Sacred & Healthy Lifestyle:

How Diabetes Affects Native American Communities

Brenna Trancosa

San Felipe Pueblo

Fig. 1. San Felipe Pueblo. sfpueblo.com. 2022

Thomas, Lovato. Personal Collection. 2026

Entire Screen - Screencastify - May 8, 2026 11:22 PM.webm

Identity

Thomas Lovato. Personal Collection. 2025

Sharing One Skin

By Jeanette Armstrong

In this article it talks about Okanagan teachings and their ways of life. The four emotions that connect with them are their physical, emotional, thinking, and spiritual. In this Okanagan's have spiritual meanings with everything they are tie into. This could be family, community, river, the land, they come from an understanding as okanagan's human beings.

Armstrong,Jeanette.1996 “Sharing one skin”:The Okanagan Community.” Pg. 460-470 in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds.) The Case Against the Global Economy, San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club books.

How Place Names Impact the way we see landscape

By B. Toastie

In this article it talks about names for landscapes. It talks about the history in some landscapes and names that our ancestors used for their lands. In some names they are stories that we can perceive and connect to. This article shows that we people can't rename landscapes because you are sensing a transformation into it.

Toastie.B. “ How place names impact the way we see landscapes,”High country news, May 1, 2022

Trancosa, Brenna. "Spain" 2024

Personal collection. 2025

And then I went to school

By Joe Suina

In this article, Joe Suina talks about his early life with his grandmother. During his young life living with his grandmother, he lived in a one room adobe home with homemade furnishings, and had a "goody bag" filled with snacks for storytelling and songs before bedtime. Since living with his grandmother, he attended ceremonies and village gathering with her. He learned how to speak his language and draw strength to his heritage and have confident in his Pueblo identity. When Suina began school that's where all his struggles came and he has a hard time adjusting.

Suina, Joe. (1985).” And then I went to school”: Memories of a Pueblo Childhood. New Mexico Journal of Reading, 5(2)

History

Pueblo, San Felipe. "Rainbow" .2025

Diabetes

By Lysane Cree

In this article it talks about the significant part of social and health crisis that Native Americans face. With this Indigenous people have dealt with substance and chronic stress. Which led them into intergenerational PTSD. Due to this, Native Americans have lost their traditional territories that have been reduced to small parcels of land to make way for white settlers. They have replaced their traditional foods with modern-day fast foods. Native Americans have three to four times higher rates of diabetes than any population.

Cree, Lysane,"Diabetes". The American Mosaic: The American Indian Experience, ABC-CLIO,2025,American Indian.abc-clio.com.Accessed 15 oct.2025.

Health Promotion and Diabetes Prevention in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities- Traditional Foods Project, 2008-2014

By Dawn Satterfield

In this article it talks about the social history and how important it is to learn about the natural history. Researchers have found that physiologic stress has a possible impact on Native Americans. Which this can led into neurologic changes into the brain to cause chronic disease and other threats. In 2010, Native Americans had a problem with food insecurity. They also had relationships with homelands, language, culture, and religious beliefs that contributed with their food resources.

Satterfield, Dawn,et al. "Health Promotion and Diabetes Prevention in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities- Traditional Foods Project, 2008-2014." MMWR Supplements, vol.65

Personal collection. 2025

Lovato, Thomas. Personal Collection. 2025

Prevalence of Diabetes Among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 1990-1997

By Nilka Rios Burrows

In this article number of Native Americans with diagnosed diabetes increased by 29%. Only the members that used the facilities for their health care was 90%, out of 2.32 million that resided on the reservation and (60%) 1.43 million that resided on or near. Diabetes during a women's pregnancy would result in diabetes at a young age. This article talked about the most affected was Native American women that were most likely to get diagnosed with diabetes than men.

Burrows, N.R, et.al. "Prevalence of Diabetes Among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, 1990-1997: An Increasing Burden." Diabetes Care, vol.23,no 12th, Dec.2000,pp.1786-90.

Current State of the Issue

San Felipe Pueblo. "Community activity". 2012

UC Irvine-led study uncovers Prevalence diabetes among American Indian and Alaska Native communities

In this article it shows how both type 1 and type 2 diabetes affect native american communities. Younger generations mostly have type 1 and are most likely to be at risk. Starting around age 10, type 2 becomes more common among them. Type 2 diabetes is spreading among younger ages, which can be more risk factoring and can lead to high numbers in the future. Researches support that Native Communities need stronger prevention and support programs.

"UC Irvine-led study uncovers Prevalence of diabetes among American Indian and Alaska Native Communities- UC Irvine Wen Public Health." UC Irvine Wen Public Health-,20 Nv.2023, public health.ucl.edu

Funding stalled for federal program that's reducing diabetes among Arizona Native Americans

This article talks about federal funding for a program reducing diabetes among Arizona Native Americans. Their program has provided significant grants to tribal diabetes programs. And without these findings Native people will struggle. In Arizona many of their programs provide treatment and prevention. As well as education physical activity and nutrition information relate to diabetes.

"Funding stalled for federal program that's reducing diabetes among Arizona Native Americans."Cronkite News,18 Oct.2024,cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/10/18/arizona-tribes-await-congressional-action-federal-diabetes-program

Global Connections

How mother's affects baby's health: What Insights from different cultures can tell us

By YellowKnife

In this article by Yellowknife, they talk about the early life of a pregnant women's journey. During a women's pregnancy, they can develop a temporary form of gestational diabetes, which usually disappears after delivery. Type 2 diabetes can be risk factoring to both the mother and child, in that case this gives attention to the factors that can also be in the early childhood. In Canada, gestational diabetes occur more commonly in racialized populations. They work with Birth Cohort Study at McMaster University, where they study group of mothers, and their babies either from birth or before. They collect information that can help them look at why their mother's diet affects their baby's health.

"How other's diet affects baby's health: What Insights from different cultures can tell us." Yellowknifer, 18 Dec.,2024,pp.16 ProQuest, https: //www.proquest.com/newspapers/how-mother-s-diet-affects-baby-health-what/docview/3146470778/se-2.

A Qualitative Study Exploring the Mechanism Underlying Self-Management Behaviors Among Community-Dwelling Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Nanjing, China

By Li Jinxin

In this article, in China about 148 million individuals were living with diabetes in 2022. Their health care will increase from $250.2 billion to $460.4 between 2020 and now. Most of them has T2DM ( Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus), which they researched that it can be effectively controlled through multifaceted comprehensive treatment and continuous self-management by patients. They proposed strengthening the management of major chronic diseases and improving grassroots health capabilities that would promote and prevent any term of diabetes. They also recruited patients with T2DM to interview them and find more in-dept answers. Nurses in china gave a plan to patients that explains T2DM self-management behaviors, which includes a regular diet, exercise regimen, monitoring of blood glucose levels and medication advancements.

Li, Jinxin, et al. "A Qualitative Study Exploring the Mechanisms Underlying Self‐Management Behaviours Among Community‐Dwelling Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Nanjing, China." Health Expectations, vol. 28, no. 6, 2025, pp. 16. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/qualitative-study-exploring-mechanisms-underlying/docview/3280304859/se-2, doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70522.

Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Lifestyle Changes in Minority Ethnic Populations in the UK: a Narrative Review

By Naina Patel

This article reviews the barriers and facilitators to healthy lifestyle changes among minority ethnic populations in the UK, especially South Asian communities. It explains that these groups have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to the white population. Although many people understand that diabetes is serious, there is limited knowledge about the amount of physical activity needed to prevent it. The study found barriers such as language differences, cultural food traditions, family responsibilities, safety concerns, and fear of racial harassment when exercising. South Asian women face additional challenges, including expectations to stay at home and have limited access to women-only exercise spaces. In the UK they used culturally appropriate programs and safe community spaces that supported healthier lifestyle changes.

Patel, Naina, et al. "Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Lifestyle Changes in Minority Ethnic Populations in the UK: a Narrative Review." Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, vol. 4, no. 6, 2017, pp. 1107-1119. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/barriers-facilitators-healthy-lifestyle-changes/docview/2932312101/se-2, doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-016-0316-y.

Fall Action Plan

Spring Action Plan

Personal Connection

Trancosa, Brenna. Graduation. 28, May. 2025

I was interested in this topic because in my community there are many people with health problems, especially diabetes. I wanted to give back to my community and share information on why you should start looking at how you are carrying yourself and if what you are doing is leading to prevent any health problems like diabetes. With this my grandpa has had challenges with dealing type 1 diabetes. He struggled with forgetting to eat the right foods and having to create a sustainable lifestyle for himself. I wanted people to know that anyone can be affected with diabetes even if you don't have it. Because living with someone who has diabetes is also part of your lifestyle, with having to know what meal plans they have for themselves but also taking that role as their provider to take care of them.