Thank you to everyone who attended the National Indian Council on Aging’s (NICOA) recent American Indian Elders Conference in Cherokee, North Carolina. To view photos and videos from the 2023 conference, click here.
Our next conference will be held in Durant, Oklahoma in 2025. We look forward to seeing you again!
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Every two years NICOA’s American Indian Elders Conference welcomes Native elders, stakeholders, elected tribal representatives, government agencies and aging network providers from all over the country.
NICOA’s conference is the only national conference in the country focusing exclusively on the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native elders. It serves as a national forum for Native elders from across the country to come together to meet and receive updated information on aging in Indian Country.
The conference consists of educational presentations from tribal, state and federal organizations as well as a diverse network of aging service partners with experience in providing services to Native elders, who provide information and updates on aging services, health care, civic engagement and economic development in Indian Country. Workshop sessions include caregiver support, elder abuse prevention, health, nutrition, transportation, disease prevention, long-term services and supports, employment and training, financial assistance and more. Keynote speakers from federal, state and tribal programs and agencies provide program updates and listen to the aging needs of American Indian and Alaska Native elders.
Our biennial conference is the place where elders can educate and recommend solutions to policymakers to help improve aging services across Indian Country. NICOA’s American Indian Elders Conference offers the opportunity to elevate issues in American Indian politics and legislation, as well as focus on issues such as health, safety, financial management, elder abuse, caregiving, employment, retirement and the Older Americans Act.
Our conference offers voting members the chance to actively participate in regional caucus sessions representing each of the 12 NICOA regions, participate in the election of board members, submit aging-specific resolutions, revise bylaws and develop collective aging policy agendas for NICOA to advocate in Washington, D.C. Members submit resolutions which are presented and voted on by all members attending our biennial conference. Approved resolutions are then passed on to the National Congress of American Indians for presentation to the appropriate federal government agencies.
The conference is the elders’ forum; the place to voice concerns, provide recommendations on policies that are important to Native elders, and to receive up-to-date information and resources to help elders age at home and in their own communities.
