Engaging tribal leaders in an American Indian healthy eating project through modified talking circles.

Frequently used in the American Indian (AI) community and proven to be a valuable tool in health research, a talking circle is a method used by a group to discuss a topic in an egalitarian and nonconfrontational manner. Using community-based participatory research, a modified Talking Circle format was developed for engaging tribal leaders in an American Indian Healthy Eating Project in North Carolina. The culturally informed formative research approach enabled us to garner project support from 7 tribes, as well as insights on developing planning and policy strategies to improve access to healthy eating within each of the participating communities.