworks rooted in Western knowledge claims utilized for public health research in the social sciences are not inclusive of American Indian communities. Developed by Indigenous researchers, Indigenous standpoint theory builds from and moves beyond Western theoretical frameworks. We argue that using Indigenous standpoint theory in partnership with American Indian communities works to decolonize research related to American Indian health in the social sciences and combats the effects of colonization in three ways. First, Indigenous standpoint theory aids in interpreting how the intersections unique to American Indians including the effects of colonization, tribal and other identities, and cultural context are linked to structural inequalities for American Indian communities. Second, Indigenous standpoint theory integrates Indigenous ways of knowing with Western research orientations and methodologies in a collaborative process that works to decolonize social science research for American Indians. Third, Indigenous standpoint theory promotes direct application of research benefits to American Indian communities.

This study is the first Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Survey to be conducted among personnel in the Belize Defense Force. The purpose of the study was to understand the prevalence of HIV infection and risk behaviours, and to identify key correlates of sexual risk behaviours. A representative sample of personnel underwent serological testing and an Audio Computer-Assisted Self Interview. Of those sampled, 351 completed a blood test and 334 completed a behavioural interview. The prevalence of HIV was 1.14%. Twelve percent had ever reported being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or screened positive for HIV infection. The odds of ever having an STI/HIV were higher among those who had less education, those who had sex with a commercial sex worker (CSW), those who ever engaged in receptive anal sex and those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Alcohol abuse and PTSD were prevalent and associated with HIV risk behaviours. These results are being used to inform current prevention efforts.

Multilevel interventions (MLIs) are appropriate to reduce health disparities among Indigenous peoples because of their ability to address these communities’ diverse histories, dynamics, cultures, politics, and environments. Intervention science has highlighted the importance of context-sensitive MLIs in Indigenous communities that can prioritize Indigenous and local knowledge systems and emphasize the collective versus the individual. This paradigm shift away from individual-level focus interventions to community-level focus interventions underscores the need for community engagement and diverse partnerships in MLI design, implementation, and evaluation. In this paper, we discuss three case studies addressing how Indigenous partners collaborated with researchers in each stage of the design, implementation, and evaluation of MLIs to reduce health disparities impacting their communities. We highlight the following: (1) collaborations with multiple, diverse tribal partners to carry out MLIs which require iterative, consistent conversations over time; (2) inclusion of qualitative and Indigenous research methods in MLIs as a way to honor Indigenous and local knowledge systems as well as a way to understand a health disparity phenomenon in a community; and (3) relationship building, maintenance, and mutual respect among MLI partners to reconcile past research abuses, prevent extractive research practices, decolonize research processes, and generate co-created knowledge between Indigenous and academic communities.

In this article, we explore shifting human/environment entanglements narrated by Inuit hunters in the community of Kullorsuaq in northwestern Greenland. We present findings from 29 in-depth qualitative interviews that were analyzed using an inductive analytical approach. We examine shifts in human-environment entanglements narrated by hunters and their wives, the ways in which traditional knowledge is transmitted amid shifting entanglements, and we characterize the more-than-human intimacies that develop and facilitate the transmission of traditional knowledge. We conclude that the actors who shape ecological policies pay close attention to the more-than-human intimacies implicated in the transmission of traditional knowledge that contributes to Indigenous autonomy in northwestern Greenland.