Not traditional, not assimilated: elderly American Indians and the notion of 'cohort'

In this article, a Native Americanist anthropologist whose research focuses on elders, and a gerontologist who specializes in American Indians, draw on their respective studies--the former primarily quantitative and the latter primarily qualitative--to illuminate the nature of ethnic identity among American Indian elderly. The regional focus is the Upper Great Lakes (primarily Michigan) and the tribal/cultural group under consideration is the Anishinaabeg (Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi). The analysis is centered on a key concept--cohort--considered by the authors to be crucial to the understanding of American Indian elderly. In addition to integrating quantitative and qualitative findings, an historical framework is utilized to assist in interpreting the results. It is suggested that Anishinaabe elders, despite some superficial appearances to the contrary, are by no means fully assimilated into mainstream American culture; their ethnic identity is not necessarily stereotypically 'traditional,' but it is nonetheless quintessentially American Indian. Researchers will be better able to appreciate such subtleties by taking into consideration the ways in which various stages in the life course intersect with specific historical periods (cohort), as well as by drawing on both qualitative and quantitative studies in pursuing their investigations.