Introduction

Conducting research on Native American Reservation lands demands a unique protocol that prospective researchers need to understand and respect in order to proceed in an ethical and culturally sensitive manner. First, and foremost, researchers must recognize that they are working on sovereign lands and that cultural and legal issues may be very different than that of their own upbringing and background.

Approval of research proposals vary depending upon the Tribe or Nation on whose territory the research is conducted; therefore, researchers must be informed about the requirements in place on their specific Reservation of interest. In some cases, a letter from the Tribal Council may be sufficient. In others, the approval of a tribal Institutional Review Board (IRB) may be required. No research should be conducted based on verbal approval from one individual. The researcher must insure that the appropriate Tribal representative or group has issued approval, in writing, before proceeding with any research activities.

Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation has developed a detailed research process; the reservation actually has an Institutional Review Board (IRB), called the Navajo Human Research Review Board. This Board composed a document “IRB Research Protocol Application Guidelines,” which the Board requires all researchers to follow before research is conducted anywhere on the Navajo reservation. Although the Navajo Nation IRB and research process is under the Navajo Division of Health, researchers in project areas other than health must follow these guidelines, if the research involves human subjects, and if these subjects are Navajo Nation tribal members. The following guidelines come directly from the Navajo Human Research Board’s (2007) IRB Research Protocol Application Guidelines.

Consent Protocol

Informed consent is considered an ongoing process that drives open and honest communication between the researcher and the subject throughout the term of the research. This consent is written in language that is easily understood by the subject to insure that the subject fully understands what s/he is signing. It includes specific statements covering:

• • The volunteer nature of the subject’s participation
• • The project purpose
• • Duration of participation
• • Research procedures
• • Risks and benefits to the subject
• • Confidentiality measures
• • Project contacts
• • Participatory compensation, if any
• • Liability and insurance

Research Process

References

Navajo Human Research Review Board (2007) IRB research protocol guidelines & procedural guidelines for principal investigators, Navajo Division of Health.