Since the 1990s a rising number of indigenous-controlled epidemiology centers have been founded in multiple nation-states. By collecting, interpreting, and disseminating statistical information about indigenous health, these centers aim to link the political & cultural authority of "science" with indigenous claims for greater social justice in health, and for greater indigenous control of health research and services. This study offers an international comparison of these efforts, examining the different resources, strategies and political-economic contexts for indigenous-controlled health research in two settings: Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States. These two nation-states share significant cultural and political similarities, but different historical legacies have shaped the institutionalization of indigenous-controlled research in each. As such, indigenous researchers face distinctive challenges as they continually articulate and assert their goals and findings to multiple audiences in each setting. Using ethnographic methods of participant observation and interviewing, complemented by methods of discourse analysis, this study will compare how epidemiological research is conducted at selected indigenous-controlled health research centers in both New Zealand and the U.S.; and how the resulting knowledge claims circulate in public life (e.g., through publication and presentation, media coverage, and/or public policy debates and decisions) in each setting. This international comparison enables a nuanced analysis of how cultural and political contexts are shaping indigenous epidemiological research, and engages ongoing efforts to better understand the dynamics of articulating indigeneity worldwide.
Study findings will enhance understanding of the complex boundaries between science and politics, and promote appreciation of the complexity and diversity of contemporary indigenous peoples, in ways that encourage further communication and collaboration across the fields of medical anthropology, science & technology studies, indigenous studies, and public health.
