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Neqpiaput Iinruugut (Our Food Is Medicine): A Tribally Driven Food Sovereignty Intervention to Reduce Heart Disease Risk in Alaska Native Adults
Sponsor: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Summary
This study Neqpiaput Iinruugut ("Our Food is Medicine"), will test if a tribally designed Indigenous food sovereignty intervention can lower the risk of coronary heart disease in Alaska Native adults ages 18 to 65 years old. Designed by Yup'ik Elders, the 12-month intervention combines Calricaraq, an established Elder-designed behavioral health program rooted in ancestral wisdom, with hands-on activities focused on traditional foodways. About 150 adults in three Alaska Native communities will take part. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the intervention lower participants' Framingham Risk Score, a measure of a person's chance of developing heart disease? * Do cultural strengths, such as cultural identity, Yup'ik wellness, community connectedness, social support, and family cohesion, grow with participation, and does that growth help explain changes in heart disease risk? * Does the intervention improve Indigenous food sovereignty, including practice and value of traditional foodways and the cultural systems that support them? Researchers will compare communities receiving the intervention to communities waiting to start it (a dynamic wait-listed design) to see if the intervention lowers Framingham Risk Scores. Participants will: * Attend monthly in-person Calricaraq gatherings in their community for 12 months * Attend quarterly hands-on food sovereignty workshops * Join a Facebook group that shares resources and supports engagement between in-person sessions * Have blood pressure and cholesterol measured and complete surveys during the study, including 6 months after the intervention ends * Be invited to take part in focus groups at 12 and 18 months
Official title: Neqpiaput Iinruugut (Our Food is Medicine): Testing a Tribally-driven Intervention to Prevent Heart Disease Among Alaska Native Communities
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 65 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
150
Start Date
2026-10
Completion Date
2030-08
Last Updated
2026-10-27
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Neqpiaput linruugut (Our Food is Medicine)
Neqpiaput Inruugut is a 12-month, tribally designed intervention delivered in each community by local interventionists and Elders with support from research staff. It has three components: (1) Calricaraq, a Yup'ik program for healing from historical trauma and reconnecting with cultural identity, delivered as an initial 3-day gathering followed by monthly 2 to 3 hour talking and learning circles (12 modules in total); (2) quarterly Indigenous food sovereignty workshops at months 3, 6, 9, and 12, each with Elder stories, talking circles, hands-on subsistence activities, subsistence resources, and a shared traditional meal; and (3) a private, moderated community Facebook group that shares Elder teachings and reinforces concepts from the gatherings and workshops.
Locations (1)
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska, United States