The specific aim of this focused ethnography is to provide insight into the experience of aging of the American Indian (AI) elder as demonstrated by one tribe, the Zuni of New Mexico. The Zuni have approximately 600 elders over the age of 60 on the reservation. Discovering how Zuni elders construct the experience of aging and the associated behaviors will allow the researcher to deconstruct aging and then re-present a cogent description for this population. Such a description is lacking in the literature and would be useful in planning for culturally relevant eldercare services. The proposed study builds upon a year-long relationship that has been established between the Principal Investigator (PI) and the Zuni tribe. This study on aging will incorporate a qualitative, ethnographic design, using participant observation techniques and fieldwork to gather data. Fieldwork will begin with a period of one month of continuous presence at the site, during which data collection will begin. Following this period, five additional monthly visits will occur lasting from 3 to 7 days each. Ethnographic interviews, artifacts, archives and field notes will provide some of the data for analysis. One to two hour interviews will be conducted with 15 - 25 AI elders. Analysis will follow ethnographic methods. Themes and variations of themes will be discovered, categorized and ultimately used to reconstruct, contextualize, and understand the aggregate view of aging in the Zuni elder. The data will be analyzed to re-present the Zuni elders' experiences and behaviors associated with aging for a fuller understanding from within this group. This proposal represents the first step in the PI's research program. The objectives of her program of research are to: 1) provide insight into the experiences of aging in the Zuni, 2) use this information to contextualize the associated behaviors seen in the daily choices and lives of the elder, and thereby 3) discern the nature of barriers and or catalysts to seeking services and 4) use this process and the information gained to begin to increase acceptable, cultural- and age-specific services for all AI elders.
