Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113735

Margaret P. Moss, DSN, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Weaver-Densford Hall 6-101, 308 Harvard ST, Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612-624-2972, mossx015@umn.edu

PURPOSE: To provide insight into constructions of aging and Zuni elders. DESIGN & METHODS: Classical ethnographic field techniques were used to collect data during 1800 hours of fieldwork on Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico. FINDINGS: Indigenous constructs are firmly rooted in Zuni traditions. Most elders find it essential to stay on a traditional path, although, it is undeniable that western constructions also exist in their cosmos. Zuni traditions triangulate with perspectives from the West to form a fluctuating middle that stays within prescribed boundaries of a ‘box' bounded by the four directions and the zenith and nadir planes. The degree to which an elder remains oral vs. literal, ages in the ‘Zuni Way', and within a sacred domain greatly affects decision-making, as well as action and or inaction in aging. IMPLICATIONS: Understanding perspectives rooted within an “inside-the box” paradigm, valuing the old, the ancestors and the Zuni way will assist in deriving, relevant Gerontological theories and programs for these American Indian elders.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the conceptual boundaries of traditional indigenous elders that define their care choices.
• Learn strategies for entering their 'box' rather than forcing them into the Western box for care.
• Gain an understanding that religion and medicine are not as separate in the indigenous world, as they are in the West.

Keywords: American Indians, Religion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.