Cultural Institutional Review Board
Safeguarding Cherokee traditions, values, and sovereignty
What is the Cultural Institutional Review Board?
The EBCI Cultural Institutional Review Board (Cultural IRB) has been tasked with and serves as a body in protecting the cultural, intellectual, and human rights of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).
What do they do?
The EBCI Cultural Institutional Review Board exists to protect the integrity, privacy, and sovereignty of Cherokee culture and people in all research contexts.
How do they protect the rights of the EBCI?
Protect Cherokee culture and knowledge
The Cultural IRB ensures that any research involving EBCI people, lands, language, or cultural materials is conducted in a way that respects and safeguards Cherokee traditions, values, and sovereignty.
Review and approve research proposals
Just as a standard Institutional Review Board (IRB) for human subjects, the Cultural IRB reviews research proposals to ensure projects are ethical, culturally appropriate, and beneficial to the EBCI community.
Prevent cultural exploitation or misuse
The board helps prevent researchers from misrepresenting or commercializing Cherokee cultural knowledge, sacred sites, or artifacts without proper permission and guidance.
Ensure community benefit and oversight
It ensures that research conducted within EBCI territory or about Cherokee culture benefits the community, includes appropriate consultation and consent, and that findings are shared responsibly.
Uphold tribal sovereignty
The Cultural IRB reinforces the EBCI’s right to govern research about itself, independent of outside academic or government institutions.
Does your project involve cultural Research with EBCI members? If so, then this process applies to you. Please see the contacts below.
How do I apply?
Contact the Committee
- Chair, Angelina Jumper angejump@ebci-nsn.gov
- Administrative Support, Kayleen “Cree” Rockwood kaylrock@ebci-nsn.gov
or CIRB@ebci-nsn.gov
Research Approval Process
The CIRB meets bi-monthly (once every other month) to review research protocol submissions. Please be aware and mindful that the entire approval process takes a minimum of 2 months and may take up to 6 months. A tribal resolution stating the nature of the project must be approved by EBCI Tribal Council and cannot be “fast-tracked” in anyway.
No research may be conducted on EBCI Tribal Lands without explicit approval by the EBCI Cultural or Medical IRB and a Tribal Resolution.
If any member of the Tribal community knows of any research being conducted on Tribal lands that has not been approved by the CIRB or the MIRB, please contact us immediately at CIRB@ebci-nsn.gov.
To reach the Medical Institutional Review Board, contact Lyndsey Henderson at lyndhend@ebci-nsn.gov or (828)-359-1500