Stories

CHR Recognized for Cancer Prevention Work with Tribal Leaders

By Jill Pope, Communications Lead

In 2025, a CHR team was recognized by the American College of Gastroenterology for their outstanding work with American Indian tribal leaders in colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention.

Two 2025 SCOPY awards recognized the work of Jamie Thompson, Collaborative Scientist, and Jennifer Rivelli, manager of CHR’s Research Engagement, Assessment, Development, and Interventions (READI) Department. The award-winning projects were:

• “Colorectal Cancer Screening Saves Lives” – a culturally resonant animated video produced in partnership with the American Indian Cancer Foundation.
• Print and digital materials produced in partnership with the Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board, representing 18 tribal communities in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. In one video, a granddaughter persuades her grandfather to get screened for CRC, the third-most common cancer for Great Plains Indians.

The team’s video messages were also recognized by the American Public Health Association, which selected a compilation, “Colorectal Cancer in American Indian Communities: An Appeal to the Great Plains Tribal Nations,” for screening at the group’s annual conference and Public Health Film Festival in Washington, D.C. in November 2025.

This team has previously been recognized for developing effective, culturally tailored messages to promote and increase CRC screening.

In 2024, the team received two SCOPYs. One awarded materials they co-created with the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia (Inspiration & Impact Award) including fact sheets, message cards, and pamphlets designed to encourage members to get screened for CRC.

The other recognized materials co-created with the Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board and the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency in Shelton, Washington (Best Initiative Serving American Indian and Alaska Native Populations). These included a message from a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation who lost her uncle, a former tribal leader, to colorectal cancer in 2002. The message emphasized that CRC is preventable, and timely screening can be lifesaving.

In 2022, Rivelli and Thompson won their first SCOPY Award, for Best Comprehensive Digital Production. That award recognized CRC prevention materials they created in partnership with Hispanic patients at AltaMed Health Services in Southern California.

Visit our ENGAGE website to learn more about how this award-winning team works with communities, and to see more culturally relevant healthcare messages and materials.