Global health systems have long been shaped by Western frameworks that separate health from land, environment, and community. But for Indigenous communities worldwide, health is holistic—deeply rooted in ancestral knowledge, cultural traditions, and reciprocal relationships with nature. Yet, Indigenous ways of knowing have been overlooked and undervalued within research, policymaking, and health interventions. How can we shift this paradigm and centre Indigenous-led approaches in global health? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Walter Flores, Dr. Rebecca Rae, and Dr. Lorenda Belone about Indigenous communities in health research, examining systemic barriers, the importance of Indigenous knowledge in health equity, navigating differences between Indigenous and Western research approaches, and how policy shifts impact Indigenous communities. We also discuss the connection between research, activism, and advocacy. Our guests: Dr. Walter Flores - Research Professor, Accountability Research Center, American University, Washington DC, USA Dr. Walter Flores is a social scientist and human rights advocate with over 25 years of professional experience. He holds a PhD and a Masters of Community Health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK. Dr Flores’ professional work has been carried out in more than 30 countries from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. His areas of expertise are health systems and policy, right to health and indigenous populations, democratic governance, social accountability, legal empowerment and community participation. Currently, Dr Flores is research professor at the Accountability Research Center, American University, Washington DC and a research associate at the Center for the Study of Equity and Governance in Health Systems. Dr. Lorenda Belone – Professor, University of New Mexico College of Population Health / Center for Participatory Research Dr. Belone (Diné/Navajo) is from Naakaii Bito’ located on the Navajo Nation and has been engaged in community-based participatory research (CBPR) with an Indigenous paradigm focused on health disparities with southwest tribal nations. Her research includes partnerships with Tribal Research Teams (Apache, Navajo & Pueblo) on an Indigenous family prevention program called the Family Listening Program (FLP). As an Indigenous CBPR researcher, Dr. Belone integrates her own cultural and tribal knowledge to overcome historical negative research experiences and tribal community members’ perceptions of research exploitation. Rebecca Rae, MCRP, MWR - Research Lecturer III, University of New Mexico College of Population Health Rebecca Rae (Jicarilla Apache), MCRP, MWR, is a Research Lecturer III at the University of New Mexico’s College of Population Health. She is an Indigenous scholar, with eighteen years of implementing community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects and Indigenous participatory evaluation in partnership with Tribal communities. She works closely with multiple tribal community partners to mentor, strengthen, and enhance community members’ skills in program development, implementation, data collection, data analysis, grant writing, research, and evaluation. Useful links: Want to hear more podcasts like this? Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about current research and debates within global health. The podcast cuts across disciplines, including health systems strengthening, gender and intersectionality, tropical diseases (NTDs, TB, Malaria), maternal and child healthcare (antenatal and postnatal care), mental health and wellbeing, vector-borne diseases, climate change and co-production approaches. If you would like your project or programme to feature in an episode or...
