The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published Syracuse University School of Information Studies Professional Doctorate student Jake Dolezal’s work “New Paradigms in Native American Social and Behavioral Intervention Research” on its online repository “SBE 2020: Future Research in Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.”
Dolezal, the director of tribal research for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, focused on his experiences with intervention to reduce domestic violence and outlined future research agendas in the paper. Specifically, the paper focuses on a program instituted by the Choctaw Nation, Project Falvmmichi, named for a Choctaw word meaning “to reclaim.” The goal of Falvmmichi is for the Choctaw to reclaim their youth from the pervasive cycle of domestic violence.
More than 300 teen mentors present curricula each month to 73 second-grade classrooms, and evaluations have shown successes in the past six years since the program was instituted. In 2008, Harvard University recognized the Choctaw Nation’s program with High Honors in its Honoring Contributions in the Governance of American Indian Nations awards program.
Dolezal’s research interests focus on effectively using information and communication technologies to support tribal wellness and stability. He holds a B.S. in physics and an M.S. in computer information systems from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.