Mashantucket ― Mashantucket Pequot tribal members are being encouraged to participate in a pioneering cancer-screening effort.

The tribe, working with Grail, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based health care company, announced Friday it will host a blood draw for tribal members from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Pequot Health Care, 1 Annie George Drive.

According to a media advisory issued by the tribe, Grail has developed a blood test that can detect 50 types of cancers through a routine blood draw.

The tests are being funded by Indian Health Services.

In the U.S., Native Americans have much higher rates of cancer, including lung, colorectal, liver, stomach and kidney cancer, than non-Hispanic white people.