Elders

"It is my hope, and the hope of the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, that this publication can help provide the historical context needed to intelligently and respectfully forge new relations between First Nations people and non-Aboriginal people in the province of Saskatchewan. It has already done so, in part, by facilitating the work of our office in bringing together the parties of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and Canada to reach common understandings and to use the Treaties as a bridge from the past to the future ... so that we can learn from the past and work together towards a future built on co-operation and mutual respect." Judge David M. Arnot, Treaty Commissioner for Saskatchewan"We were told that these treaties were to last forever. The government and the government officials, the Commissioner, told us that, as long as the grass grows, and the sun rises from the east and sets in the west, and the river flows, these treaties will last." Treaty 6 Elder Alma Kytwayhat"We say it's our Father; the White man says "our Father" in his language, so from there we should understand that he becomes our brother and we have to live harmoniously with him. There should not be any conflict, we must uphold the word 'witaskewin,' which means to live in peace and harmony with one another." Elder Jacob Bill

Effective leadership is important. Nowhere is this more true than in the church. Jeramie Rinne offers readers a concise overview of the Bible's teaching on spiritual leadership, setting forth an easy-to-understand "job description" for elders that is focused on enabling pastors and church leaders to effectively shepherd their congregations. Giving practical guidance to new elders and helping church members better understand and support their spiritual leaders, this conversational book emphasizes purposeful ministry rather than project management. It will also bolster leaders' confidence by encouraging them to embrace their pastoral calling with grace, wisdom, and a clarity of vision.

Isla continues her search for her missing brother with Haiki, a friendly fox who helps her navigate the treacherous Wildlands, and together they seek out the Elders, from whom they hope to learn ancient art of foxcraft.

Like many Native Americans, Ojibwe people esteem the wisdom, authority, and religious significance of old age, but this respect does not come easily or naturally. It is the fruit of hard work, rooted in narrative traditions, moral vision, and ritualized practices of decorum that are comparable in sophistication to those of Confucianism. Even as the dispossession and policies of assimilation have threatened Ojibwe peoplehood and have targeted the traditions and the elders who embody it, Ojibwe and other Anishinaabe communities have been resolute and resourceful in their disciplined respect for elders. Indeed, the challenges of colonization have served to accentuate eldership in new ways. Using archival and ethnographic research, Michael D. McNally follows the making of Ojibwe eldership, showing that deference to older women and men is part of a fuller moral, aesthetic, and cosmological vision connected to the ongoing circle of life a tradition of authority that has been crucial to surviving colonization. McNally argues that the tradition of authority and the authority of tradition frame a decidedly indigenous dialectic, eluding analytic frameworks of invented tradition and naïve continuity. Demonstrating the rich possibilities of treating age as a category of analysis, McNally provocatively asserts that the elder belongs alongside the priest, prophet, sage, and other key figures in the study of religion.

An in-depth, meticulously documented exploration of the ecological wisdom of Native Peoples from around the world Arranged thematically, Wisdom of the Elders contains sacred stories and traditions on the interrelationships between humans and the environment as well as perspectives from modern science, which more often than not validate the sacred, ancient Wisdom of the Elders. Native peoples and environments discussed range from the Inuit Arctic and the Native Americans of the Northwest coast, the Sioux of the Plains, and the Pueblo, Hopi, and Navajo of the Southwest to the Australian Outback, to the rich, fecund tropics of Africa, Malaysia, and the Amazon. “Our technological civilization is speeding toward a violent collision with nature, and we are threatening the ability of the Earth—our home—to support life as we know it. Suzuki and Knudtson’s extraordinary work powerfully reminds us that we are indeed one with the Earth. We are truly indebted to them for charting for us the course toward a healthy and sustaining relationship with our planet.”—Vice President Al Gore

A glorious debut that T.C. Boyle calls "powerful and deeply moving" that follows two young Mormon missionaries in Brazil and their tense, peculiar friendship. Elder McLeod--outspoken, surly, a brash American--is nearing the end of his mission in Brazil. For nearly two years he has spent his days studying the Bible and the Book of Mormon, knocking on doors, teaching missionary lessons--"experimenting on the word." His new partner is Elder Passos, a devout, ambitious Brazilian who found salvation and solace in the church after his mother's early death. The two men are at first suspicious of each other, and their work together is frustrating, fruitless. That changes when a beautiful woman and her husband offer the missionaries a chance to be heard, to put all of their practice to good use, to test the mettle of their faith. But before they can bring the couple to baptism, they must confront their own long-held beliefs and doubts, and the simmering tensions at the heart of their friendship. A novel of unsparing honesty and beauty, Elders announces Ryan McIlvain as a writer of enormous talent.

This book explores the unique group of elders, ages fifty-five and older, who practice some form of consensual nonmonogamy. It covers both the joys and challenges of multiple relationships for elders and explores how their relationships develop and evolve. Polyamorous elders have the complexities of juggling multiple relationships, as well as navigating all the issues of aging: managing medical conditions and disabilities (their own and/or their partners’); assuming caregiving responsibilities for aging relatives; grieving the deaths of parents, siblings, and partners; retiring from careers and starting new lives; and potentially moving into some form of senior living. Drawing from her extensive clinical and personal experience working with this population, Kathy Labriola provides anecdotes from polyamorous elders’ lives, including the constellation of relationships surrounding each individual, couple, or triad. This guide will help health care and mental health clinicians, researchers, and professionals, as well as polyamorous elders and their loved ones, better understand the concerns and diverse lifestyles of this population to better represent and support them.