Symposium encourages American Indians to enter health, science

Encouraging American Indian students to consider medicine or science as a career, informing them about health issues of special interest to them and helping non-American Indians gain cultural competency are the goals of a half-day American Indian health and science symposium at UW–Madison on Friday, Nov. 5.

“Many Indians distrust medical and research fields, and, in my opinion, there are valid reasons behind this distrust,” says one of the symposium’s organizers, Renee Engle, a Ph.D. candidate in genetics, co-chair of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and a member of the Eastern Cherokee. “This symposium will bridge the distrust to current situations, revealing the careful cultural boundaries so many of us try to respect and uphold. I hope we will inspire more Indians to pursue the health and science fields.”

In addition, American Indians often are more susceptible to certain diseases and medical conditions than the general population, Engle says. “American Indians have a high incidence of obesity, diabetes, alcoholism, smoking and nutritional problems,” she says.

Last year, more than 100 American Indian students from throughout Wisconsin attended the symposium. This year’s event, sponsored by the UW Medical School, will begin at noon at the Lowell Center, 610 Langdon St. For more information or to register, visit http://admin.pophealth.wisc.edu/healthisourfuture.htm or contact Matt Landis, (608) 265-8924.