Reclaiming What is Sacred: Addressing Harm to Indigenous Elders and Developing a Tribal Response to Abuse in Later Life

In early 2015, NCALL conducted a listening session on abuse in later life in tribal communities with representatives from tribal governments, service providers, and individuals working closely with tribes, tribal domestic violence coalitions, and federal responders. Based on the input gathered at the listening session, NCALL, in collaboration with Victoria Ybanez of Red Wind Consulting and Lauren Litton of ISP Consulting, worked together to write the paper, Reclaiming What is Sacred: Addressing Harm to Indigenous Elders and Developing a Tribal Response to Abuse in Later Life. This paper, a resource for tribes and villages on how to create meaningful responses to abuse in later life, identifies specific guiding philosophies, cultural considerations, and potential action steps tribes and villages might wish to do when addressing abuse in later life in their communities. The back of the paper also includes a number of tools to enhance conversation and planning such as: sample stories; tips for holding a listening session; scenarios for community and system consideration; scenarios for thinking about elder abuse and elder protection; areas of inquiry; a questionnaire for collecting input; and the Abuse in Later Life Power and Control Wheel.

organization_for_library: National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)