#protectelders

Today, we want to focus on elders, elders who are gifted orators and faithkeepers, elders who safeguard our language and traditions, elders who make us belly laugh, who make us better, and elders who still need us. During the pandemic, many of us have turned to social media for community. We’ve connected on Social Distance Powwow, watched Jamie Okuma live stream her amazing quillwork, enjoyed Eileen Briggs’ pretend cooking show, and listened to the old-timers tell their stories.

We’d like to highlight Yellow Bird Life Ways -- you may remember them from our Women’s Response to COVID-19 post -- Traditional Storytelling with Oren Lyons, Chief and Faithkeeper, Onondaga Indian Nation and Chairman of the Honoring Nations Board of Governors (Emeritus) -- recorded on April 29, 2020, when many of us thought the pandemic would run its course over the summer. While listening to Chief Lyons speak about pandemics that have come before and the survival of our ancestors that audible becomes less about how to endure and more about how to thrive. He tells us that “It’s time to plant,” and it is. He instructs us to watch for the signs and to sing our songs, and so we should. He reminds us to find the bringers of peace for they will help to lead us; sometimes, even, those leaders will be a six-year old child who unexpectedly shows up at your door. When you can, sit down with Chief Lyons and watch the video.

There are a lot of elder resources available online and through your local communities and we want to take a moment to showcase a few. The first is a pen-pal program for elders established by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewas in Minnesota who used a flyer to help recruit pen pals. This is a wonderful way to directly impact elders living in care facilities in your local area. If you find yourself suddenly a homeschool teacher, have your kids work on their writing and storytelling skills through the dying art that is letter writing.

At an administrative level, the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma has launched a series of virtual resources for their tribal citizens. The ability to get quality health care to vulnerable populations has been critical and lifesaving. 

Listen. Our elders have so much to say and their voices are loud and clear. Wikwemikong First Nation Nursing Home in Ontario, Canada, send important messages to loved-ones.

Elder abuse, it’s difficult to discuss but so essential to acknowledge. The University of Southern California Center on Elder Mistreatment offers a lot of resources on elder advocacy and how COVID-19 is putting seniors at greater risk.

The Office for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Programs, Older Americans Act offer a wealth of information and programming on their Facebook page and on their website. It’s here where we found Yellow Bird Lifeway’s virtual visit with Chief Oren Lyons.

Tribal Elder Resources from the National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative:

https://www.nieji.org/covid-19