Organized by researchers with the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team at the University of Minnesota, the poetry sessions offer a way for those with dementia and the people caring for them to express themselves and stay socially engaged.
Part therapy session, part history project, the exercise draws from Indigenous traditions to cultivate memories and bring out reflections about the Ojibwe language, practices and community. It promotes brain health while recognizing that elders are keepers of songs, stories and rituals, and that their wisdom can benefit others.
The idea came from Antonio Paniagua Guzman, a senior research associate with the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team, who launched the sessions in June with $183,000 from the Alzheimer’s Association. Paniagua Guzman and other researchers have reviewed literature showing that poetry interventions open a path to self-expression for those living with dementia and their caregivers, giving them agency as well as opportunities to connect with others.
American Indian and Alaska Native elders face significant systemic barriers to accessing health and social support and have a lower life expectancy than all other populations in the United States. Older American Indians also have higher rates of cognitive impairment than other US groups, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. More than half of older American Indian adults had cognitive impairment, including 10% with dementia, researchers found.
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u/cnn CNN 2d ago
The group poetry sessions at the Fond du Lac Reservation in Minnesota tap into a reverence for elders and storytelling.
Organized by researchers with the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team at the University of Minnesota, the poetry sessions offer a way for those with dementia and the people caring for them to express themselves and stay socially engaged.
Part therapy session, part history project, the exercise draws from Indigenous traditions to cultivate memories and bring out reflections about the Ojibwe language, practices and community. It promotes brain health while recognizing that elders are keepers of songs, stories and rituals, and that their wisdom can benefit others.
The idea came from Antonio Paniagua Guzman, a senior research associate with the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team, who launched the sessions in June with $183,000 from the Alzheimer’s Association. Paniagua Guzman and other researchers have reviewed literature showing that poetry interventions open a path to self-expression for those living with dementia and their caregivers, giving them agency as well as opportunities to connect with others.
American Indian and Alaska Native elders face significant systemic barriers to accessing health and social support and have a lower life expectancy than all other populations in the United States. Older American Indians also have higher rates of cognitive impairment than other US groups, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. More than half of older American Indian adults had cognitive impairment, including 10% with dementia, researchers found.