REQUEST FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS
Misconceptions, Stereotypes, Invisibility and the Role of Narrative Change for
Native Americans: Issues Scan, Case Studies and Analysis
Background on the Reclaiming Native Truth Project
Native Americans are largely absent from mainstream Americans’ collective consciousness. But
when the public is asked about their attitudes of Native Americans, negative opinions often are
the common frame of reference. Negative stereotypes, damaging perceptions and
misperceptions of Native Americans are pervasive today throughout the media and popular
culture and live in the minds of policymakers and other influence-leaders, including
philanthropy. Equally damaging as the stereotypes and negative perceptions, Americans may
know little or even nothing at all about this country’s Indigenous peoples – effectively erasing
millennia of culture and lifeways. Both scenarios create and reinforce implicit and overt bias at
the institutional and personal levels. Influenced by public opinion, policymakers’ continued
actions compound the disparities, disadvantages and social challenges faced by this population.
The Reclaiming Native Truth Project, a joint research initiative of First Nations Development
Institute (First Nations) and Echo Hawk Consulting, will for the first time consolidate and build
upon previous research efforts in order to create a national, Native-led, consensus-based
movement that will organize Native thought-leaders and non-Native allies to develop an
informed framework that will guide national- and community-based efforts to change the
dialogue on Native Americans (including Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians). Constructively
exploring racism and historic patterns of thought – and even total invisibility of Native
Americans and their inclusion in key policy issues – will contribute to racial healing and help
create a new, more positive narrative that improves self-esteem for Native children over time.
The project can help address a myriad of issues facing Native Americans, from their absence
and misrepresentation in American history, to their depiction as sports mascots, to their ability
to restore the health of their communities.
The selected bidder will enter into a contract with First Nations, the legally-designated grantee.
The client will be both First Nations and Echo Hawk Consulting, and both entities will comanage the contract. The project is supported through a generous grant from the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation.
Reclaiming Native Truth will pursue three strategies over the course of the two-year project:
1
RESEARCH


Consolidation of secondary research on 1) public knowledge and perceptions of Native
Americans and Native issues, and 2) relevant case studies where perceptions have
shifted to support a social-change movement.
Primary research through 1) approximately 40 focus groups across at least 10 states, 2)
in-depth interviews with selected elected and appointed officials, congressional staffers,
educators, and media, entertainment, philanthropy and social-movement leaders, and
3) 3,500+ national phone and online surveys to test new messaging and its impact on
shifting current misconceptions, myths and negative narratives about Native Americans.
CONSENSUS AND MOVEMENT-BUILDING
 A National Advisory Committee of Native leaders, influential stakeholders, media
and racial equity experts and advocates will develop consensus on research
priorities and design, as well as narrative-change goals and outcomes.
 A broad and diverse coalition of Indian Country and external allies will participate
in research, strategy development and data sharing, and will participate in a
national convening in early 2018 on the next steps to building a long-term
national campaign.
ADVOCACY AND DELIVERABLES
 Advocacy to tribal leadership, stakeholders, funders and allies about the need to support
and invest in a long-term national campaign based on the final report.
 A strategic framework and plan for a long-term, multi-pronged national campaign will be
based on the message research and consensus.
 A widely disseminated final report will present final research findings, the strategic
national campaign plan, and recommendations for next steps.
 Message toolkits will share findings and proven messaging strategies with core
constituencies in Indian Country and key sectors.
REQUEST FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS
First Nations and Echo Hawk Consulting seek investigator-initiated research projects that will
broaden and deepen understanding of:


The prevailing types of myths, misconceptions and stereotypes regarding Native
Americans within various aspects of society, educational systems, media, popular
culture, institutions, policy, philanthropy and access to opportunities;
The role and impact that the lack of awareness or the invisibility of Native Americans in
contemporary society has on Native Americans and policy issues that affect them;
2





Existing research on the public perceptions and popular representations of Native
Americans, policy issues and the impact of stereotypes, misconceptions and invisibility
on Native Americans;
Case studies and documented impact that misconceptions, stereotypes and invisibility
have on Native children, individuals and tribes within society, institutions, policy issues
affecting Native Americans, and access to opportunities and/or advancement;
Past and present narrative-change efforts being developed and implemented by Native
Americans (tribes, organizations, individuals) to combat stereotypes, misconceptions
and invisibility;
Examples of narrative-change efforts that have been employed by racial equity and
social justice movements outside of Indian Country that seek specific policy change
and/or equity outcomes that can inform future narrative-change strategies by Native
Americans; and
Experiences, voices and knowledge of Native Americans on these issues, their impact
and priorities and strategies for future Native-led narrative- and policy-change efforts.
Examples of the kinds of questions that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the
following:
Myths, Misconceptions, Stereotypes and Invisibility
 What are the most pervasive and damaging misconceptions and stereotypes and how
are they influencing and shaping public policy, institutions, media, entertainment,
popular culture and philanthropy?
 How do they specifically impact the health, well-being and access to opportunities for
Native American children, families, individuals and tribes?
 How has the lack of information or visibility of Native Americans in mainstream society
shaped public perception and institutions regarding Native American policy issues and
Native peoples overall?
 How do different demographic factors influence potential variances in public
perceptions and awareness of Native Americans and Native policy issues (race, gender,
socio-economic status, political ideology, geography, etc.)?
 How have misconceptions, stereotypes and/or invisibility affected equality of
opportunity and socio-economic and political realities of Native Americans?
 Have the barriers created changed over time and what is the resulting impact?
 What is the relationship of misconceptions, stereotypes and invisibility of Native
Americans to examples of explicit and implicit bias toward Native Americans?
 What role does geography (urban vs. rural, different regions, etc.) play in
misconceptions and/or invisibility?
The Political Process and the Resulting Policies
 How are government and institutional policies toward Native Americans and tribes
affected?
3




What are the current and prominent policy issues that are most affected by public
perceptions of Native Americans?
Have misconceptions, stereotypes and invisibility affected legislative performance,
political voice, political responsiveness, polarization, or government actions and reforms
regarding Native Americans and tribes?
How Native American representation within state and national legislatures may affect
policy and other political outcomes for Native peoples?
How may Indian gaming affect political outcomes and other political deliberations
regarding Native Americans?
Psychological, Media and/or Cultural Change
 Have misconceptions, stereotypes and/or invisibility impacted Native peoples’
identities, beliefs, values, self-esteem and behaviors?
 Is there a relationship between misconceptions, stereotypes and invisibility and the high
rates of substance abuse and suicide among Native American youth?
 What are the trends over time regarding representation of Native peoples in media,
entertainment and/or popular culture, and what are the types of impact that have
occurred?
 What are the psychological consequences on Native peoples and what does it mean for
Native American people's lives and their everyday ability to function, access equal
opportunity and sustain tribal sovereignty and cultural lifeways?
Education
 How have misconceptions, stereotypes and invisibility shaped K-12 educational
curriculum, policies and access to equal opportunities for Native American students?
 How has this impacted perceptions of non-Native students of Native Americans and
tribes over time?
 Is there an impact on educational achievement or attainment, or the educational
aspirations of Native youth?
 How misconceptions and/or invisibility affect Native American children, their self-esteem,
health or other factors?
Narrative Change
 Case studies on Native Americans developing narrative-change strategies, campaigns,
etc. to address specific policy issues, institutional barriers and other types of barriers,
bias, etc.
 Case studies on racial equity or social-justice movements outside of Indian Country
using narrative-change strategies to affect policy change or institutional, societal
barriers that can potentially inform the development of narrative-change strategies led
by and for Native Americans.
 Based on in-depth, qualitative interviews with Native American stakeholders, what are
the top needs and priorities to be addressed in the development of narrative-change
strategies and national campaign efforts?
4

Documenting research and theories related to when individual attitudes and perceptions of
historically marginalized groups can and do change (not just for Native Americans but other
groups).
Application Information:
Funding is available for secondary analysis of data and for original data collection. The
Reclaiming Native Truth Project is especially interested in multi-disciplinary approaches, novel
uses of existing data, in-depth qualitative interviews, as well as analyses of new or underutilized data.
The Reclaiming Native Truth Project encourages methodological variety and inter-disciplinary
collaboration. All proposed projects must have well-developed conceptual frameworks and
research designs. Analytical models must be specified and research questions and hypotheses
(where applicable) must be clearly stated.
Funding is available for research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator
time for conducting research and writing up results. Applications should limit budget requests
to no more than a seven-month period (April-October 2017), with a maximum of $65,000
(including overhead) for the project.
Proposal Requirements:
Proposals can be a maximum of 20 double-spaced pages (with standard 12-point font and 1inch margins). This 20-page limit does not include the required attachments: (1) Curriculum
Vitae, (2) references, (3) supporting tables and figures, (4) appendices and, (5) the budget and
budget narrative. Research proposals are expected to be theoretically motivated, conceptually
precise, methodologically rigorous, and empirically oriented.
Within the maximum of 20 pages, applicants must substantially answer the following
questions:






What is the problem under study and why is it important to the goals and objectives of
the Reclaiming Native Truth Project?
What does the literature (across disciplines) say about this problem and what unique
contribution(s) does this study make?
What are the principal hypotheses or questions that will be examined?
What kinds of data will be used in the study and how will the data be acquired?
How will the data be analyzed to inform the questions under study: what research
methods, analytic models, or interpretive strategies will be used?
How will this research have impact on Native Americans, the fields of racial equity,
social justice and public policy?
5







What is the project work plan? The work plan should specify the timeline and important
milestones and goals during the course of the project (the work plan can serve as a
gauge of project progress when submitting interim reports to the Reclaiming Native
Truth Project). Please explain the methodologies you will employ.
What are the qualifications and responsibilities of the person(s) engaged in the
research?
Beyond the required final research report (minimum 9,000 words), how else will the
results of the investigation be reported (e.g., conference presentations, journal articles,
books, policy reports, blogs, opinion pieces, summary reports)?
How will the researcher use this data and information beyond this project?
Does the researcher(s) have access to and intend to go through an Institutional Review
Board (IRB) process (whether university or tribal)?
Does the researcher anticipate the need for an IRB process?
The researcher(s) chosen will be required to participate in monthly telephone research
update meetings and submit progress reports. Describe your process for ensuring
regular reporting and accountability.
Budget and Budget Narrative:


A complete budget and budget narrative is required and must succinctly explain and
clarify the requested budget with detail for each budget line item requested (the budget
narrative must be included in the proposal itself).
When salary support is requested, applicants must provide a detailed justification for
the tasks and time efforts of all investigators.
Deadline and Submission Process:
Any inquiries regarding the proposal process should be directed to Randy Blauvelt at
[email protected]. All proposals must be received by Thursday, March 2, 2017, at 5
p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST). Proposals must be submitted in a PDF format to Randy
Blauvelt at [email protected].
RFP Information Webinar:
First Nations and Echo Hawk Consulting will co-host an informational webinar at 9 a.m.
Mountain Standard Time (MST) on Friday, February 3, 2017. To register for the webinar,
please go to: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4845870280747851010
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the
webinar.
6
You may submit questions no later than February 1, 2017, at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time
(MST) to Randy Blauvelt at [email protected]. Responses to submitted and live
questions will be addressed during the webinar.
Selection Considerations and Criteria:






Addresses an important research question that, if answered, has the potential to
contribute significantly to the goals and objectives of the Reclaiming Native Truth
Project and the challenges faced by Native Americans
Impact on Native Americans and how it can inform Native American narrative-change
efforts as well as the fields of racial equity, social justice and public policy.
Potential for wide dissemination and use of knowledge, including specific plans for
scholarly publications, public presentations and/or white papers.
Ability to complete the project based upon adequate available resources, reasonable
timelines, and the identified contributors’ qualifications.
Qualifications of principal investigator(s), including previous history of work in the area,
successful completion of previous funded projects, and scholarly publications.
Possible additional information as requested by the review panel, which might be
requested via a conference call.
If awarded, the awarding instrument will be a contract. Thus, bidders from academic and other
institutions should consult their university or organization policies for approval when engaging
in outside consulting work. Bidders should also disclose any potential conflicts of interest in
their proposal and abide by their own institutions guidelines for institution disclosure.
Review Process and Award Decisions:
The Reclaiming Native Truth Project will employ a rigorous multi-disciplinary review process at
every stage of the application process. All proposals submitted will be reviewed by the project
team, external reviewers from multiple disciplines selected specifically for their expertise,
members of one of the Native Truth National Advisory Committee, or some combination of
these.
Interviews of semi-finalists will be conducted via phone with the review committee between
March 22-27, 2017. The final award will be announced no later than March 31, 2017.
Intellectual Property Rights:
First Nations and Echo Hawk Consulting reserve usage rights over intellectual property
produced under this request for proposals and commissioned research. Researchers will be
required to include an acknowledgement line in their papers or books regarding First Nations,
Echo Hawk Consulting, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and other potential sponsors.
7
For More Information on the Reclaiming Native Truth Project:
http://www.firstnations.org/NativeTruth
8