Coles Creek diet traditionally was believed to have been based on maize agriculture due to the number, size, and complexity of Coles Creek sites. However, direct archaeological evidence in the form of maize kernels and pollen generally has been lacking. This bioarchaeological study of nine skeletal samples from the southern Lower Mississippi Valley further supports the view that Coles Creek diet was not based on maize agriculture. Data from stable isotopes, dental, and skeletal pathologies were evaluated by comparisons to data from hunter-gatherer, mixed, and agricultural populations taken from the literature, through the use of a modified Dental Pathology Profile (DPP), and among temporal and regional categories defined by the populations examined in this study Based on the modified DPP and comparisons to the literature, the Coles Creek data collected in this study are more similar to hunter-gatherer populations or those with a transitional-mixed subsistence base than to agricultural populations. Dental pathologies and stable isotopes indicate that, though their consumption gradually increased, dietary carbohydrates remained a minor component of the diet throughout the Coles Creek period. Also, non-specific pathologies in both adults and subadults indicate that childhood morbidity and mortality increased during this time. Finally, data from this study suggest that regional differences in resource exploitation existed between coastal and inland populations during the Coles Creek period / acase@tulane.edu

<p>Rock art documentation often draws from a range of recording perspectives, in which each framework facilitates different recording goals, preconceptions, and methods. As a result, each recording project collects different types of information from a rock art panel. The intricate and visually striking rock art murals painted on rockshelter walls in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of southwestern Texas demand and benefit from the application of artistic, avocational archaeological, and professional archaeological documentation frameworks. </p><p> This research provided a case study that analyzed different recording projects of the Rattlesnake Canyon mural (41VV180), a Pecos River style pictograph panel located in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands. I applied a critical theoretical framework and the concept of &ldquo;capta&rdquo; to review and analyze the rock art documentation perspectives, methods, and materials collected from three major recording projects of the Rattlesnake Canyon mural. I focused on projects completed by artist Forrest Kirkland, the Texas Archeological Society (TAS) avocational archaeological Rock Art Task Force (RATF), and an illustration of the Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center&rsquo;s (Shumla) recording process, to examine differences between artistic, avocational archaeological, and professional archaeological recording frameworks and methods. </p><p> This case study demonstrated the ways in which the specific framework or perspective of a recorder influenced the methods selected for documentation and the types of information collected during rock art recording. The results of this critical analysis showed that the different recording projects shared a similar goal: to preserve the Rattlesnake Canyon mural for future generations and continued archaeological study. The three different projects, however, drew from distinct recording frameworks that influenced the overall conception of the panel, the methods selected for recording, and the types of information collected. </p><p> In this case study, I suggested that rock art researchers, specifically those from a professional archaeological framework, value the incorporation of different perspectives and methods into rock art documentation. The inclusion of varied perspectives and methods brings different skillsets and expertise to rock art recording. In addition, each recording project gathers different kinds of information from rock art murals that can be used in different ways by subsequent recorders, researchers, and land managers. This critical analysis of previous rock art recording projects also demonstrated that existing rock art documentation legacy materials continue to serve as productive resources for further research, management, and public education purposes. </p>

<p> The Town Creek mound site, located in Montgomery County, North Carolina, is classified as Mississippian based on the archaeological evidence for intensive maize agriculture, the presence of complicated stamped ceramics, and the presence of an earthen platform mound. In my research, I studied hinterland sites within a 40-km radius of the mound site to determine how Mississippian settlement patterns in the surrounding region changed through time. I used ceramic analysis and the presence and absence of diagnostic artifacts to create an occupational history of hinterland sites. I also used spatial analysis to delineate polity boundaries and compare spatial patterns to others established in the region. When ceramic and spatial data were combined, patterns emerged suggesting that fewer hinterland sites were occupied during the height of Town Creek&rsquo;s occupation, and more hinterland sites were occupied when Town Creek&rsquo;s population was dwindling. These patterns suggest that as people moved away from Town Creek, they were relocating within the mound site&rsquo;s immediate vicinity. Spatial analysis also showed a break in hinterland sites at 18 km during all of Town Creek&rsquo;s occupation, indicating that the administrative center at Town Creek had an influence of at least 18 km.</p>

<p> Throughout the history of the National Park Service, the question of whether Native American&rsquo;s still have rights to traditionally used natural resources found within park lands has been debated. This debate is largely held in political, legal, and philosophical arenas, but there are ethnographic and ecological questions that need to be addressed in order for policy makers to make informed decisions. Addressing these questions also provides insight into how cultures develop sustainable harvesting practices. One of the parks that has been addressing traditional plant harvesting is Mount Rainier National Park, which has been working with the Nisqually Indian Tribe to develop a collecting agreement that would allow members of the Tribe to harvest twelve species of plants. In this dissertation, I ask two questions: first, how do members of the Nisqually Tribe traditionally harvest these plants? My other question is: what are the biological effects of harvesting beargrass (<i>Xerophyllum tenax</i> (Pursh) Nutt.) and pipsissewa (<i> Chimaphila umbellata</i> (R. BR.) Spreng,), and peeling bark of western redcedar (<i>Thuja plicata</i> Donn. Ex D. Don)? I used a combination of ethnographic and ecological methods to answer these questions. Based on the metrics I used, the Nisqually practices do not decrease the abundance of beargrass and pipsissewa. The traditional harvest of cedar bark does not change the tree&rsquo;s secondary growth rate. The lack of measureable change in these three species is a product of limiting the amount of biomass harvested to within the plants&rsquo; range of tolerance to damage. Results suggest that the Nisqually&rsquo;s methods of harvesting are based upon traditional ecological knowledge. The results of this research will help Mount Rainier managers and the Nisqually Tribe to develop policy that allows the Tribe to utilize these plants while not interfering with the park&rsquo;s mission. </p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationships between demographic characteristics, self-efficacy, and persistence factors that attribute to the academic performance of American Indian college students who completed 24 semester credits or one year of college. The data collection instrument used were three surveys administered as one web-based survey. The surveys included a 10-item demographic survey, 15-item Modified General Self-Efficacy Exam, and 34-item College Persistence Questionnaire used to obtain data on student self-efficacy and factors that attribute to college persistence. The respondents were American Indian undergraduate students (<i>N</i>=201) who attended a community college branch located in the rural Southwest. The collected data were interpreted using a bivariate correlation and multi-regression statistical analysis using SPSS version 21. The study findings described characteristics of American Indian college students who showed high levels of self-efficacy. The study findings also showed that college persistence factor, academic conscientiousness, was statistically significant in predicting students&rsquo; cumulative grade point average (GPA) range. The findings of this study shed light on the need to explore additional factors that perceive to affect the self-efficacy, college persistence, and academic performance of American Indian college students in the rural Southwest. </p>

<p> <b>Background:</b> The smoking rate among young Alaska Native adults (ages 19-29) in Southeast Alaska is 70% as compared to the statewide adult smoking rate of 21%, the Alaska Native adult rate of 41%, and the overall young adult rate of 32%. Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), the non-profit tribal health consortium serving Southeast Alaska, commissioned this research to inform development of a young adult-specific, social marketing-based smoking cessation intervention. </p><p> <b>Methods:</b> Using purposive sampling, 23 individuals were recruited for five focus groups and four individual interviews in Juneau, Alaska. Following a social marketing framework, the research assessed participant beliefs about the benefits and negative impacts of smoking, barriers to quitting, and preferred quit support methods, as well as participant reactions to particular anti-smoking advertisements and quit support methods. </p><p> <b>Results:</b> Almost all participants reported an interest in quitting smoking. Stress relief, boredom relief, relaxation, and oral satisfaction were the main benefits of smoking. Downsides to smoking included negative short-term health impacts, negative impacts on children in the extended family, and negative cosmetic impacts. Barriers to quitting included loss of listed benefits, addiction and habit, fatalism, and the high prevalence of smoking among family and friends. The preferred method of quitting was cold turkey (unassisted quitting), with very few participants reporting use of counseling or pharmacotherapy. Participants preferred high emotional level anti-smoking advertisements with either strongly negative emotional valence (e.g., fear and disgust) or strongly positive emotional valence (e.g., joy, happiness). Reaction to quit support methods was most favorable to texting support and a smart phone app, and most negative toward a smart phone video game. Reaction to counseling was strongly supportive among those who had tried it and largely but not totally negative among those who had not. </p><p> <b>Conclusion</b>: Young Alaska Native adults in Juneau who smoke are interested in quitting but prefer cold turkey to counseling and pharmacotherapy. They are more concerned about short-term than long-term health impacts, and they are sensitive to the impact of smoking on their appearance and on children in their extended family. Findings formed a foundation for a proposed social-marketing based intervention.</p>

<p> This study examined the common essence of language restriction and then resurgence among Quechan Native American elders. The data suggests that Quechan elders' sense of culture and identity was influenced by speaking the native language. Bourdieu's work on language and power were supported as socially constructed means of communication. Findings from this study provided empirical support for Hatch's Cultural Dynamics model. Erikson's work on identity was also supported with additional suggestions made to expand his final stage of psychosocial development for the Quechan Native American. </p><p> This research primarily focused on the individual level of analysis and provided practical application for the constructs of language, culture, and identity. In addition, this research also provided theoretical contributions for identity while embracing the existing body of knowledge. The research question, <i>"How does speaking the native language affect one's sense of culture and identity?"</i> was addressed through ten interviews with elders of the Quechan Native American Tribe. </p><p> Three distinct findings emerged from data gathered in this research. The first major finding indicated that language is a means of survival for the Quechan elders who forms much of their current reality on historical knowledge. The second finding suggests that the identity of Quechan elders is under reconstruction through the resurgence of the Quechan language and subsequent legitimization of that linguistic symbol. Lastly, the Quechan elders may be realigning their individual view of culture based on a combination of long-standing tribal knowledge and documentation presented by the dominant culture. </p><p> This study suggests a need to draw stronger theoretical connections between the constructs of identity and culture. On the individual level of analysis, culture and identity form and reform constantly to emerge as new entities. However, as this research has suggested, the individual may greatly influence the group's fundamental ideas of culture and identity.</p>

<p>The purpose of this project was to record the private archaeological collection of the Keene family, which was previously unknown to the professional community. While at the two sites, Keene Redfield site (8Ja1847) and Keene Dog Pond site (8Ja1848), in Jackson County, northwest Florida, USF archaeologists also conducted field investigations to look for prehistoric cultural materials in undisturbed contexts. </p><p> This research was conducted at the request of the Keene family. The field crew systematically documented, cataloged and photographed each artifact in the Keene collection while at the sites. Surface survey and testing were also carried out in order to determine site boundaries, occupation and function. </p><p> ]Over 1,000 artifacts from every time period from the transitional Paleo-Indian/Early Archaic through the Mississippian were documented from the collection. Field investigations resulted in the location and investigation of undisturbed cultural strata below the plow zone, enabling the researchers to obtain radiocarbon dates from these deposits. Evidence of hunting and gathering activities and of tool processing including repair, sharpening and possible re-use was found at both sites. </p><p> This work allowed for the publication of two previously unknown, rich archaeological sites and for a better understanding of the prehistoric activities and functions of this region of the southeast. While participating in this public archaeology project, several other similar opportunities presented themselves, providing USF archaeologists with the ability to maintain a presence in the area to continue public archaeology efforts to engage the community and encourage appropriate participation and good stewardship of these types of private sites. </p>

<p> There is currently widespread debate in the psychological community with regards to research on and provision of evidence-based practices. The American Psychological Association recently developed clinical and research guidelines for the implementation and investigation of culturally appropriate treatment interventions. As of 2000, there were 562 tribal entities recognized and eligible or funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Ogunwole, 2002). This United States Indigenous contingent continues to be marginalized by diagnostic classification and treatment interventions that perpetuate or discount the role of cultural oppression (Gone, 2009). Whereas current literature speaks to a relationship between colonization and intergenerational trauma (Gone &amp; Alc&aacute;ntara, 2007; Duran &amp; Duran, 1995), the reenactment of this relationship in the Evidence-Based paradigm is under-researched (Smith-Morris, 2007). </p><p> This integrative literature review (ILR) ucovers the benefits of Talking Circle for Native and Native-minded persons and communities. Advocates for the implementation of culturally-appropriate diagnostic, treatment, and research methodologies report that inclusion assists in healing socio-historical wounds (Gone &amp; Alc&aacute;ntara, 2007; Sue, Zane, Hall, &amp; Berger, 2009). This is extremely relevant for contemporary Indigenous individuals, families, and communities. </p><p> The current study presents the viability of Talking Circle for slowing the transmission of trauma by offering a compelling argument supporting its evidence-based nature through a comparison of available research on trauma-informed treatment models with published findings on Talking Circle. Assumptions, literature review, critique of the literature review, and commentary on and appraisal of potentially translatable healing rituals supports a postcolonial driven conceptual model for the treatment of the soul wound, the Native equivalent of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Disorder of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified (DESNOS). </p><p> This ILR assists in substantiating the logical inclusion of Talking Circle into the existing set of available evidence-based PTSD treatment interventions (as outlined in Jennings, 2004, 2008). Providing this conceptual model via an ILR allows for adequately assessing the specific aspects of the research on intergenerational trauma, available interventions, and existing needs. This project illuminates, in a multilayered way, the role of Talking Circle in indigenous life and for healing intergenerational trauma, the soul wound, in the Native community.</p>

<p>The general problem is Native American tribes have high prevalence rates of diabetes. The specific problem is the failure of IHS sites to adopt EHR may cause health care providers to miss critical opportunities to improve screening and triage processes that result in quality improvement. The purpose of the quantitative correlational study was to explore a possible correlation between electronic health record use and reductions in diabetes co-morbidities. The study involved examining over 10 years of ex post facto data, with over one million patient encounters, from the Resource and Patient Management System database. Electronic health records containing key components such as clinical decision support with clinical reminders, evidence-based guidelines, template-driven protocols, and algorithmic modeling changes clinical provider behavior resulting in quality improvement. The study identifies the theoretical constructs from over 50 years of literature that converge to support quality improvement using electronic health records. Quality improvement theory and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology were examined to explore relationships between process changes and behavioral modification. Results revealed a significant positive correlation between total blood pressure control screenings and the diagnosis of hypertension for fiscal years 2005 &ndash; 2009 <i>r</i>(4) = .947, <i>p</i> = .007. A significant positive correlation also existed between blood pressure control screenings with values >130/80 and diagnosis of hypertension for fiscal years 2005 &ndash; 2009 <i>r</i>(4) = .909, <i>p</i> = .016. The study concludes with a rejection of the posited null hypotheses, revealing a statistically significant correlation between use of a comprehensive electronic health record and health care quality improvement. </p>