On June 23, 2014 the National Congress of American Indians, the National Human Genome Research Institute, and the National Museum of the American Indian co-hosted the symposium entitled: A Spectrum of Perspectives: Native Peoples and Genetic Research

The Symposium was held as part of the Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

The goal of the Symposium was to demonstrate the range of perspectives in Native communities on genomics, highlight key topics for ongoing community conversation, and create a video recording of the conversations that can be shared with Native communities as they host similar conversations across Indian Country.

The four videos featured below include four panels of speakers—including Dr. Ron Whitener (University of Washington), Dr. Nanibaa’ Garrison (Vanderbilt University), Dr. Sarah Anzick (NIH/Rocky Mountain Laboratories), Dr. Rosita Worl (Sealaska Heritage Institute), Valerie Segrest (Northwest Indian College), and Dr. Francine Gachupin (University of Arizona)—who discussed the following topics:

• Can genetics research improve Native health?
• The ethics of blood
• Genomics & ancestry: Ethics, origins, and policy
• Insights from the field: Next generation Native researchers

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream