Projects
American Indian Community Data Profile, 2002
Namadji Youth and Elders Project Report, 2001
Forum Reports
1997 Fall: Tribal Sovereignty and
American Indian Leadership
1996 Fall: Tribal Governments: What will they look like in the year 2010?
1996 Spring: The Threatened State of Tribal Sovereignty
American Indian Elders - A Neglected National Treasure
Elders Report Executive Summary
by John Poupart, President
The American Indian Research and Policy Institute, St. Paul, Minnesota,
sponsored a successful, revealing forum about American Indian Elders in
November at the Canterbury Inn in Shakopee, Minnesota. The forum, titled
"American Indian Elders: A Neglected National Treasure," differed from
the standard forum style where participants meet in focus groups and discuss
a prepared agenda. This time, the elders prepared the agenda themselves,
and discussed what they deemed important. Rather than forecast ahead in
time, the elders chose to reflect on old traditional Indian ways and spirituality,
and their importance to today's concerns.
The following pages represent comments made by tribal elders, local community members, some government agencies and tribal leaders at the recent forum. The information generated at the forum will be useful to policy makers as future programs are developed for elderly Indians. Programs for Indian elderly will be more effective if they are culturally sensistive and if elders are included in the planning.
The keynote speaker for the forum was David Baldridge, executive director of the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Baldridge cited the need for the elder community to unite and take action through better informed decisions and publications.
During the day, the participants broke into smaller break-out sessions to discuss such varied topics as health care, poverty, substance abuse, language, culture, nutrition and transportation. One area that especially concerned American Indian elders was their obligation to the younger Indian people. Many talked at length about how to best pass their knowledge on to the next generation.
For the American Indian Research and Policy Institute, the forum was a great success. The forum fit well with the mission statement, "to promote accurate knowledge of the legal and political history of American Indians." The comments made at the forum had been heard before by the Institute through its familiarity with grassroots Indian communities. It is important to note, however, that it was a rare occasion to hear such a powerful voice from Indian elderly on contemporary public policy issues.
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Last updated:
Tuesday November 1, 2005