Elders from more than seven tribes from around the state — including Muscogee, Sac and Fox, Kickapoo and Chickasaw — competed in sporting activities, like minigolf and hoops at the third annual Absentee Shawnee Tribe Elder Olympics near the tribe's headquarters in central Oklahoma.
But the largest competition centered around chair volleyball, which pits groups of six seated while hitting a beach ball across a five-foot net in a miniature volleyball court.
Teams from the different tribes competed in a four-hour tournament, but only one team came out on top: Glenpool, a Muscogee team from northeast Oklahoma. It reigned undefeated throughout the day.
The team has been playing once a week for three years, according to its members.
Glenpool leader Paul Tecumseh said it's about more than competition. It's a way to get elders moving and socializing.
"I love playing the game and I just get excited about it," Tecumseh said. "It's going to go a long ways because people really like it. You get to laugh, (have) fun and have a good time just like today … We get to meet new people, new tribes."
Glenpool member Pam Harjo said teammates have grown close and look after each other.
"Our team is like family and we have other elders that come out and play with us as well, and we don't turn nobody away," Harjo said.
Raising awareness about elder abuse
The event also prioritized talking about elder abuse, discussing what goes into it and how it plays out. That included learning about statistics. According to the National Council on Aging, 10% of senior Americans experience abuse.
Monique Carpitcher, Absentee Shawnee cultural outreach coordinator and elder advocate, coordinated the event. She said the issue comes in many forms, including physical, emotional or financial varieties. Sometimes, she said elders might not recognize when they're being abused.
"They don't think they're being abused because it's your family, it's your friends, it's your immediate relationships that are taking advantage of you," Carpitcher said.
Carpitcher said taking advantage of elders' financially is one example.
"Cultural-wise grandparents tend to think, 'Oh, well, I'm taking care of my kids.' Well, their parents leaving them at your house all the time and not helping you replenish your own food or expecting you to come pick them up and use all your gas, running up your utility bills, that's taking advantage of the elder," Carpitcher said.
Research from the Nation Resource Center on Native American Aging found that 29% of Native elders took care of their grandchildren, and 10% were primary caregivers. Out of those looking after their grandchildren, 12.8% had an annual income of less than $5,000.
The point of the Elder Olympics, Carpitcher said, was also to get elders out of isolation or homes where they might be abused.
"Whenever they don't feel like they're being seen or heard, that ends up placing them in a position where they lean on companionship that is either abusive or not in their best interest," Carpitcher said. "So this got them out of that isolation."
How economic factors play into elder isolation
Kickapoo citizen Carolyn Hanratanagorn attended the event for the first time this year. She said that isolation is also a symptom of economic strain.
Hanratanagorn is the chair of the Kickapoo Elder's Council, a committee she's been on for more than 20 years. She said when she started, between 15 and 25 members would attend meetings. Now, she said she rarely sees more than seven per meeting due to economic problems.
"A lot of our Native people are struggling with (the) economy, and so a lot of them have to work part time, and a lot of them have to help their children," Hanratanagorn said. "This gives them the opportunity to have a vehicle to come out here, to mingle and talk with people … they can come out and connect with everybody and talk with what they want to talk about, instead of talking with grandchildren or your kids."
But economic conditions also put into question whether the Elder Olympics can continue.
Carpitcher said the event is largely funded by a Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime grant. The Absentee Shawnee Tribe saw money from that grant cut in half, according to Carpitcher.
"There is a huge risk right now because of federal funding being cut," Carpitcher said. "So now I'm concerned about how am I going to continue to fund this program with the federal funding diminishing every year? Each year, I'm losing about $100,000."
And this comes as the average population in the United States grows older. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the share of citizens aged 65 or older has grown by 6% in the past 20 years.
This will prove to be a problem, Carpitcher said.
"The population of elders is about to increase a lot more than where we currently stand," Carpitcher said. "It's going to become a prevalent issue that we're going to have to address a lot sooner than later."
As the population continues to rise, Carpitcher said she hopes tribes continue to invest in their elders.
"If I had to have a dream come true out of all the work I do, I would hope that it would inspire tribal officials to consider doing tribally run elder centers or nursing homes for our communities," Carpitcher said. "I feel like with the cultural sensitivity that we have, we are just a lot more more nurturing towards our elders and do a more holistic approach to taking care of them versus them just being a body and a number inside of a building."
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
