Alaska Native Community-Engaged Aging Lab

Publications and Presentations
Our team presents and publishes work regularly at conferences and community events. Our latest dissemination and community engagement activities can be found on the news tab.
Geographical remoteness, limited resources, and socioeconomic disparities contribute to the migration of rural Alaska Native Elders to urban areas to access medical services and resources, improve economic situations, or reunite with family. We compared the discourse of 12 Elders in Anchorage who previously lived in four remote traditional villages in the Norton Sound region (ages 60–84) and 13 Elders in those villages (ages 48–80). Using Gee’s discourse analysis framework, two patterns emerged detailing cultural effects on identity and Eldership, illuminating differences in the self-evaluation of successful aging based on cultural influences and the role of con-
textual factors.
Steffi M. Kim, Jordan P. Lewis, Juanita-Dawne Bacsu, Jodi L. Southerland &
Matthew Lee Smith (23 Oct 2024): A Discourse Analysis of Cultural Influences on Alaska Native
Successful Aging, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2024.2403976
Indigenous research posits that practice-based evidence is fundamental to culturally grounded, multifaceted methods. The objective is to outline the key tenets and characteristics of Elder-centered research and relevant methodology using an interconnected progression of Alaska Native studies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Alaska Native Elders, 21 Alaska Native caregivers, and 12 Alaska Native and non-Native caregivers in two studies exploring cultural understandings of memory and successful aging. The design and implementation of these studies employed Elders at every level, ensuring cultural relevance, outcomes, and dissemination. Results reflect the benefits of engaging Alaska Native Elders in research and reveal methods for best practices: (a) creating advisory councils, (b) identifying stakeholders, (c) weaving together Elder and western knowledge systems, and (d) the reciprocal nature of Elder engagement and well-being. This research centers Indigenous values and research for an Elder-centered methodology that encourages engagement of older adults in applicable, meaningful, restorative, and enculturated ways.
Crouch (Deg Hit’an, Coahuiltecan), Maria C, Kim, S. M., Asquith-Heinz, Z., Decker, E., Andrew (Yup’ik, Inupiaq), Nyché T, Lewis (Aleut), J. P., & Rosich, R. M. (2023). Indigenous elder-centered methodology: Research that decolonizes and indigenizes. AlterNative : An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 19(2), 447-456. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801231155437
Predominantly Western-based biomedical models of successful aging have been used to research, understand, and explain successful aging among diverse populations. With an increasingly heterogeneous older adult population nationwide, scholars have been exploring Indigenous understandings of successful aging. To add to the accumulation of knowledge of diverse Alaska Native populations, this study involved semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 Unangan Elders from the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. This community-based participatory research study explores the aging experiences and conceptualization of successful aging of these Elders from this remote and culturally distinct region of Alaska. Thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to successful aging within this specific region, which supported our previous four themes, or characteristics, of Alaska Native successful aging: physical health, social support and emotional well-being, generativity as a traditional way of life, and community engagement and Inidgenous cultural generativity. Each of these themes or characteristics of Eldership is intertwined and together support successful aging within two remote communities in the Bering Sea. The findings of this study illuminate how Alaska Native Elders can live in geographically diverse regions of the State, yet the values and teachings they possess on successful aging possess the same cultural values and teachings. This study highlighted two new emerging constructs that influence Alaska Native Elders' successful aging based on geographical location. Findings contribute to the thematic saturation of the four main successful aging domains while outlining the importance of future research to conduct deeper investigations into the role of environment and history on Elders’ perceptions and understanding of aging.
Lewis, J. P., Kim, S. M., Asquith-Heinz, Z., & Withrow, A. (2024). Generativity as a traditional way of life: Successful aging among unangan elders in the aleutian pribilof islands. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 39(2), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-024-09501-0
This paper outlines a unique culturally driven cyclical migration of Alaska Native Elders. This Indigenous cyclical migration is distinct from other previously described mobility observations in that Elders spend extended time in more than one community. We describe the cyclical migration of Alaska Native (AN) Elders and its influence on the Elders’ identity, health, and well-being. Employing a life course perspective and social theory of migration, inductive content analysis was employed to identify themes related to Elders’ cyclical migration between rural and urban communities and the impact on their identity, health, and well-being. Interviews with 125 AN Elders were conducted across five regions of Alaska: Bristol Bay, Interior, Norton Sound, Aleutian Pribilof Islands, and Southcentral. AN Elders traveled between rural and urban communities to access resources and connections critical to their identities, health, and well-being. Urban Elders maintained a connection to rural villages because they perceived them as healthier places to age based on access to traditional practices, land, and the community. Rural Elders spent extended time in urban settings to access health care services, be closer to family, and benefit from the lower costs of living. This study builds upon existing migration theories by introducing a cyclical pattern uniquely driven by AN identity, culture, and traditional practices. Findings illustrate how AN communities can support Elders who experience cyclical migration patterns to ensure they age successfully in both locations. Future recommended research should explore cyclical migration patterns among other Indigenous populations with histories of migration.
Lewis, J. P., Kim, S. M., & Asquith-Heinz, Z. (2023). Cyclical Migration in Alaska Native Elders and its Impact on Elders’ Identity and Later Life Well-being, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, gbad072, https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbad072
Protective Factors in the Context of Successful Aging
in Urban‐Dwelling Alaska Native Elders
Successful aging in rural Alaska communities has been established as a characteristic best described by reaching “Eldership,” conveying reverence and respect from the community and implying leadership responsibilities. Most Alaska Native (AN) Elders believe that aging successfully or aging well happens within their home communities.
However, limited rural resources lead Elders to relocate to urban settings. While protective factors supporting aging well in rural communities have been established, little is known about which factors support aging well after relocation to an urban setting. This exploratory, qualitative, community-based participatory
research study explored AN Elder’s (ages 48–84) experiences comparing successful aging within four rural Alaska communities and of Elders who relocated from a rural to an urban community. Thirteen rural-based Elders and 12 urban-based Elders semi-structured interviews were compared to explore how successful aging was experienced similarly and differently in rural and urban settings.
To age well in urban Alaska, access to health care services, family, and community engagement were essential. The main challenges for urban Elders involved establishing a sense of community, intergenerational involvement, and the ability to continue traditional ways of living. This research identified challenges, similarities, and differences in aging well in an urban community. The findings of this study inform practices, services, and policies to improve existing urban services and initiate needed urban services to foster successful aging after relocation from remote rural areas into urban communities in Alaska.
Kim, S., M., Lewis, J., P. (2023). Protective Factors in the Context of Successful Aging in Urban Dwelling Alaska Native Elders. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. 10.1007/s10823-023-09493-3