Primary Education Topic:
Health & Wellness
Other Education Topics:
Aging in Community
Healthcare & Aging
Multicultural Aging
How is the health of native elders, why do disparities persist, and what are the best practices for eliminating them?
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, an estimated 5 million to 10 million individuals inhabited the land that now comprises the United States. They were organized in hundreds of communities, each with their own languages, cultures, economies, social institutions, and governance structures. Today, these groups are known as American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. In this article, we will refer to them collectively as Native Americans and, when talking about older Native Americans, as native elders.