Elders

I have recently been exposed to many trials in life the past few months. Some of these include; no heat, teenagers in the Judaical system, self acclaimed medicine men, Elders who are in the very needy process and numerous other life enhancing experiences.

Elders of any society have gone un-noticed, not considered equal and driven to the point of feeling hopelessness and dis pair. Dis pair, to the fact , that, these elders, who ever they are, should be heard and taken care of much more than they really are. For instance, I know of three elderly Ojibwa men who in all, are experiencing first hand, the devastation of the economy and their life's savings. All three men, directly benefit from their casino's -the Grand casino Millelacs and the Grand casino Hinckley. These men all receive "per-ca pita" payments from the casinos, but this in turn, is pennies to the dollar. They need more. They need more human support and people who will listen to their struggles and stories. One of these men, is a chronic alcoholic. One of them is a retired military personal and the other elderly man has lost the use of both of his legs. However, he gets around better than some able bodied two leggeds.

I , recently had the opportunity to bring him(the one in the wheelchair) home, a home that had no heat, due to the ill discrepancies in his tribal referral system. Upon arriving at his home, I had to fetch his wheel chair out from the back of my SUV. For of those people who do not live in the northern central part of the united states, the weather was a cool minus 23 degrees below zero. When I finally got him into his house, both of us were relieved. I was glad to have been part of the process. In Anishinabeg customs, we are taught to take care of our old people, even if that means, having to put ones personal stuff to the side. I have always lived by this teaching, because one day, I hope to be old and the teaching will come full circle and benefit me when I am old. However, when I entered his house, I could not believe the fact that none of his grown children had anything prepared for their relative to eat. So, what did this elder decide to do? He grabbed a handful of potato chips and ate them as they were a full course meal. He than asked me if i wanted some cake. Because I cannot refuse an elder, I decided to have a piece of his cake. It was a chocolate mousse cake, sprinkled with chocolate candies. Now, as a person who is designed to care, I asked this elder if he had any Wild Rice. Because, most wild rice is natural and does not contain any preservatives, I tried to get this elder to think of what he was eating. He finally told me that he had wild rice and that is as far as the conversation went. But I could not help to imagine how long it would be-before his eating habits would catch up to his health. It was a thought that was unbearable. So, I hinted to him that I could cook some wild rice and he declined my offer and ate his chocolate mousse. At this time, I decided to visit with his great-grand child and his daughter, who also, was the babies grandmother. I asked how old the baby was and the grandmother said " just over a year." As I turned to leave, I confirmed in the Anishinabeg language that I would see him again. I than, left for my aunts house. What I could not believe is the fact, that, their is a million dollar casino right next door to this elders home and he is without propane for his furnace.

As I entered my aunts house, I told her son and niece my experience with the particular elder. They, the niece and son, decided to call the higher ups in the tribe to see what could be done for this elder. Upon a few phone calls, they were left with more questions and concerns about ALL of the elders of the tribe.

Earlier in the day, I had given my cousin(the niece-to my aunt) a ride to her house to drop off a few things. What she had related to me first hand-was pathetic and pitiful. She had begun to tell me of this elder she was living with and taking care of. She had said that this elder could not use the health services called Circle of Life. Circle of life is a health care program for the band members of any particular tribe in the United States. She had said, that this elder had to pay for a nurse out of his own pocket. Mind you, that this elderly man is a retired from the military and gets a pension every month. She had also said, that the Circle of Life funds were all tapped out and that was one of the reasons this elder had to foot his own costs. Plus, he used up his last Circle of life funds to purchase a hearing aid, in which the local clinic had lost.

What I wonder is this; How long will it be before this elder passes on because he is sick and tired of living on this earth? There is much more to his story, like the fact that he has a college graduate living with him that is so worried about his own career, that he can not even fathom the thought of taking care of an elder.

The third elder is in dire straights and in need of some serious health care and services. He has a relative that lives with him who is known to use Meth and a few other drugs. This elder has been intoxicated on alcohol for the past few weeks. He has a brand new elder home-a home that is showing signs of unhealthiness, poor living arrangements and a party house. My aunt had told me, that this elder does not know if he is coming or going.

To Be Continued.....

Jay