Moving beyond the "exotic": applying postcolonial theory in health research.

Postcolonialism offers nursing scholarship a framework for understanding culture and identity as fluid and complex, historically situated, and discursively constructed. This article describes one version of implementing postcolonial theory, using examples from a research project conducted with urban American Indians on the topic of diabetes. I demonstrate the influence and value of postcolonialism throughout the research process. A postcolonial approach can help nursing researchers and practitioners avoid reproducing injustices and stereotypes, illuminate the complexities of life at the intersections, and contribute to the construction of a more socially just world.