Honoring Elders: Native American Traditions vs. Modern America’s Treatment of Seniors

Native American cultures have long honored elders as living libraries of wisdom, not burdens to be managed. From Lakota and Navajo families to Cherokee, Haudenosaunee, and Inuit communities, elders traditionally stay at the center of family, story, and ceremony. This long‑form HastingsNow.com feature contrasts those sacred traditions with how modern America often treats seniors—through nursing homes, insurance bureaucracy, lonely hospital rooms, and expensive funerals.

For readers in Hastings, Minnesota, the article asks a direct question: what would it look like if Dakota and Ojibwe values of respect, reciprocity, and intergenerational care shaped how we treat our own elders? You’ll learn how Indigenous cultures integrate elders into daily life, how the U.S. system isolates and monetizes aging, and what practical steps families, churches, schools, and civic leaders in Hastings can take to bring elders back to the heart of community life.