Abstract
The Circle Of Life (COL) was first developed in 1991 as a breast health program through a partnership between the American Cancer Society and a committee of lay and professional volunteers in Oklahoma, with representation from Oklahoma American Indian tribal communities. In 2008, The Society was awarded funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand and enhance COL. Since then, The Society has engaged a variety of tribal health and education leaders and Society staff to comprise a COL advisory workgroup. The workgroup’s mission was to make recommendations and provide guidance in the revision of COL. Four cultural values emerged from the engagement of the workgroup: (1) the value of visual communication, (2) the value of interconnected generations, (3) the value of storytelling, and (4) the value of experiential learning. These four concepts greatly shaped the revision of the COL educational tools and resources.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alvord L, Cohen Van Pelt E (1999) The scalpel and the silver bear: the first Navajo woman surgeon combines western medicine and traditional healing. Bantam Books, New York
Barton SS (2004) Narrative inquiry: locating aboriginal epistemology in a relational methodology. J Adv Nurs 45(5):519–526
Blanchard C, Albrecht TL, Ruckdeschel JC (2000) Patient–family communication with physicians. In: Cooper CL, Kaplan De-Nour A, Baider L (eds) Cancer and the family. Wiley, Chichester, pp 477–495
Burhansstipanov L (1999) Developing culturally competent community-based interventions. In: Weiner D (ed) Preventing and controlling cancer in North America: a cross-cultural perspective. Greenwood Publishing, Westport, pp 167–183
Burhansstipanov L, Krebs LU, Grass R, Wanliss EJ, Saslow D (2005) A review of effective strategies for native women’s breast health outreach and education. J Cancer Educ 20(1 Supplement):71–79. doi:10.1207/s15430154jce2001s_15
Canales MK, Weiner D, Samos M, Wampler NS, Cunha A, Geer B (2011) Multi-generational perspectives on health, cancer, and biomedicine: Northeastern Native American perspectives shaped by mistrust. J Health Care Poor Underserved 22(3):894–911. doi:10.1353/hpu.2011.0096
Colomeda-Lambert L (1996) Through the northern looking glass: breast cancer stories told by northern native women. NLN Press, New York
Cueva M, Kuhnley R, Revels L, Echohawk C (2012) Creating dialogue, creating change through the arts. J Cancer Educ 27(3):591–593. doi:10.1007/s13187-012-0379-3
Dixon M, Iron PE (2006) Strategies for cultural competency in Indian health care. APHA, Washington, DC
Dixon M, Roubideax Y (2001) Promises to keep: public health policy for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the 21st century. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC
Fetterman DM (2010) Ethnography: step-by-step. 3rd Aufl. Sage, Thousand Oaks
Fox M (1993) Stories that need telling today. In: Simpkinson CH, Simpkinson A (eds) Sacred stories: a celebration of the power of story to transform and heal. Harper, San Francisco
Frame L, Ramirez AG, Gallion K (2007) Native Americans: developing effective cancer education print materials. Published by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Available at http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedfiles/Content_Binaries/NA_PPG.pdf. Accessed 5 Sept 2012
Garroutte EM, Westcott KD (2008) “The stories are very powerful”: a Native American perspective on health, illness, and narrative. In: O’Brien Crawford SJ (ed) Religion and healing in Native America, pathways for renewal. Praeger Press, Westport, pp 163–184
Genat B (2009) Building emergent situated knowledges in participatory action research. Action Res 7(1):101–115
Haig-Brown C (1995) “Two worlds together”: contradiction and curriculum in First Nations adult science education. Anthropol Educ Q 26(2):193–212
Hall B (1992) From margins to center: the development and purpose of participatory action research. Am Sociol 23(4):15–28
Haozous E, Eschiti V, Lauderdale J, Hill C, Amos C (2010) Use of the talking circle for Comanche women’s breast health education. J Transcult Nurs 21(4):377–385. doi:10.1177/1043659609360847
Kagawa-Singer M (2009) Where is culture in cultural tailoring? In: McMullin J, Weiner D (eds) Confronting cancer: metaphors, advocacy, and anthropology. School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, pp 207–230
Kaur J (1999) Native women and cancer. Health Care Women Int 20:445–453
Koithan M, Farrell C (2010) Indigenous Native American healing traditions. J Nurs Pract 6:477–478
McMullin J, Bone M, Pang JK, Pang VK, McEligot A (2010) Native Hawaiian voices: enhancing the role of cultural values in community based participatory research. Calif J Health Promot 8 (Special Issue):52–62
Pelusi J, Krebbs L (2005) Understanding cancer—understanding the stories of life and living. J Cancer Educ 20 (Supplement):12–16
Royals D (2011) Interconnected generations, ed. Octavia Vogel, Los Angeles
Warne D, Kostello K. The medicine wheel: beyond the tradition (nd) (Video). Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIGrFHy463g&list=PLfnXTwfRl9SBIMP1osZXH1yQ6f7VRN3G0. Accessed 10 Feb 2013
Wingo P, King J, Swan J, Coughlin SS, Kaur JS, Erb-Alvarez JA, Jackson-Thompson J, Arambula-Solomon TG (2008) Breast cancer incidence among American Indian and Alaska Native women: US, 1999–2004. Cancer 113(5 Supplement):1191–1202. doi:10.1002/cncr.23725
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge the following American Indian, Alaska Native, other non-native community leaders, and American Cancer Society staff who graciously offered their time to assist in updating and enhancing the Circle Of Life. We would also like to recognize their efforts in the development of the Circle Of Life web site.
1. Paulette Baukol
Turtle Mountain Chippewa
2. DeAnna Finifrock
Fond du Lac Reservation
3. Linda Burhansstipanov
Cherokee Nation of OK
4. Melany Cueva
ANTHC-CHAP
5. Agnes Cunha
CT Cancer Partnership
6. Valerie Eschiti
U of OK, works with Comanche Nation
7. Shyrell Gehman
Poarch Band of Creek Indians
8. Richard Haverkate
Chippewa
9. Charlotte Hewitt
Navajo-Ute
10. Jerry Lang
Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe of GA
11. Charlotte Kelley
Assiniboine
12. Kerri Lopez
Tolowa
13. Mary Massey
Santa Clara Pueblo/Cherokee
14. Mark Ojeda-Vasquez
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
15. Dr. Dewey Painter, Sr.
SITCAIE
16. The Reverend Deborah Royals
Pascua Yaqui
17. Laura Revels
Native People for Cancer Control
18. Mary Reiner
Santee Sioux, Nebraska
19. Markos Samos
CT Cancer Partnership
20. Jason Sharp
Quinault Tribe
21. Deborah Scott
Sage Associates
22. John Simmons
Nisqually Tribe
23. Terri Ades
American Cancer Society Center
24. Roberta Cahill
Yankton Sioux
25. Kelly Daniel
American Cancer Society, CAN*
26. Marjorie Johnson
ACS*, Midwest Division
27. Patricia Santiago
ACS, Great West Division
28. Suncerria Tillis
ACS, High Plains Division
29. Gina Villegas
Gabrielina/Tongva,
ACS, California Division
30. Patricia Yeargin
American Cancer Society Center
*American Cancer Society; American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
The Society would also like to thank all of the artists who submitted the artwork that allowed the COL to have a unique look and feel.
For more information about the Circle Of Life and resources, visit URL: www.cancer.org/col.
The Circle Of Life and this journal article are supported by Cooperative Agreement #5U50DP001711 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Diane Weiner and the vitality of her work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vogel, O., Cowens-Alvarado, R., Eschiti, V. et al. Circle Of Life Cancer Education: Giving Voice to American Indian and Alaska Native Communities. J Canc Educ 28, 565–572 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0504-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0504-y