Views of Older Native American Adults in Colonial New England

Abstract

This study examines the perceptions and treatment of older Native American adults in colonial New England (1620-1783). Social scientists have found that varying degrees of persistence and change have historically characterized Indian attitudes toward older adults in communities located in the central and western United States. In regards to northeastern North America, historians have learned that, during the colonial period, older Europeans dealt with a variety of attitudes and experiences. This study examines how English colonists and Indians viewed and treated older Native American adults in part of northeastern North America. Available documents show that while indigenous persons valued and respected older adults before and throughout the colonial period, English colonists, particularly among the clergy, held more mixed views of older Native Americans, including notions that they were frail and stubborn.

The conceptualization of mistreatment by older American Indians

“…The elder, who historically in most Native cultures would properly be “front and center” in terms of leadership, the passing down of tribal culture and knowledge, and the socialization of the next generation (Anderson, 2001; Eden & Eden, 2010; McNally, 2009; Weibel-Orlando, 1989), is presented here as being relegated to the sidelines—essentially, not in his/her rightful place. To add insult to injury, the elder’s hard-won wisdom goes unacknowledged and the elder does not obtain the respect that he/she “deserves” from the family.…”