Indigenous Aging
Since 2021, the Trent Centre for Aging & Society has put a focus on sharing research that highlights the experiences, opportunities, and challenges of Indigenous aging. Through this, TCAS has developed an ongoing partnership with the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies to bring Indigenous scholars to Trent. Check out some of the past events on Indigenous aging!
Past Events
The Indigenous Elsewhere of Aging: Elder Epistemologies for Decolonial Futures
The 2022 Stephen Katz Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies was held on Thursday October 6th in the Gathering Space at Trent University. In her public lecture Dr. Sandy Grande (University of Connecticut) reimagined global aging as a site of possibility; as a conceptual opening for rethinking the central dichotomies and contradictions of contemporary society built on the exigencies of capital and settler hegemony: the centrality of work to existence; of economic growth to production; of age to declining yield, and ultimately of life beyond the productivist logics of capital. In so doing, she considered how the lives, knowledge and care of Indigenous Elders help to structure conditions for societal renewal. Her central claim was that Elder epistemologies will become increasingly important as we work collectively to create new possibilities for anti-racist and decolonial futures.
Watch the lecture here!
Indigenous Insights: Aging with Grace (Elders Gathering Pre-Conference Event)
In February 2022, the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies in collaboration with TCAS held the Elders Gathering pre-conference event, "Aging with Grace." The event featured keynote speaker Cliff Whetung from Curve Lake First Nation, followed by panelists, Professor Emeritus Shirley Williams, Dan Longboat, and Janette Corston to discuss their experiences combined with Cliff's research.
Watch the panel here!
Aging & Society Seminar Series: Decolonizing Dementia
The 2021 Aging & Society Seminar Series, in partnership with the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies featured a talk by Cliff Whetung, a fourth year Ph.D. student at New York University's Silver School of Social Work. In his talk, Cliff discussed and critiqued existing research about Indigenous cognitive health and its connection to colonialist perspectives. He then considered tangible steps toward the equitable inclusion of Indigenous older adults in cognitive health research, policy, and intervention.
Watch the seminar here!
