Arthur Blume Professor, Clinical Psychology - Washington State University |
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03.07.2024-29.07.2024
Indigenous Bioethics: Examining Pandemic Planning and Other Global Health Challenges through Collectivist Lenses
1. Author a book with a novel focus on bioethics from a collective, Indigenous perspective as an alternative to western understandings of ethical behavior, health, mental health, and wellness. The goal is to expand upon my earlier work to develop a credible alternative model for understanding bioethics.
2. Author a book focused upon bioethics that appropriately represents the cultural views and health interests of the nearly 500 million Indigenous people globally (population numbers from the World Bank), who have been historically neglected by the health sciences and not well-represented by the western models of bioethics that are most commonly referenced.
3. Continued relationships with colleagues at the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN in the process of writing this book, specifically with the WHO Gender, Equity, and Rights Group and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. The Brocher residency period represents an opportunity to interface with WHO and UNCHR colleagues during the period of residency.
4. Enlist the assistance of the Global Psychological Association and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to gather information concerning novel pandemic responses by international Indigenous groups to address mental health concerns that may not be discussed in the research literature.
5. Develop new networks and relationships with other fellows at the Brocher center to stimulate scientific novelty and creativity that will enhance the significance of the project as a result of the residency.
6. Disseminate the results of the project to others—Indigenous and non-Indigenous. As an Indigenous American social scientist, I believe I am well-positioned to carry out this project, having already conducted and published scholarship in many of the essential content areas, and by developing a paradigm that may be used to flesh out a novel empirical approach to examine bioethics.
It has been impressive to me how one scholastic project may ultimately lead to other opportunities to do transformative work in the field. For example, professional interest in my 2020 book contributed to a national task force report and subsequent paper in 2021 that attracted significant global interest (links to the book and paper are included in this application) and eventually was used as a template for the American Psychological Association Apology to People of Color for Its Role in Promoting, Perpetuating, and Failing to Challenge Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Human Hierarchy in U.S. (https://www.apa.org/about/policy/racism-apology). I am hopeful that this book proposal may contribute to a similar wave of transformation in how we understand and advance global wellness.