# Wabanaki Research Review Board

> **NIH NIH S06** · WABANAKI HEALTH AND WELLNESS · 2022 · $191,050

## Abstract

CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT 2: ABSTRACT
Many American Indian communities view research with skepticism and even frank mistrust, in part because
research has historically been done in or on communities rather than with them. “Helicopter research” is a term
used in Native communities to describe investigators who fly in and out, staying only long enough to collect data.
While researchers are rewarded with funding and publications, Native people continue to struggle with poverty
and health disparities. Tensions between Native communities and researchers generally arise from conflicting
views about the priority of topics to study, research agendas, and the use and ownership of data, particularly
regarding issues of consent, confidentiality, secondary use of specimens, returning results to donors, the need
for advance review of publications, and data sharing. In light of such understandable concerns, investigators
have been advised to consider the concept of group harm and to extend regulatory oversight for tribal research
beyond the protection of individuals to include the protection of social groups. Other important concerns include
stigmatization of Native communities, relevance and applicability of the studies and their benefit for future
generations, and the need for information on research that community members can understand. These
concerns have led to reluctance to engage in research, unless the communities themselves participate in a
study’s design, implementation, and regulation. When these concerns are addressed through regulating
research, engaging communities, improving cultural competency of researchers, and transparency of research
procedures, research can be fruitful. The legacy of unfortunate circumstances and the resulting concerns have
spawned a new era of tribal oversight and regulation, manifested by the growing number of tribal Research
Review Boards, and their counterparts in urban Indian health organizations. Accordingly, Wabanaki Public
Health, a tribally founded and directed public health district serving the 4 federally recognized tribes in Maine,
seeks to establish a Wabanaki Research Review Board. The Research Review Board will facilitate timely and
thoughtful reviews, help investigators navigate regulations governing human subjects research, and serve as an
integrated pathway for current and future regulatory needs of Wabanaki Public Health and the 4 tribes. Our
Specific Aims are to: 1) Build a tribal Research Review Board that will augment the capacity of the 4 Wabanaki
tribes to self-govern, support and educate investigators and Wabanaki tribal members, and minimize research-
related community harm; 2) Ensure integrity of data, compliance with tribal and federal policies, and protection
of human subjects; and 3) Educate Wabanaki Public Health leaders and staff and identify strategies to sustain
the Research Review Board after grant funding ends. The Wabanaki Research Review Board promises to have
far reaching impact on W...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10489693
- **Project number:** 5S06GM142115-02
- **Recipient organization:** WABANAKI HEALTH AND WELLNESS
- **Principal Investigator:** Rebecca Petrie
- **Activity code:** S06 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $191,050
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-16 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10489693

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10489693, Wabanaki Research Review Board (5S06GM142115-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10489693. Licensed CC0.

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