Table 1.

Implementation of Strategies From “Toolkit of Strategies for Culturally Sensitive and Ethical Research with AI/AN Communities.”

Strategy	Implementation
Become educated	The PI (second author) extensively studies NA issues, attends trainings, studies specific and broad history, and continually works to learn more from communities, colleagues, and cultural insiders.
Work with a cultural insider	The PI worked with a cultural insider, who reviewed the interview guide for cultural appropriateness.
Get invited	The PI has committed long term to the focal tribes, has worked with them for over a decade, and developed trust and rapport with tribal members.
Exhibit cultural humility	The PI approaches their work with a positive goal, is authentic, respects tribal people, and is open to criticism and to making changes based on tribal member feedback.
Be transparent	The PI is open about the use of research funds and the use of all research findings.
Spend time in the community	The PI has spent over 10 years working with the focal tribes.
Collaborate	The PI works with tribal community members and developed a network that is used to develop interview guides, research projects, and interventions.
Listen	The PI attends tribal events and council meetings and actively seeks out tribal member feedback.
Build a positive reputation	The PI has worked with tribal communities for over 10 years to build credibility with these communities.
Commit long term	The PI has worked with the focal tribes for over a decade and is currently implementing a multiyear intervention with a focal tribe.
Use a memorandum of understanding	The PI worked with the tribal council to form an agreement of the work to be done in addition to receiving tribal council approval to conduct all research.
Use a cultural reader	Community members provided feedback on all research materials and findings to reduce the risk of any harm from publications.
Go the distance	The PI has engaged in over a decade of research with the focal tribes and travels to the tribe frequently to meet with members and attend council meetings.
Demonstrate patience	The PI, working with the tribes for over a decade, takes the time to build relationships and trusts and honors the pace and timing of tribes.
Enable self-determination	Participant preferences were honored by having the PI facilitate interviews to protect against confidentiality breaches in the tight-knit community and by conducting relational, life-history-style interviews in accordance with tribal preferences.
Use a tribal perspective	FHORT was used, a framework developed with the focal tribes.
Use appropriate methodology	The relational ethnography and life-history interview frameworks recommended by cultural insiders were employed.
Reinforce cultural strengths	Resilience, transcendence, and wellness were reinforced through the use of the FHORT.
Honor confidentiality	Tribal anonymity and confidentiality within the tribe were maintained in all resulting publications from the research findings.
Advocate	Advocacy has occurred across regional and national domains (e.g., National Congress of American Indians), and funding has been secured for a culturally responsive intervention to address challenges emerging from data.
Reciprocate and give back	Participants were compensated for their time, tribal research assistants were hired, and focal data were used to inform and develop an intervention using community-based participatory research practices.
Allow for fluidity and flexibility	Participants’ preferences in the interview place, time, and format (as individuals or groups) were honored.
Develop an infrastructure	A community advisory board was created, and tribal members are involved in data collection, analysis, and future intervention development and facilitation.
Invest resources	Several million dollars in NIH, as well as external and internal funding have directly contributed to tribal members, training, and building infrastructure within sustainable and community-based participatory research that spans well over a decade.

Source. Table adapted from Burnette et al. (2014).

Note. This work is part of a larger critical ethnography of the principle investigator (PI) that is further describe in McKinley et al. (2019). AI/AN = American Indian and Alaska Native; PI = principal investigator; FHORT = Historical Oppression, Resilience and Transcendence; NIH = National Institutes of Health.