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P-SAMISK-Program for samisk forskning

Coming of age in indigenous communities: Ageing, quality of life and home-based elderly care in Sápmi and Atayal region (Taiwan)

Alternative title: Aldring og omsorg i urfolkssamfunn -en komparativ studie fra Sápmi og Atayal in Taiwan

Awarded: NOK 5.7 mill.

We live in a world with an ageing population. Too often we are taught to believe that ageing is something negative. Indeed, in economic and demographic research, it has been argued that a “silver tsunami is coming”, implying that older people are a burden on society. Within Indigenous worldviews, however, this project has taught us that ageing is conceptualized not as ‘degradation’, but rather as an important part of the circle of life, that ageing is more than a loss of physical and cognitive functions; It is also an enrichment. Accordingly, in Indigenous communities such as in Sámi and Tayal communities, Elders are viewed as important conveyors of knowledge, wisdom of life, language and culture to the younger generations, e.g. related to farming, fishing, picking mushrooms and wild berries, trapping, traditional handicrafts or animal herding. In the research project, we have interviewed 42 Elders, 24 women and 18 men, were interviewed in 2019 and 2020. The participants were between 65 and 92 years of age at the time of our encounter, and lived in inland plains, rural towns and coastal villages in Finnmark, mountain areas of Mid-Norway, as well as in the river valleys of Taranan, north Tayal territory in Taiwan. We have also interviewed 13 migrant live-in careers and 10 family careers / employers in Tayal communities, as well as 14 healthcare providers in the South Sámi context. In addition, a PhD student and the Master Students affiliated to our project have done some additional data collection. In total, 8 scientific articles, a photobook, a digital photo exposition, a web page and two master theses have been published so far. In addition, four scientific articles are in review, and even more are in progress. For instance, we have published an article about Hmali’, Rgyax and Gaga – exploring how Tayal Elders reclaim their Indigenous identities in Taiwan (AlterNative – International J of Indigenous Peoples), we have published an article about photostories on well-being from the South Sámi context (International J of Circumpolar Health), an article about experiences and expectations related to care services from the South Sámi context (International J of Circumpolar Health), an article about coping strategies of migrant live-in carers living and working in the Tayal context (Journal of Gerontological Social Work), relationships between migrant live-in carers and employers in Taiwan (Global Qualitative Nursing Research), an article analyzing the care needs of (mobile) older Sámi involved in reindeer herding (Reindriftssamer har pleie- og omsorgsbehov i to kommuner) published in Sykepleien / Nursing; and in addition a couple of articles on challenges related to spousal care and couplehood among partners experiencing that one of them develops dementia while living at home in rural parts of Norway and in Iceland was registered on this project, since being of relevance for the themes of ageing and well-being in rural contexts (published in Scand J of Caring Sciences). Several other articles are currently in review and in progress, and in total, we expect this project to publish at least 16 scientific articles. In our photobook, one or two photo stories by each of our participants are presented. The stories from the North Sámi territory are provided in North Sámi, Norwegian and English languages; the stories from the South Sámi territory are provided in South Sámi, Norwegian and English, and the stories from the north Tayal territory are provided in Tayal, Mandarin Chinese and English. The stories are about love, joy, worries, resilience and resistance. The main overall message in this research project is that relationships are pivotal for the well-being of the participants, both relationships to significant landscapes or territories, to significant others including family and other community members, to traditional activities and to animals. We would also like to highlight that our findings indicate that most of the participants in this study in various ways experience the long-term effects of colonization, as illustrated in e.g. our first article from the Tayal context recently published in AlterNative, as well as in our article from the South Sámi context that will be published later this fall in Journal of Peace Education. The knowledge and perspectives conveyed through the various contributions and publications coming out of this project are important a) to enhance the majority or settler culture’s understanding of what it means to be an older person of Indigenous (and minority) background, and 2) to foster more culturally sensitive (health)care services, and more generally, a more equal and just society in Norway, Taiwan and beyond.

The main overall message in this research project is that relationships are pivotal for the well-being of the participants, both relationships to significant landscapes or territories, to significant others including family and other community members, to traditional activities and to animals. We would also like to highlight that our findings indicate that most of the participants in this study in various ways experience the long-term effects of colonization. The knowledge and perspectives conveyed through the various contributions and publications coming out of this project are important a) to enhance the majority or settler culture’s understanding of what it means to be an older person of Indigenous (and minority) background, and 2) to foster more culturally sensitive (health)care services, and more generally, a more equal and just society in Norway, Taiwan and beyond.

This project examines ageing, quality of life, and home-based elderly care among two indigenous peoples: Sámi in Norway and Atayal in Taiwan. With a team of Sámi and Atayal researchers together with ‘allied others’ we will use various qualitative methodologies and by means of comparative analysis, we will address the colonial / imperial impact on Sámi and Atayal communities regarding how they deal with ageing and elderly care. In particular, we will entangle what counts as home-based care; who provides home-based care, and examine the interrelations between home-based care and well-being among different older women and men in these two very different cultural and geographical contexts. We will also study the social and cultural roles of elderly women and men, and contribute to cultural exchange between older Sámis and older Atayal people. In addition to home visits and in-depth interviews, we will use the photovoice methodology. This entails that some of the older participants and their next of kin are provided with a camera, and asked to take photos during a certain period about themes such as ageing, quality of life and home-based care. A travelling Photo Exposition will be made and showed in both Sapmi and in Atayal communities. This study will disclose various gendered and generational expectations and experiences of ageing, caring and quality of life in an indigenous perspective, as well as entanglements of (in)dependency that may follow thereof in specific Sámi and Atayal communities. Using the landscape of care framework will allow us to understand how cultural and spatial aspects of care, related to e.g. family networks, cohabitation patterns, distance and climate, as well as a colonial past, may shape the well-being of elderly indigenous women and men in their everyday lives.

Publications from Cristin

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P-SAMISK-Program for samisk forskning