Reclaiming Indigenous Food and Health: a Pilot RCT on Health Impacts of Sovereign Nation Diets

The overall purpose of this proposed action-research project is to measure the feasibility of consuming and the impact of indigenous plants and foods on health outcomes among Native American participants on the Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR) in Wyoming.

Participants from the WRIR will be recruited to pilot a randomized control trial (RCT) with a delayed intervention to measure the impacts of consuming a diet that is 50% indigenous foods (based on participant total energy needs and recommended dietary pattern). Specific objectives of the pilot RCT will be to: (1) evaluate the feasibility of access, collection, and consumption of indigenous plants/animals, (2) define precisely what constitutes a "50% indigenous food diet" that will be supplied as the intervention in this trial, (3) quantify the time commitment and logistical challenges to access and collect indigenous foods, (4) evaluate the consumption of indigenous foods on health outcomes including waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose control, and blood lipid levels, and (5) evaluate the impact of consuming indigenous foods on cultural identity.

The pilot RCT will primarily address objectives 4 and 5. In order to meet these specific objectives, the investigators will pilot a RCT with delayed intervention to provisionally assess health impacts of consuming a diet that is 50% indigenous foods for four weeks. Health outcomes assessed will include biometric measures of waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, total cholesterol with triglycerides; and survey measures of quality of life, cultural identification, and food security.