Is mindful meditation effective and culturally relevant for Native people?

Although mindfulness interventions may prove beneficial to Native American communities, very little is known about the efficacy of mindfulness interventions in these communities. Further, little is known regarding whether there are cultural similarities between mindfulness interventions and Native healing techniques that may increase Native participation. The goal of our current study is to explore whether we can acquire necessary information from Native participants to (1) develop a Native-based mindfulness program, and (2) ascertain if this program is acceptable to Native Americans. This is important as many health disparities in Native communities are associated with stress and mindfulness programs may provide useful tools to manage stress. Further, this study is important as it highlights cultural approaches to mindfulness and uses them in a context more familiar to medical and psychological researchers. This means that a study such as ours may provide useful insight into the delivery of complementary and alternative medicine approaches in Native communities. I am conducting this research because I am Native American and a mindfulness student and feel strongly that the intersection of these two realities may provide long-term healing in Native communities, but this study may also expand the knowledge base of the mindfulness community.