Areas of Expertise
- Native American child development and mental health
- Native American parenting
- Native American early care and education
- Research methods in Native American communities
Biography
Michelle Sarche is a leading researcher and expert in Native American child development, parenting, and early care and education. She joined the Buffett Institute in 2024 and is the senior director of Tribal research, policy, and partnerships. Trained as a clinical psychologist, Sarche is a Tribal citizen of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe and has worked with Native American communities for more than 25 years to conduct research to improve access and quality in Tribal early childhood programs.
At the Institute, Sarche continues her work with American Indian and Alaska Native communities focusing on children’s development, parenting, and early care environments such as Head Start, home visiting, and child care. Sarche also has an appointment as professor with tenure at the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn
Media Coverage
Building a Legacy of Native Research: The NCRE Scholars Program Expands Representation and Impact. [Blog post]. (2026, Jan. 27). Early Years Matter.
Creating a Vision for the Future: Early Childhood Tribal Experts Convene for Native Nations Event [Blog post]. (2025, Aug. 6). Early Years Matter.
Culture, Tradition Critical for Native American Early Childhood Development. (2025, Feb. 19). Omaha Daily Record.
Study recruitment effort grows into a public health tool to reach young American Indian/Alaska Native women. (2021, Nov. 21). The Centers for American Indian & Alaska Native Health.
Publications
Conceptualizing And Defining Family Economic Wellbeing In Native Communities and Contexts. Wesner, C., Raj, P., Around Him, D., Asdigian, N., Desanto, K., Whitesell, N., Barnes-Najor, J., Sarche, M., & Tribal Early Childhood Research Center Community of Learning on Family Economic Wellbeing. (2026). Tribal Early Childhood Research Center (TRC) Brief.
An economic analysis of Native CHOICES. Rosenman, R., Noonan, C., MacLehose, R.F., Hanson, J., Oziel, K., Little Wounded, K., Darnell, S., O'Leary, M., Sarche, M., Buchwald, D. (2026). Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. 182.
Examining the role of social determinants of health in alcohol-exposed pregnancy risk among American Indian women. Hanson, J.D., Noonan, C., Clough, M. et al. (2025). BMC Women's Health, 25, 610.
One-month outcomes of a culturally tailored alcohol-exposed pregnancy prevention mobile app among urban Native young women: A randomized controlled trial of Native WYSE CHOICES. Kaufman, C.E., Asdigian, N.L., Reed, N.D., Shrestha, U., Bull, S., Tuitt, N.R., Vossberg, R., Mumby, S., Sarche, M. (2025). Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, 49, 641–653.
Indigenous infant development: Reconciling the past and grounding future praxis in Indigenous worldviews and strengths-based approaches. Richardson, M., Waters, S.F., Tsethlikai, M., Sarche, M. (2025). Infant Behavior and Development, 80.