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Abstract ObjectivesThis paper outlines the unique culturally driven cyclical migration of Alaska Native (AN) Elders, distinct from previously described migration patterns in that Elders spend extended time in more than one community. We describe this Indigenous cyclical migration of AN Elders and its influence on their identity and later life health and well-being. MethodsInterviews with 124 AN Elders were conducted across 5 regions of Alaska: Bristol Bay, Interior, Norton Sound, Aleutian Pribilof Islands, and Southcentral. Within this sample, 87 participants engaged in cyclical migration. Thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to Elders’ cyclical migration between rural and urban communities and the impact on their identity and later life health and well-being. ResultsWe identified 2 distinct patterns of Indigenous cyclical migration—Elders living primarily in rural communities migrating to urban communities and Elders living primarily in urban communities migrating to rural communities. Elders engaged in these 2 patterns of cyclical migration to maintain cultural practices, access social, and health care services to maintain their physical health and well-being, and continue their community roles contributing to their AN Elder identity. DiscussionThis study builds upon existing migration theories by introducing a cyclical pattern uniquely driven by AN identity, culture, and traditional practices. Findings illustrate how AN communities can support Elders who experience cyclical migration patterns to ensure they age successfully in both locations. Future research should explore cyclical migration patterns among other Indigenous populations with migration histories. 

Geographical remoteness, limited resources, and socioeconomic disparities contribute to the migration of rural Alaska Native Elders to urban areas to access medical services and resources, improve economic situations, or reunite with family. We compared the discourse of 12 Elders in Anchorage who previously lived in four remote traditional villages in the Norton Sound region (ages 60–84) and 13 Elders in those villages (ages 48–80). Using Gee’s discourse analysis framework, two patterns emerged detailing cultural effects on identity and Eldership, illuminating differences in the self-evaluation of successful aging based on cultural influences and the role of contextual factors. 

Predominantly Western-based biomedical models of successful aging have been used to research, understand, and explain successful aging among diverse populations. With an increasingly heterogeneous older adult population nationwide, scholars have been exploring Indigenous understandings of successful aging. To add to the accumulation of knowledge of diverse Alaska Native populations, this study involved semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 Unangan Elders from the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. This community-based participatory research study explores the aging experiences and conceptualization of successful aging of these Elders from this remote and culturally distinct region of Alaska. Thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to successful aging within this specific region, which supported our previous four themes, or characteristics, of Alaska Native successful aging: physical health, social support and emotional well-being, generativity as a traditional way of life, and community engagement and Inidgenous cultural generativity. Each of these themes or characteristics of Eldership is intertwined and together support successful aging within two remote communities in the Bering Sea. The findings of this study illuminate how Alaska Native Elders can live in geographically diverse regions of the State, yet the values and teachings they possess on successful aging possess the same cultural values and teachings. This study highlighted two new emerging constructs that influence Alaska Native Elders’ successful aging based on geographical location. Findings contribute to the thematic saturation of the four main successful aging domains while outlining the importance of future research to conduct deeper investigations into the role of environment and history on Elders’ perceptions and understanding of aging. 

Successful aging in rural Alaska communities has been established as a characteristic best described by reaching “Eldership,” conveying reverence and respect from the community and implying leadership responsibilities. Most Alaska Native (AN) Elders believe that aging successfully or aging well happens within their home communities. However, limited rural resources lead Elders to relocate to urban settings. While protective factors supporting aging well in rural communities have been established, little is known about which factors support aging well after relocation to an urban setting. This exploratory, qualitative, community-based participatory research study explored AN Elder’s (ages 48–84) experiences comparing successful aging within four rural Alaska communities and of Elders who relocated from a rural to an urban community. Thirteen rural-based Elders and 12 urban-based Elders semi-structured interviews were compared to explore how successful aging was experienced similarly and differently in rural and urban settings. To age well in urban Alaska, access to health care services, family, and community engagement were essential. The main challenges for urban Elders involved establishing a sense of community, intergenerational involvement, and the ability to continue traditional ways of living. This research identified challenges, similarities, and differences in aging well in an urban community. The findings of this study inform practices, services, and policies to improve existing urban services and initiate needed urban services to foster successful aging after relocation from remote rural areas into urban communities in Alaska. 

Indigenous research posits that practice-based evidence is fundamental to culturally grounded, multifaceted methods. The objective is to outline the key tenets and characteristics of Elder-centered research and relevant methodology using an interconnected progression of Alaska Native studies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Alaska Native Elders, 21 Alaska Native caregivers, and 12 Alaska Native and non-Native caregivers in two studies exploring cultural understandings of memory and successful aging. The design and implementation of these studies employed Elders at every level, ensuring cultural relevance, outcomes, and dissemination. Results reflect the benefits of engaging Alaska Native Elders in research and reveal methods for best practices: (a) creating advisory councils, (b) identifying stakeholders, (c) weaving together Elder and western knowledge systems, and (d) the reciprocal nature of Elder engagement and well-being. This research centers Indigenous values and research for an Elder-centered methodology that encourages engagement of older adults in applicable, meaningful, restorative, and enculturated ways. 

Since time immemorial Alaska Natives (AN) lived and aged well, yet today they experience high rates of illness and lower access to care because of colonisation. Aand this research explores successful ageing from an AN perspective or what it means to achieve “Eldership” in the rural Northwest Alaska. A community-based participatory research approach was used to engage participants at every stage of the research process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 AN men and 25 women and the interviews were professionally transcribed. Kleinman’s explanatory model served as the foundation of the questionnaire to gain a sense of the beliefs about ageing and guide the thematic analysis to establish an AN understanding of successful ageing. The foundation of the Norton Sound southern sub-region Model of Successful Ageing is the reciprocal relationship between Elders and family which enables Elders to access meaningful activities, including Native ways of life, physical health, spirituality, and emotional well-being. Community-based interventions should foster opportunities for Elders to share their Native way of life alongside family and community members, which will enable them to remain physically active, maintain healthy emotional well-being, continue engaging in spiritual practices, and contribute to the health and well-being of families. 

“Generativity” represents an important stage of human development, when you share your knowledge and skills with younger people to pass on your legacy. Very little research has been conducted with Indigenous populations regarding their understanding of generativity and its role in well-being and mental health, but Indigenous Peoples refer to this as caring for the future or Seventh Generation. Indigenous Peoples engage in generative behaviors and act to preserve the history and culture of their community to ensure that youth can lead healthy lives, which is in direct contrast to Western understanding and reasons for being generative. Throughout our lives, we engage in healthy and unhealthy behaviors, which may or may not contribute to a healthy identity; this chapter discusses four cultural factors, or Indigenous cultural generative acts, used by Alaska Native Elders both to achieve sobriety and to fill the role of an Elder in their family and community. Also discussed is how these cultural factors can be used to guide the development of culture-specific mental health treatment approaches, and more broadly, prevention strategies for all ages. This intergenerational healing can result in pride and improved mental health for Indigenous Peoples of all ages. 

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities experience notable health disparities associated with substance use, including disproportionate rates of accidents/injuries, diabetes, liver disease, suicide, and substance use disorders. Effective treatments for substance use are needed to improve health equity for AI/ AN communities. However, an unfortunate history of unethical and stigmatizing research has engendered distrust and reluctance to participate in research among many Native communities. In recent years, researchers have made progress toward engaging in ethical health disparities research by using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework to work in close partnership with community members throughout the research process. In this methodological process paper, we discuss the collaborative development of a quantitative survey aimed at understanding risk and protective factors for substance use among a sample of tribal members residing on a rural AI reservation with numerous systems-level barriers to recovery and limited access to treatment. By using a CBPR approach and prioritizing trust and transparency with community partners and participants, we were able to successfully recruit our target sample and collect quality data from nearly 200 tribal members who self-identified as having a substance use problem. Strategies for enhancing buy-in and recruiting a community sample are discussed. 

Physical activity is widely considered to be a significant contributing factor to how “successfully” one ages. There are, however, certain groups whose voices have not been widely heard in discussions around physical activity and aging, particularly those from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this research, we explored how Alaska Native Elders perceive the role of physical activity as they age and its contribution to successful aging. Based on semi-structured interviews with 41 Elders, the results show that engaging in physical activity was not just seen as a personal responsibility to maintain health and age successfully, but also as a way to resist Western society’s dominant view of older adults as deteriorating and declining by being physically active regardless of age; to improve or maintain their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health; and/or to enable them to continue participating in subsistence activities that are rooted in their culture and traditional roles as Elders.