When it comes to older aboriginal people there are often confusions about how they are addressed. When being addressed most people just lump all older aboriginals with the term elders. However, this is not the correct terminology. An elder in aboriginal culture is typically one who possesses great knowledge and experience in their culture and it is important to realize that elders don’t self identify as elders, it is often a term given to them out of respect and acknowledgement of what they contribute to their community. It is important to understand this difference because not every older aboriginal person is an elder.
When speaking of an aboriginal senior (not elder) there is an emphasis on the fact that they are not classified in the same way that a typical non-aboriginal older person is classified. When speaking of the typical seniors in Canada people are usually referring to those who are 75 years of age and older, but when speaking of an older aboriginal people are often speaking of those older persons who are over the age of 65 (Beatty, B. B. , Berdahl, L. 2011) This difference in classification is due to aboriginal peoples being at a much higher risk for chronic health conditions and disabilities, as well as having an overall poorer health than that of a non-aboriginal (Beatty, B. B. , Berdahl, L. 2011)
This problem isn’t the only thing that older aboriginals must face. According to Susan Judith Ship (1997):
Aboriginal elders have the lowest life expectancy of all groups in Canada, are more likely to suffer degenerative diseases normally associated with old age, as well as experience the social and psychological consequences of old age such as loss of friends, spouse or relatives earlier in their lives. (Elders at Risk section, para. 3).
When adding up the factors of having loved ones passing away, medical issues, social problems such as not being able to communicate properly adequately and disabilities these could often end up leading to a life of isolation, which could therein lead to more health problems. A very simple solution to such a problem would be to simply incorporate the elderly into the community. One such example of how this is being done is taken from that of Hollow Water First Nation and its efforts to bring together the seniors of the community and have them interact and socialize within the community school. While there they teach the students skills, such as sewing, cooking, etc) that they have learned as well as learn from the students (take note that this program involves mainly female older aboriginals). This gives them an opportunity to socialize and interact with the younger generations and for there to be mutual learning going on, stories exchanged and bonds created. When thinking about programs such as these that aboriginal communities are coming up with themselves it would be interesting to see the effects on aboriginal communities and their elderly if funding were provided to get more older aboriginals involved in the community school systems.
- Jody
References
Beatty, B. B., Berdahl, L. (2011). Health Care and Aboriginal Seniors in Urban Canada: Helping a Neglected Class. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2(1) . Retrieved from: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj/vol2/iss1/10
Ship, S.J. (1997) Ageing and Cultural Diversity: A Cross-Cultural Approach. Retrieved from http://www.niichro.com/Elders/Elders7.html
Jody,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about this topic and I was glad to learn a little more about it today through your group presentation. I really liked learning about the efforts of the Hollow Water First Nation to give equal opportunity for older persons to participate in the community.
Kelsey
I never knew what the term elder meant until this year from taking this class as well as my native studies class. It is very interesting and so is the fact that there are different classifications of oler people; I thought we were all considered seniors at 65. The Hollow Water First Nation has a great idea and so do you in providing more funding for programs like this. It is great to pass down this information especially when some people would not have other wise learned it in their own home. Everyone has something to offer the community even the older people.
ReplyDeleteBrittany
This blog is really an eye opening for me as far as my knowledge of aboriginal seniors is concerned. I have very limited idea about how this culture is maintaining its cultural values and I found many stereotypes in the market. To be true, I started learning the "bad" aspects before this writing like the true representation of aboriginal peoples in Canada.
ReplyDeleteSubas
Great post Jody! And getting involved with Indigenous older adults is probably easier than it sounds. Sounds to me like Hollow Water First Nation is doing exactly what they need to do in order to facilitate the interaction of older adults with their youth. It's good for the older adults because it allows them to remain mentally and physically able, and it's good for the youth because it allows them the access to traditional knowledges and language, which are so important.
ReplyDelete~Shauna