Indian Elders

Abstract

Nowhere in the United States do elders enjoy a more revered status than in tribal communities. They are, according to many Indian leaders, our strength, our living heritage, our teachers. They are the keepers of our traditions and the guardians of our way of life. Even the U.S. Congress, in its preamble to Title 6 of the Older Americans Act, describes Indian elders as “a vital resource.” If a single common value were to be expressed by the nation's 568 Indian tribes, it might be simply “respect for elders.”