The National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) held its national American Indian Elders Conference in Reno, Nevada on August 16-20, 2021. It was a long-awaited gathering for tribal elders from around the country. The elders renewed old friendships, made new ones and had an opportunity to learn what was happening in the field of aging. The last conference had been held in Pechanga, California in 2018. In the years since, Indian Country entered a new world with new issues and a re-awakening of how we, as American Indian and Alaska Natives, reshaped our own destinies.

In this new world, we have a silent enemy — the pandemic which we are still currently living through. In this new environment, Indian Country exercised their sovereignty in dealing with the pandemic; a dysfunctional government of last four years; and the realization of the priceless value of our tribal cultures, histories, wisdom and languages held by our elders. And finally, a new administration which shaped policies to repair bridges, repair highways, expand the internet and broadband to Indian Country.

We are now on the brink of a new year and at this time of year, we as Native people will offer prayers and perform blessing ceremonies that the new year which awaits us is a journey into wellness and peace. For the fortunate few that attended our conference, we hope it offered an opportunity to see old friends, make new friends and to remember those we have lost. For those who are waiting for the next conference, we wish you good health and may the spirit of the season envelop you and bring you joy in the years ahead.

To our tribal leaders who have remained steadfast and strong in taking care of our precious natural resource — our elders — we, at the National Indian Council on Aging, thank you. And to all who have taken care of and protected our elders in this new environment — Title VI directors, community health representatives, youths, law enforcement and many others — our appreciation and a heartfelt thank you.

It has been an honor to work with the NICOA staff, NICOA board, the national Indian organizations and the national aging network during the past three years. We have accomplished much, but much more remains to be done on behalf of our elders. The prayers and support you have provided is immeasurable and we look forward to your continued support and your contributions which have enabled us to advocate on behalf of our elders for the last 46 years.

May the new year and season bless you all!

Executive Director Larry Curley (Navajo) spoke with Native News Online about caregiving, COVID-19, and how NICOA is striving to meet the needs of elder American Indians and Alaska Natives across Indian Country.

Native News Online: What are the COVID-19 rates of Native American elders across Indian Country?

Larry Curley: I know they're higher than the general population. The vaccine is available in Indian Country through the Indian Health Service network. The access to the vaccine is there. So, I think that's one of the reasons why the vaccination rate is higher among our population than the general population.

At least 44 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native caregivers surveyed say they are the only person available to tend to their loved one. And at least eight out of 10 say their cultural commitment is an important factor in caring for an elder or someone else needing it.

But people don’t always have to take on giving care alone. Tribes and organizations offer a wide range of options to ease the burden. National Indian Council on Aging Executive Director Larry Curley speaks more about this.

At no other time in recent history have tribal leaders across Native America been challenged in ensuring the health and safety of Indian people. That challenge has been immense, and weariness has extended to those who care for our elders and their families.

Title VI of the Older Americans Act, drafted by the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) in 1978, established nutrition and supportive services for American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. More than 250 tribes and tribal organizations use the funding for elder centers, meal delivery, referrals, transportation and personal care. Title VI was expanded to include caregiver support and grandparents caring for grandchildren. The program offers counseling, support groups, training, and respite or short-term care for an elder to relieve the primary caregiver. This can include adult day or home care, or care in a facility. These programs were created to keep families together, provide culturally relevant services and reduce medical costs.

Though many tribes have created elder programs, more can be done to aid caregivers. In a report published by the Diverse Elders Coalition in consultation with NICOA, more than half of caregiver focus group participants reported they were paying out-of-pocket expenses and had some or significant difficulty with coordinating or arranging services with doctors and social workers. About 45% of the responding caregivers, a majority of whom were women, stated they were the only one providing care, with some of them providing nearly 20 hours of care weekly.

While many people think of elders as retirees, the truth is millions of Americans age 55 and over work full or part-time jobs every day. According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the reasons they work are varied, but for many it’s a matter of necessity to remain financially secure and independent. Others work to stay active and engaged in their communities.

If you or someone you know could benefit from learning new work skills and get assistance finding a job, are 55+ and low income, visit our website, call 505-292-2001 or send an email. If you’re interested in participating in the program, fill out the pre-application form.

Check out our new advertisement for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), airing in North and South Dakota! SCSEP is an on-the-job training and employment program designed to help those age 55 and older update their jobs skills, build work experience and confidence, and continue to have economic security and wellbeing.

Created: By Midco

Recorded: By KDIX

Membership with NICOA offers many valuable benefits. As a paid member you will receive NICOA’s online bimonthly newsletter, legislative updates on important issues and resolutions affecting elders, voting privileges for qualified members and discounted registration fees for qualified members to attend our biennial conferences.

Be an important part of a national membership network and become a NICOA member by applying online or by mail.

You are invited to attend “Navigating LTSS: Home Health Care,” the National Indian Council on Aging’s webinar about the Home Health aspect of long-term services and supports. Home Health is a way to receive medical care without having to leave your home.

Home Health was part of the law that was implemented with Medicare to help cover the healthcare needs of elders. To receive Home Health services, individuals must have difficulty leaving home, need skilled care, have a physician certify and review the plan of care and have a Medicare-certified agency delivering the services.

Register for our February 24 webinar to learn more about what Home Health is, who pays for it and what is covered under this benefit. Discover what is needed to set up Home Health as well as the differences between setting up an agency or utilizing an already existing agency.

Late last year the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren released its initial report to Congress. This report outlines the joys, challenges, gaps, and unmet needs faced by kin and grandparent caregivers. It also describes federal programs currently available to assist them and provides 22 recommendations for better supporting kinship families and grandfamilies. The recommendations will inform the development of the National Family Caregiving Strategy, which will include action steps to increase recognition and support for kin and grandparent caregivers.

The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, in partnership with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) and the Eldercare Locator, has released a new resource — "Tapping into Technology to Stay Connected and Engaged.”

The consumer-friendly booklet, available in English and Spanish — and customizable for your organization — includes information about platform and device options, as well as resources to help connect elders with technology and social engagement activities that match their needs and preferences. Share this new resource with the elders you serve so that they can learn about available technology options, how they can access technology and how technology can help them stay engaged and connected.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) released a report on the fifth year of data collected by the National Adult Maltreatment Reporting System (NAMRS). NAMRS is the only comprehensive national initiative compiling data on the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elders and adults with disabilities as reported to state adult protective services (APS).

NAMRS collects quantitative and qualitative data on state adult protective services practices and policies, and the results of investigations into the maltreatment of elders and adults with disabilities. The report includes data on complaints received by adult protective services, types of allegations, outcomes of investigations, characteristics of alleged victims and perpetrators, and more.

In the 2020 reporting year, adult protective services programs received more than 1.3 million complaints of alleged adult maltreatment, a slight decrease compared to the previous year, potentially attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The year five report includes data from every state and territorial Adult Protective Services system in the nation. This wide-spread voluntary participation reflects the value that leaders in the field see in collecting national data on adult maltreatment. The quantity and consistency of data submissions to NAMRS continues to improve with each passing year.

Understanding the nature and extent of adult maltreatment — and the ways adult protective services programs respond to it — is critical to enhancing the effectiveness of adult protective services programs. NAMRS has sparked significant improvements in adult protective services data collection and submission, and subsequently in the understanding of adult maltreatment.

In last year’s report, the Adult Protective Services Technical Assistance Resource Center began to look at the potential impact of the COVID-19 on adult maltreatment as reported to state adult protective services programs.

State adult protective services systems investigate reports of abuse and exploitation of elders and people with disabilities. They provide support and case-management and connect people facing abuse to a variety of protective, emergency, and support services. NAMRS is one of many ACL initiatives to build public and professional understanding about adult maltreatment and strengthen social supports to prevent it.

The latest edition of the Social Security Administration's Tribal Benefits Coordinator Guide includes policy updates and helpful information unique to American Indians and Alaska Natives. This guide can provide Tribal Benefits Coordinators an up-to-date picture of how Social Security serves Indian Country communities.

The Tribal Benefits Coordinator Guide is one way of providing the tools and resources specific to communities. This guide can serve as a valuable resource when discussing Social Security benefits, services, and policies. If you have suggestions for improvement or questions about information in the guide, please reach out to your local contacts or contact the Social Security Administration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed the Medicare Beneficiaries at a Glance infographic, which provides a visual summary on Medicare beneficiaries, including types of coverage, utilization, average cost for specific services, top chronic conditions, beneficiary satisfaction and access to care, and usual source of care.

The data presented in the infographic are based on CMS administrative enrollment and fee-for-service claims data from the CMS Chronic Conditions Data Warehouse, as well as statistics collected from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey.

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have introduced a bill that would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study scams impacting American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and tribal members. The bipartisan legislation also requires the FTC to submit recommendations to Congress on policies to curb these deceptive practices. This study would be done in consultation with tribes and pueblos.

Tribal communities have long been the targets of fraud. Scammers often target vulnerable communities who receive trust or lawsuit settlement payments, like many tribes do, or tribal members in charge of investment committees. FTC data says that tribal members are more likely to be the victims of scams and are less likely to report scams than any other group, which makes them an even more attractive target for scammers.

The Protecting Indian Tribes from Scams Act will direct the FTC to study the types of scams that target tribes and find the ways we can combat them.

Every Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET from now until April 19, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be hosting a virtual series in collaboration with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and NICOA. This series will detail outreach and education on ACL and NICOA programs for tribal health care facility business staff and tribal patient benefit advocates. This webinar will also include education on understanding third party billing, reimbursement and benefits accessible to tribal health care facilities and beneficiaries.

Other subjects discussed will be CMS Tribal Affairs Updates, Clinical Documentation Improvement, Revenue Cycle Overview, State-Administered Programs, Home and Community Based Services, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the Health Insurance Marketplace. The target audience for the webinar series are Benefits Coordinators, Patient Registration staff, Health Information Management staff, Purchased/Referred Care Staff, Long-Term Services and Supports Coordinators and NICOA members.

Register here or click here to view a date-by-date agenda of the upcoming webinars.

Every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET from now until April 21, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in collaboration with the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) will be hosting a series of webinars geared towards helping tribal leaders maximize their ability to access third party resources.

It is more important than ever for tribal leaders to engage and learn from federal agencies and tribal organizations that impact the health of their people. These webinars will highlight the over 10 years of experience CMS and NIHB staff have in providing trainings to administrative staff at tribal health care facilities on the programs and benefits available through Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Webinar topics will provide an overview of business staff needs and provide information to tribal leaders on a variety of related issues. The target audience for the webinar series are Tribal Leaders, Tribal Health Directors, Tribal Administrators, Tribal Council Members, Healthcare Administrators, Advocates and Partners.

Register here or click here to view a date-by-date agenda of the upcoming webinars. For questions, please contact Tribal Health Care Outreach and Education Policy Coordinator Kristen Bitsuie at kbitsuie@nihb.org.

On February 1, 2022, at 4 p.m. ET the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be hosting a "Data Tools for Health Equity Webinar". This webinar will highlight three new virtual tools related to health equity planning and analysis including the HD Pulse, he SHARE-NW, and the Minority Health Social Vulnerability Index.

Specifically, this webinar will highlight HHS region 10 and the long standing health disparities that have been exacerbated there due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This webinar may be important for tribal communities and tribal health care facilities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington who have been significantly affected by the pandemic and who may benefit by the understanding of these health equity virtual tools.

Click here to register for this webinar. For questions, please contact Renée Bouvion at renee.bouvion@hhs.org.

The Supreme Court agreed this month to decide a question left open by its landmark 2020 decision declaring that much of eastern Oklahoma falls within an Indian reservation. The 2020 decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma, ruled that American Indians who commit crimes on the reservation, which includes much of Tulsa, cannot be prosecuted by state or local law enforcement and must instead face justice in tribal or federal courts.

The question the Supreme Court agreed to decide was whether non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians on reservations could be prosecuted by state or local law enforcement.

The court held in McGirt v. Oklahoma that part of the state once within the boundaries of the Creek Nation qualifies as Indian Country for the purposes of prosecuting major crimes. Since then, state courts have reached the same conclusion regarding the remainder of the Five Tribes in Oklahoma, meaning “almost 2 million Oklahoma residents — the vast majority of whom are not Native American — suddenly live in Indian Country for purposes of federal criminal jurisdiction,” the state wrote.

The Supreme Court is due to hear the case in April and rule by the end of June.

The Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, based in Washington, has filed its third lawsuit this month against the city of Seattle over the operations of City Light’s hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River.

The latest legal action is based on laws of nature, the tribal and Indigenous peoples’ centuries-old belief system and “customary law” rooted in the concept that nature can’t be owned and has rights of its own. In this case, the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe asserts the city’s dams harm salmon by cutting off access to miles of habitat. Salmon, according to the tribe, are akin to family members and are part of their worldview, and as such have rights that the tribe is responsible to protect.

The Skagit Project is one of the only hydroelectric facilities in the Pacific Northwest that does not include infrastructure known as fish passage. That means salmon and other species of fish have no way to reach above or below the massive dams.

Data provided by tribes and the state of Washington show stark declines in salmon populations on the Skagit River over the last 20 years. The Sauk-Suiattle and Upper Skagit Indian Tribes assert that their treaty rights to fish are threatened by the dams, as they have historically been.

Seattle’s dams are up for relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In the years-long process so far, the Sauk-Suiattle and Upper Skagit Indian Tribes, as well as government regulators, Skagit County government and environmental nonprofits have criticized City Light’s reluctance to admit their dams hurt salmon, including species headed toward extinction.

Since the gray wolf was taken off the endangered species list last year, hundreds have been hunted and killed in states like Wisconsin, Idaho and Montana. Now, tribes are leading efforts to stop the hunts.

Wisconsin is facing a federal lawsuit from six American Indian tribes that accuse the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) of violating treaty rights and endangering an animal they consider sacred. Under 19th-century treaties, the tribes retain rights to half of any wolves killed in territory they ceded to the United States. But rather than hunt wolves, the tribes want to protect them.

Wisconsin’s DNR policy board approved a quota of 300 wolves for the fall hunt, more than twice the number recommended by DNR wildlife officials.

In a complaint filed last year, the tribes say the Natural Resources Board’s decision was a deliberate move to nullify the tribes’ share, failed to use “sound biological principles” in establishing the quota and is managing wolf hunting in a way that violates treaties of 1837 and 1842.