Research

Cultural, Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (CELSI) to Omics Research in American Indian communities

The NBDC on its own and in partnership with outside research groups are collecting opinions and existing policies that could gird -0mics research for Native peoples locally and more broadly.

Part of this work is aligning tribal sovereignty with existing Tribal law and policy as well as creating new documentation for future technological developments so that this work can be done rapidly and with full benefit to the tribes without sacrificing ethics, intellectual property or tribal resources.

Development of Gene Editing and Cell Culture Capacity and Expertise in the Tribal Northern Plains

Ongoing work continues towards being the first facility in the northern plains (especially in the tribal context) to be capable of conventional cell culture technology, production and storage but also to be the first have the ability to modify cell lines for research use. This capacity is vital not only to test questions of genetic-disease outcomes and associations but to help quantify and build on the Tribe’s natural resource and agricultural inventory. It will be the major producer of tribally managed technological Intellectual Property.

Soil Health, Soil Wealth and Soil Enhancement

The NBDC plans to partner with several Native American agricultural organizations and governments to develop an inventory and categorization framework of soil types, commensal botanical and microbial species and environmental parameters. This work is important to creating a database of existing resources, tracking changes of those resources over time and creating new technologies to amend and enhance weak or damaged soils for crop production, animal husbandry and restoration of wild prairie plant species.