BRAICELET: Bio-Repository for American Indian Capacity, Education, Law, Economics and Technology
BRAICELET aims to reduce the myriad of health disparities in American Indian populations through the establishment of a first-of-its-kind American Indian Biobank; serving as a conduit for a bio-ethical co-exchange of cultural and scientific practices among indigenous and scientific communities.
Our Goal
The Bio-Repository for American Indian Capacity, Education, Law, Economics and Technology (BRAICELET) was established in 2015, in partnership with the Lakota community, Missouri Breaks Industries Research Inc. (MBIRI), Black Hills Center for American Health (BHCAIH) and the SPHERE Center, to optimize learning and exchange of culture, policy and Precision Health practices.
Missouri Breaks Industries Research Inc. (MBIRI) is a small American Indian owned research group located on a reservation in the Central Midwest United States. It’s goal is to promote research as a tool to increase research to application time to advance capacity, science, economic sustainability and health outcomes for American Indian communities.
Black Hills Center for American Indian Health (BHCAIH) is a community-based, nonprofit, research-intensive organization based in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Center’s mission is to use research, service, education, and philanthropy to improve the health and wellness of American Indian peoples, communities, and nations.
Our Strategies
BRAICELET is an initiative using state of the art methodology through which Tribal communities can lead collaborations with universities and research institutes across the nation to find culturally relevant and real-time solutions to issues of disparity affecting American Indian communities. The strategies for the BRAICELET initiative include:
- Forming a Lakota Health Community Advisory Group (CAG)
- Establishing a Lakota Biobank lab
- Enhancing Information Technology infrastructure to support the Biobank
- Promoting health-science literacy, policy and education among the Lakota-Sioux tribe on genetics, big-data, and precision medicine
Our Framework
Logo created by ANNIE CHASING-HAWK, Keya Foundation.
SPHERE Team Members visit the Cheyenne River Reservation.
BRAICELET Team Members Joseph Yracheta, Lyle Best, and Guthrie Ducheneaux.
The SPHERE BRAICELET project team from Stanford at the Cheyenne River Reservation.
Project Lead Jennifer Li-Pook-Than at the Cheyenne River Annual Symposium