Graves, K., Shavings, L., Rose, B. E., & Easley, C. (2005). National Resource Center for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Elders.

Summary

The purpose of the project is to allow Alaska Native Elders the opportunity to share their ideas about the origin of abuse of elderly and to share ways to reduce and control occurrences of abuse. In order to be more culturally appropriate, the research team decided to use the terms ìrespect and disrespectî rather than ìabuse.î

The study group consisted of three Alaska Native Elders from the five main cultural groups in Alaska, for a total of fifteen respondents. These Elders were recruited utilizing snowball sampling. Through interviews, the Elders were asked a series of questions about the role of Elders in their community, Elder disrespect, and how problems can be addressed. These open- ended interviews were then analyzed using a qualitative approach, which allowed the hypotheses to be drawn directly from the raw data.

The findings indicate that, from the Alaska Native worldview, origin of respect is connected with the tradition of listening, or oral tradition. The tradition of listening has relevancy in the modern world. The cycle of respect has been broken and, as a result, there has been a dramatic increase in disrespect. There are culturally appropriate ways to approach the problem of Alaska Native Elder abuse or disrespect.

Community and personal stability is connected with the tradition of listening. The structure of the oral tradition is holistic, balanced, and interconnected. Elders hold a central role, and harmony and balance are maintained through acceptance of oneís own value and the value of all creation, including the natural world.

When there is a lack of balance, harmony, and connection with others and the natural world, disrespect or abuse is present. The most prevalent types of abuse toward the elderly mentioned were emotional disrespect and financial exploitation. It was very difficult for Alaska Native Elders to discuss abuse of the elderly, probably because of the history of having their beliefs, practices, and values dismantled and replaced by Euro-American social, political, religious and justice systems. In the past, there were systems in place which helped to maintain harmony and balance, while controlling unacceptable social behaviors. For many Elders, the Western system of justice enhances the unbalance and disharmony.