"You're Asking Me to Put into Words Something That I Don't Put into Words.": Climate Grief and Older Adult Environmental Activists.

Globally, climate change is leading to environmental crises, which activists have been fighting against for decades. Social scientists have rarely considered older adults as environmentalists and their feelings about climate change. Most studies focus on younger people's emotions or concerns about environmental crises. The purpose of this study is to explore the emotional responses and coping strategies related to environmental degradation of older adult environmental activists. We conducted a qualitative research study with 20 participants who were over the age of 60 years, engaged in environmentalism and living in Kansas, USA. We utilized thematic analysis to identify the following themes: a) Emotional Experiences of Environmental Destruction, b) Destruction of Specific Landscapes, and c) Coping Strategies including Environmental Justice Activism. Despite navigating the emotions of loss and grief in response to the destruction of specific places and certain political concerns, often without the language or concepts of environmental grief, these participants have and continue to direct their efforts toward protecting the environment. They have contributed for decades in the hopes of preserving the Earth for future generations and eagerly seek engagement with younger activists to both share grief, and, more importantly, do the work that needs to be done.

Indigenous Women, Water Protectors, and Reciprocal Responsibilities.

Indigenous women in North America have traditionally had reciprocal relationships with and responsibilities to the Earth. The process of colonization violently transformed both the treatment of the Earth and of Indigenous women. Current environmental crises highlight not only the vulnerability of Indigenous women, but also their long-standing leadership in resisting environmental injustices affecting their families, relationships, and nations. In this article, authors focus on the resistance of Dakota water protectors with the #NoDAPL movement in the United States and Anishinaabe water protectors in Mother Earth Water Walks in Canada. Recommendations for social workers in supporting Indigenous women in a thoughtful and effective way include incorporating a definition of a "social" response to more-than-human world relationships and responsibilities, supporting direct action as a necessary social response to environmental issues, and acting in solidarity with Indigenous women in these movements.

Ways of Grieving Among Ojibwe Elders: "They're All Around Us. They're Always."

Death, grief, and loss are common experiences for many individuals who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, yet decidedly little is known about the lived experience of grieving in this population. To address this gap in the literature, researchers conducted a qualitative descriptive study exploring ways of grieving among 20 elders residing on a North American Ojibwe reservation. Findings derived via thematic analysis illustrate the variety of ways these elders respond to death: living through it, responding in Western or non-Traditional ways, drawing comfort from spirituality, and grieving as a community. Implications for culturally appropriate grief support for AI individuals and communities are provided.

"Just Let Me Go": End-of-Life Planning Among Ojibwe Elders.

Purpose of the Study: Although advance care planning (ACP) is designed to promote person-centered end-of-life care, the principles underpinning it are at odds with the values and norms of many American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, contributing to low rates of ACP among AI/AN elders. The purpose of this study was to explore the apparent tension between Western approaches to end-of-life care, including its emphasis on ACP, and the expectations and wishes of one community of AI elders, in hopes of informing more culturally appropriate approaches to planning for end-of-life care. Design and Methods: About 20 tribal elders living on a Great Lakes reservation participated in semistructured, face-to-face interviews. Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling techniques. The interviews were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Results: Despite seeing little need for ACP, the elders were generally open to discussing the care they would want at end of life. Many were readily able to describe their wishes for a peaceful death and had already developed funeral and burial or cremation plans. Although establishing one's individual legacy was not a salient end-of-life concern for the elders, several found meaning in describing their contributions to preserving their families, the community, and their cultural lifeways. Implications: A lack of formal ACP within AI/AN communities does not necessarily reflect a cultural aversion to discussing preferences for end of life. Efforts to increase ACP in tribal communities would likely be enhanced by acknowledgment of the spiritual and cultural significance of death and dying for many AI/AN individuals.

Rearing Generations: Lakota Grandparents' Commitment to Family and Community.

Disproportionately, American Indian grandparents assume the responsibility of raising their grandchildren. Few studies have examined the experiences of American Indian grandparents living on reservations. Utilizing Indigenous Methodologies and exploratory, in-depth interviews with 25 Lakota elders living on the reservation. This study explored the realities of raising grandchildren including: reasons they began caring for their grandchildren, challenges they face, and they reveal the care and concern for the broader community's grandchildren within the cultural and social context of the reservation.

American Indian elders share personal stories of alcohol use with younger tribal members.

In this Great Lakes Indian reservation qualitative study we utilized focus groups in the form of talking circles to elicit tribal members' views of alcohol use. We report on how the elder participants utilized the talking circles to inform the youth of the deleterious effects of alcohol use and abuse. Indigenous research methods were utilized so elder tribal members were consulted about the study; an elder was hired as a research associate; youth were hired as note takers/observers; and the 2-hour groups were led by a tribal community member. Demographic data were gathered, and a semistructured guide with substance use questions was utilized. Tribal members, 30 females and 19 males, age 12 to 78 participated in 8 talking circles (N = 49). Tribal elders unexpectedly utilized the format as an opportunity for cross-generational storytelling to convey their own oral histories of the harmful effects of alcohol use for the younger participants. They shared personal pathways to quitting or to a reduction in drinking with messages aimed at preventing the youth from initiating drinking. A shortage of American Indian (AI) substance abuse treatment programs that are culturally relevant exists. The widespread and renewed use of cross-generational talking circles could serve as an inexpensive substance abuse prevention and intervention treatment modality for AI youth. The elders' stories highlight the need to rejuvenate traditional methods of healing among AIs to reduce the initiation and/or harmful effects of overuse of alcohol among AI youth.

An urban American Indian health clinic's response to a community needs assessment.

Utilizing community-based methods, we assessed the behavioral and physical health needs of a Detroit metropolitan Indian health clinic. The project goal was to identify health service needs for urban American Indians/Alaska Natives and develop the infrastructure for culturally competent and integrative behavioral and physical health care. We conducted 38 semi-structured interviews and 12 focus groups with service providers and community members. Interview and focus group data indicated a need for 1) more culturally competent services and providers, 2) more specialized health services, and 3) more transportation options. We then report on the Indian health clinic's and community's accomplishments in response to the needs assessment.

Ethical dilemmas faced by hospice social workers.

Ethical decision making is critically important in hospice social work. Through in-depth interviews, researchers explored ethical dilemmas faced by 14 hospice social workers and the processes they used to move toward resolution. The dilemmas were integrated into a framework focused on the sources of ethical conflict: the client system, the agency, and the profession. Processes involved in resolving ethical dilemmas included consulting with other professionals, weighing the pros and cons of options, and bringing about desired outcomes. Findings suggest that hospice teams should be provided with opportunities to meaningfully discuss ethical decision making. Further, the involvement of social workers in administrative leadership is recommended to increase the likelihood that discipline-specific perspectives are incorporated into formal policies and procedures that shape practice in ethically complex situations.

"It's bad around here now": tobacco, alcohol and other drug use among American Indians living on a rural reservation.

Using data about members of a midwestern American Indian reservation in eight focus groups that were conducted like "talking circles," the authors describe the participants' (N = 49) views of the current use and abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Results indicate that the use of tobacco is pervasive; that the use of alcohol and other drugs, especially marijuana and oxycodone, are problems on this reservation because they are detrimental to health and well-being; and appropriate, available, and accessible treatment is scarce, nonexistent, or underfunded. Culturally sensitive substance abuse treatment and increased funding for treatment are major health issues for this population.

Risk and protective factors for HIV/AIDS in Native Americans: implications for preventive intervention.

HIV/AIDS has steadily increased in Native American and Alaska Native populations, and despite efforts at control many challenges remain. This article examines historical, biological, social, and behavioral cofactors related to the spread of HIV/AIDS within the context of Native American culture. Special attention is given to vulnerable subgroups and to the need for culturally appropriate efforts at prevention and intervention that respect the unique needs of each group.