Libraries on American Indian Reservations and how they could help elderly American Indians(Response to question #8 on page 186 of Novak):

On page 183 of his book, Novak discusses Baldridge's 2002 study that proves, in Novak's words,"that improvement of elders' conditions depend on improving conditions of Indian life in general." Baldridge goes on to say that "until tribes can generate sufficient revenues, or until federal and state governments provide better funding and access to programs, local improvement of these infrastructures is unlikely" (Baldridge, 265).  Programs to help improve the lives of elders could be held at the reservation's public library.  However this begs the question of how much funding is available for libraries located within the boundaries of the American Indian reservation.


According to the American Indian Library Association (AILA),"The U. S. government supports improved library services to Native Americans. Goals relating to libraries serving Native American communities include improving funding, providing training and technical assistance, increasing library holdings in all formats, supporting better technology, and developing cooperative arrangements and partnerships at the state and local level."  The extent of the support that the U. S. government provides remains to be seen.  The quality of life on Indian reservations is not known to be of high quality, and Novak's list of problems that face the American Indian community includes: "low incomes, poor-quality housing, lack of transportation, and poor health care affect the old as well as the young" (183).  It seems logical, then, that if the U. S. government is providing money to support the various Native American reservations, and the tribes that live on them, it would go to problems such as poor health care before it would go to the reservation's local library.  This is a shame, because libraries could provide community programs that would help both the old and the young, and provide them with information that they were without access to beforehand.  But a library is only as good as the funding it it provided with, and  with limited funds, such community programs and newer technology more than likely do not exist.


In his novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, proud American Indian author leaves us with this piece of wisdom though the protagonist of the novel, Arnold, a teenage boy who lives on Native American reservation in Spokane, Washington: “I suddenly understood that if every moment of a book should be taken seriously, then every moment of a life should be taken seriously as well"(Alexie, 95).


Every moment in the lives of American Indian elders, especially, should be taken seriously.  According to Novak, high rates of preventable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer (due to heavy smoking), and liver disease (due to heavy drinking) plague the elderly community of Native American reservations due to low quality of life.  If money could be given to help support local, tribal, libraries, perhaps, in a small way, it would help to improve the quality of life for not only elders, but everyone else.


The AILA shares this link on their website with ways that the public can help American Indian Libraries, and so I will leave you with that:


http://www.ailanet.org/activities/supportTribalLibs_tipsheet.pdf


Sources:



Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.

Baldridge, D. (2002). Indian elders. In D. L. Infeld (Ed.), Disciplinary approaches to aging: Vol. 4, 
          Anthropology of aging (pp. 255-267).  New York: Routledge.


Novak, M. (2008). Issues in aging. (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.