Aboriginal Elder Abuse in Canada

The focus of this study is to examine and define the issue of elder abuse in the Aboriginal population in Canada. In this context, the term ‘elder’ will refer to Aboriginal persons who are fifty-five years of age or older as opposed to 65 years of age, which is Canada’s guideline to determine an older person or senior. This term should not be mistaken with ‘Elder,’ which is often used in the Aboriginal milieu to describe cultural and spiritual guides who “have gifts of insight and understanding, as well as communication skills to pass on the collective wisdom of generations that have gone before” and who are frequently referred to as, “the Old Ones, the Wise Ones, Grandmothers and Grandfathers and, in the Métis Nation, Senators” (RCAP, 1996a). ‘Elder’ is capitalized when used to indicate honour or a title. It is not capitalized when it is used to mean senior (Health Canada, 1998). Therefore, not all older people or seniors are deemed to be an Elder as defined above and, furthermore, some Elders can be quite young in terms of age (RCAP, 1996a; McCloskey, 1998). The title of Elder is awarded to a person who is seen as being worthy of such a title. In some First Nations, an Elder can be a Chief or a Clan Mother and, thus, be both the spiritual as well as the political representative of the people (McCloskey, 1998).