American Indian Culture

From the ethnogeriatrics curriculum I choose to read American Indian/ Alaska Native Elders module. This module seemed particularly interesting to me because it’s a population that I rarely hear about, especially the older population of American Indians (AI). From what I have learned, culturally American Indians have a great respect for people in old age, so I was curious to know what that looked like and how that conflicted with the strong opposing views in American society. It was interesting to know the differences where AI elders live; either in reservations or urban areas. Olders living in reservations have a sense of tribal community and support from healthcare providers (IHS). Urban olders are living in various communities, among various of other Indian tribes and are less likely to live in poverty. IHS isn’t rarely provided unless you live on or near a
This could mean people who are in late 30s-50s! The concept of spiritual healing has importance for AI community. In the module, spiritual healing is recognized as the relationship between man to fellow man, or nature/God which are interconnected. This includes healing ceremonies that also gives relevance to Indian “medicine”. How mental illness is perceived as an accepted and normal part of aging was interesting and therefore as very little ageist influences in the community. For example, dementia can be described as a condition where the person’s spirit has entered into the next world, but the body still is preparing to leave. This concept has a positive, but realistic perception of the aging process that values vulnerability and humbleness towards the body as spiritual transcendence. Even though this may not be relevant in some tribes anymore, it gives a taste of how illnesses/disease are viewed and ultimately why the culture may refuse organ donations or other