Diversity Fellow Project, Helen Russette
A Course on the Intersectionality of Disability, American Indians, and Rurality (Russette)
A Course on the Intersectionality of Disability, American Indians, and Rurality (2081 K) Download
Project Narrative
1. Please describe your activities during your Fellowship experience. Describe your final capstone project(s).
The primary activity that I participated in as a Diversity Fellow consisted of developing a novel course with another Diversity Fellow that was directly supported by the Rural Institute on Inclusive Communities (RIIC) at the University of Montana. RIIC Executive Director and MonTECH Director, Martin Blair, PhD and Anna-Margaret Goldman, PhD, respectively, have and continue to be invested in overseeing and providing encouragement and support in the development and implementation of the Intersectionality of Disability, American Indians and Rurality course. We offered this course in the Fall 2019 semester housed in the Native American Studies department. Also, we were able to meet with the AUCD board and staff at an in-person dinner while they visited our campus. AUCD folks learned about our course and were able to offer recommended resources to incorporate into our course.
To develop and deliver this course, our primary activities included developing student learning objectives, homework assignments, a syllabus, identifying course materials, and meeting weekly with an accessibility specialist to ensure that our online course platform and materials were accessible to people with low vision or who are blind. Key features of this course involve historical overviews of both the Native American and Disability people, the compounding health outcomes of Native Americans with Disability, the additional barriers experienced in rural places (federal Indian reservations were often placed in rural and isolating settings), health data on Native Americans with disabilities and reflecting on course materials by developing a digital story as the final homework assignment to apply an indigenous teaching method. To do this work, we met weekly for course development and bi-weekly during the delivery of the course.
2. Who did your project inform, help, influence or impact? (UCEDD, individual, community, state) How?
Our project holds an impact on students registered for our course, the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, and the AUCD. Students will benefit the most from our project by reviewing the course materials, engaging in discussions about the weekly course topics, applying what they have learned through completing homework assignments and being informed of the importance of applying a health equity lens when working with American Indian populations and communities. We anticipate students that who take our course will be informed and have tools (e.g., person-first and identity-first language) to take an inclusive approach when working with Native American communities. Being informed translates into understanding the higher disability prevalence among Native Americans and the compounded worse health outcomes this population experiences. Tools translate into understanding and applying inclusive and respectful methods and approaches, such as Community-Based Participatory Research methods and accessible programs and interventions for differing abilities.
3. Why did you choose to work on that project(s)?
My research and academic interest centers on applying a health equity lens when working with Native American communities. When analyzing secondary data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, I was shocked to find that about half of American Indians with any disability in Montana reported being current smokers, whereas their counterparts – American Indians (about 30%) and Caucasian people with disability (about 25%) – both reported significantly lower smoking prevalence. I feel very strongly that this novel course can help inform and shape how future work is done with American Indians with disabilities so that both parties will better understand where and why health disparities gaps exist within their community. This approach may help to better identify and respond to high-risk populations, potentially closing the glaring health disparities gap that continues to persist by race and disability.
4. What did you gain from being a Diversity Fellow?
Support and guidance from the Marty Blair, PhD, Anna-Margaret, PhD, and Meg Traci, PhD, all with the Rural Institute on Inclusive Communities, to develop and share the novel course. I have developed a stronger comprehension of the history of and policies that impact people with disabilities and Native Americans. The resources allowed my co-instructor and me time to devote to developing and offering a novel course within one year. I’ve also gained teaching skills and I feel more informed of current and important literature on each population and the intersection of these populations.
5. How will this experience impact your education or career decisions?
This experience reinforces my stance on the need for population-level health outcomes research and curricula to be shared with students and professionals that serve or will serve the Native American and disability communities. The deliverable provides support to make a case of inclusive research and program design and implementation in AIAN communities and I hope to apply this experience in my newfound interest in teaching.
6. What are your future goals? Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
I will continue to research high-risk populations, ideally in tribal communities and I would like to teach at the graduate level. I see myself as an Assistance or Research Professor.
7. What recommendations do you have for other fellows?
Tailor your project to align with your passion(s) in life. It doesn’t feel like work if you enjoy what you do!