“Someday, I'll be an ancestor:” Understanding indigenous intergenerational connectedness through qualitative research to inform measure development
Abstract
Intergenerational connectedness broadly encompasses relations among humans, lands, and all living and spiritual beings, and functions as an important part of Indigenous well-being. Many public health campaigns and interventions aim to promote connectedness to support holistic wellness and reduce health inequities. Currently, however, there are no measurement tools to assess intergenerational connectedness to support culturally grounded research and program evaluation. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand and describe Indigenous intergenerational connectedness as part of a larger community-based participatory research study to develop a measure of Indigenous intergenerational connectedness. We convened a community advisory board and an Indigenous measurement development group to steer the project. We conducted N = 23 interviews with 21 Indigenous participants to learn about intergenerational connectedness. An inductive, thematic analysis yielded three primary themes: (1) dimensions of intergenerational connectedness, (2) facilitators of intergenerational connectedness, and (3) qualities and outcomes of intergenerational connectedness. These findings highlight the profound importance of intergenerational connectedness for Indigenous communities and its role in promoting health, mental health, and well-being. This study adds to the growing field of American Indian/Alaska Native strengths-based public health and mental health research promoting Indigenous values, worldviews, cosmologies, and epistemologies to promote healthy, thriving Indigenous communities.
Highlights
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We convened two Indigenous advisory boards to guide this study of intergenerational connectedness.
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We interviewed Indigenous community members to describe intergenerational connectedness.
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Three key themes emerged: dimensions, facilitators, & qualities of intergenerational connectedness.
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Study findings will be used to develop an Indigenous intergenerational connectedness measure.
INTRODUCTION
Across the United States (US) and the globe, Indigenous communities are highly diverse, yet many share values and practices that promote connection with our human relatives across generations, or what we will refer to as intergenerational connectedness. Intergenerational connectedness encompasses cultural values and beliefs that instill awareness of being part of a continuous history—that Indigenous individuals, families, and communities today have a deep connection to past ancestors and future generations (Ullrich, 2019). A Cherokee Nation teaching exemplifies this: “We acknowledge our connections to the past through our ancestors' spirits and our responsibilities to the future through those who have not yet come into this world” (Smith, 2021). Other Tribal communities recognize and honor seven generations: three generations before oneself, one's own generation, and three generations ahead (Hausdoerffer et al., 2021).
Notably, intergenerational connectedness is not solely about human connections but also about relationality between human relatives, lands, waters, plants, animals, and all living and spiritual beings (Mohatt et al., 2011; Ullrich, 2019). Previous scholars have developed frameworks and measures (e.g., Antonio et al., 2023; Mohatt et al., 2011; Ullrich, 2019) around Indigenous holistic connectedness. The Indigenous Connectedness Framework was developed through a literature review and content analysis to conceptualize well-being of Indigenous children (Ullrich, 2019). This framework includes five domains of connection, including family, community, environment, other generations, and spirituality; each domain is characterized by mechanisms that strengthen that area of connection. Specific to intergenerational connection, mechanisms include Indigenous languages, an individual's place in a continuous history, being aware of intergenerational trauma, a sense of responsibility for future generations, learning and transmitting teachings to younger generations, participating in cultural activities and in the community, and knowledge of family ancestry (Ullrich, 2019). Overall, the Indigenous Connectedness Framework demonstrates a reciprocal relationship between child well-being and collective well-being (Ullrich, 2019). The Awareness of Connectedness Scale was developed with Alaska Native youth to assess their connection to self, family, community, and the environment and to measure this sense of connectedness as a cultural protective factor against substance use (Mohatt et al., 2011). Another measure, the ‘Āina Connectedness Scale, assesses the degree to which Native Hawaiians feel a connection to ‘Āina (“land, nature, environment, that which feeds”) and was developed through research with Native Hawaiian community members and leaders (Antonio et al., 2023). According to Ullrich (2019), “it will take a community of researchers to modify, adapt and deepen our understanding of Indigenous connectedness and collective wellbeing” (p. 128). Here, we expand upon intergenerational connectedness among human relatives. Connection across past, present, and future generations facilitates the perpetual transmission of Indigenous knowledge and traditions and promotes well-being and flourishing, which can protect against the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism and historical trauma (Chandler & Lalonde, 1998; Gonzalez et al., 2023; Lewis et al., 2021; O'Keefe et al., 2022; Ullrich, 2019; Wexler, 2014). In addition, connection across generations provides a foundation for creating and promoting interventions that support healing within families and communities.
Given its importance to many Indigenous communities, intergenerational connectedness is increasingly a goal of public health campaigns and interventions to strengthen identity, promote health and wellness, and prevent mental health and behavioral health inequities such as suicide, substance misuse, and diabetes (Indian Health Service, 2019). For example, intergenerational connection between youth, adults, and Elders was emphasized as an important suicide prevention strategy among a group of urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth, adult, and Elder community members (Doria et al., 2021). Several other interventions aim to strengthen connections across generations to promote well-being and prevent alcohol misuse, suicide, and type 2 diabetes among AI/AN youth and adults (e.g., Gone, 2021a; Rasmus et al., 2014; Walls et al., 2022).
While intergenerational connectedness is valued within AI/AN communities and promoted by public health interventions, no measurement tools exist to capture this unique cultural construct. Valid and reliable measurement tools are necessary to conduct empirical research to identify and ameliorate health inequities, especially those faced by AI/AN peoples (Walls et al., 2019). Health inequities in AI/AN communities are compounded by limited research on measurement development with and for AI/AN communities and the limited validity and cultural relevance of existing measures (Gonzalez & Trickett, 2014; Walls et al., 2019). Indigenous scholars and communities continue to call for an increase in strengths-based health and mental health research, which requires strengths-based measures that align with Indigenous worldviews, values, and cultures and uplift Indigenous perspectives about health and well-being (Gonzalez et al., 2023; O'Keefe et al., 2023; Walls et al., 2019). Further, the broader field of mental health advocates for measurement-based care (Lewis et al., 2019), and the current and future work to develop an intergenerational connectedness measure advances this effort through culturally specific strengths-based measurement. This study responds to calls for strengths-based measures while contributing to the broader literature around culture as medicine, treatment, and healing by expanding our understanding of how domains and dimensions of Indigenous cultural strengths are conceptualized and operationalized (Gone, 2013, 2021b; Gonzalez et al., 2022; Kagawa-Singer et al., 2015; Masotti et al., 2023; Mohatt et al., 2011).
The present qualitative study is part of a larger parent community-based participatory research (CBPR) study to develop a measure of Indigenous intergenerational connectedness. The aim of the current study was to characterize and identify components of intergenerational connectedness using qualitative methods. These qualitative findings will inform the development of an Indigenous intergenerational connectedness measure.
METHODS
Study design and CBPR approach
This study utilized a CBPR orientation (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2011), and the research team convened two community partner groups: an Indigenous Measure Development Group (IMDG) and a Community Advisory Board (CAB), both of whom engaged iteratively in the research process. The IMDG included six AI/AN researchers recruited for their experience in Indigenous measure development and connectedness research. IMDG members participated in planning data collection, conducting qualitative interviews, and interpreting qualitative results. CAB members were purposively recruited to represent a range of personal and professional experiences with intergenerational connectedness. The CAB included four members representing five Tribal affiliations. The CAB informed data collection efforts and assisted in contextualizing and interpreting qualitative findings. We designed this study to include guidance and input from a variety of AI/AN peoples and researchers with the overarching goal of developing an Indigenous intergenerational connectedness measure that could be used across diverse AI/AN communities (e.g., urban, rural, reservation settings) in the US and Canada.
Research team positionality
The researchers collaborating on this project included six Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health (CIH) team members. The Principal Investigator (PI), author VMO, is a Cherokee Nation citizen and Seminole Nation member and Clinical Psychologist who has worked with AI/AN communities on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods mental health and public health research for 13 years. The PI committed to increasing Indigenous strengths-based research and conceptualized this project after hearing Tribal community partners express interest and desire for more Indigenous strengths-based measures for research and local program evaluation. The PI was involved in every project phase, including participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis.
Two Co-Investigators (Co-Is) provided overall support for project implementation, including participant recruitment and data collection. One Co-I is MLW. [Initials] is an Anishinaabe social scientist who works and lives remotely from the university on ceded Anishinaabe territory. She has collaborated with Indigenous communities for over two decades on various health equity research projects using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs and analytic approaches. She and collaborating community-based researchers have focused on conceptualizing and operationalizing cultural strengths and culturally relevant risk factors. Another Co-I, MBG, is a Lac Courte Oreilles Band member of Anishinaabe Peoples and uses research to promote Anishinaabe language, culture, and ceremony as foundational well-being practices. She has 7 years of research experience that includes leading qualitative projects and developing a cultural measure of health. A PhD candidate, author TLM, is a citizen of the Sault Ste Marie Nation of Chippewa Indians and has experience in mixed methods CBPR. TLM supported project implementation and participant recruitment and participated in data collection and analysis. The research coordinator, author FG, is a White woman with 4 years of experience working with AI/AN communities and qualitative research. She facilitated project implementation and managed participant incentives, data storage, and the IMDG and CAB meetings. The research assistant, author APK, is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation with shared ties from Santa Ana and Isleta Pueblo and supported data quality assurance and project coordination.
Participants
Recruitment
Participants were recruited for in-depth interviews (IDIs) via email and sampled purposively, informed by the IMDG and CAB, as well as the personal networks of the research team. Recruitment included snowball sampling by asking participants and networks to refer others who may be eligible and interested in participating. Eligible participants were at least age 16 years and identified as Indigenous (American Indian, Alaska Native, or First Nations). Due to the recruitment strategy, many interviewers had prior relationships with participants. However, interviewers ensured that all participants understood this was a voluntary opportunity and that other researchers from the team could conduct the interview based on a participant's preference and comfort level. Participants who completed an IDI received a $50 Visa gift card to honor and thank them for their time. It took two meetings to conduct the interviews for some participants due to time constraints; those participants received an additional $50 gift card for completing the second interview.
We obtained informed consent from all participants via a REDCap survey. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institutional Review Board approved the study (BSPH IRB; IRB #00022412; 11/17/2022). During the informed consent process, we asked participants if they would like their names attached to their quotes if/when their words might be shared while disseminating results. This practice aligns with Indigenous protocols of accountability and relationality. Being named for their contributions honors their knowledge and affords credence to understandings that exist outside of Western knowledge systems (Svalastog & Eriksson, 2010). We contacted participants who indicated they would like their names attached to quotes when disseminating results. We shared their quotes we planned to publish, details about the manuscript and journal, and asked them to re-confirm that they would like their name published with their quotes. All participants responded and re-affirmed their decision. Below in the results section, participant names appear next to their quotes, as requested.
Data collection
Seven interviewers trained in qualitative research and data collection conducted N = 23 IDIs with 21 participants (two participants completed their interviews on two separate occasions to accommodate participant schedules) between December 2022 and May 2023. Interviewers included four research team members (VMO, MLW, MBG, and TLM) and three members of the IMDG (MC, AF, and JSU), who received ethical approval from their respective academic institutions to conduct interviews as part of this project. Informed by previous research experience and literature on intergenerational connectedness, the research team developed a semi-structured interview guide collaboratively and iteratively. The interview guide included eight open-ended questions, each with multiple probes, and asked about connections across different types of generations. We conducted n = 19 interviews virtually via Zoom and n = 4 in person at private locations identified by the interviewer and participant. Following each interview, interviewers were encouraged to compose analytic memos to reflect on data collection processes, capture emerging insights, inform future data collection, and practice reflexivity (McGrath, 2021). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed by a third-party service, and deidentified for analysis. A research assistant APK conducted quality checks of the transcriptions.
The 21 interview participants ranged in age from 25 to 77 years (M = 46 years), with 9% (n = 2) identifying as Two-Spirit, 24% (n = 5) identifying as male, and 67% (n = 14) identifying as female. Most participants (38%) reported living in a suburban area, 29% on a reservation, 24% in an urban area, and 9% on an urban reservation. Collectively, participants represented 23 Tribal Nations (US) and 1 First Nation (Canada). Interview length ranged from 40 to 140 min (M = 69 min). Data collection and analyses were conducted iteratively following qualitative research guidelines (Creswell & Poth, 2016).
The research team met regularly throughout the study to discuss data collection, including emerging themes and sampling strategies. For example, based on these discussions, we purposively recruited and included the voices of Two-Spirit community members. As a team, we collaboratively decided when our study had achieved sufficient information power based on study aims, sample specificity, and quality of dialogue in IDIs (Malterud et al., 2016).
Analysis
We used qualitative data management software, ATLAS.ti (Version 23.1.1), to organize and conduct a qualitative analysis to inform measure development (Vaismoradi & Snelgrove, 2019). Given our long-term goal of developing a measure to capture aspects of intergenerational connectedness and the large amount of rich data, we utilized a pragmatic approach to qualitative analysis, braiding aspects of open-ended theoretical analyses with structured approaches (Braun & Clarke, 2022). To capture the richness of these qualitative data, initial analytic procedures followed open-ended or what are often referred to as theoretical qualitative data analysis techniques (Braun & Clarke, 2022), while later steps in analysis utilized structured analytic techniques, resulting in an overall codebook approach to thematic analysis (Byrne, 2021). Authors TLM and VMO worked collaboratively throughout the qualitative analysis, meeting regularly to discuss emerging findings and facilitate an overall deeper shared understanding of qualitative data (Byrne, 2021). Throughout data analysis, analysts immersed themselves in the data by reading and listening to interviews, reviewing memos composed during data collection, and drafting new memos to document our evolving understanding of emerging patterns and refining our understanding of participant perspectives (McGrath, 2021). TLM and VMO started by independently open-coding the same four transcripts, meeting to discuss similarities and differences in coding approaches to deepen understanding of qualitative data (rather than to achieve consistent coding), and drafting an initial codebook together (Williams & Moser, 2019). Next, TLM and VMO independently applied the initial codebook to two additional transcripts and met to discuss similarities and differences in the application of codes, codes that might be helpful to add, and emerging insights. They continued to apply the codebook independently for the remaining transcripts and met regularly to discuss coding approaches and adaptations to the codebook. Once the codebook had been applied to all transcripts, TLM and VMO met to discuss how individual codes were related and established axial code groups (Williams & Moser, 2019). We used axial code groups to identify broad themes regarding the domains of intergenerational connectedness and more specific themes that fell within these domains of intergenerational connectedness (Williams & Moser, 2019). This iterative approach to qualitative data analysis informed our conceptualization of intergenerational connectedness and subsequent measure development efforts.
FINDINGS
Our qualitative data revealed three primary themes: (1) dimensions of intergenerational connectedness, (2) facilitators of intergenerational connectedness, and (3) qualities and outcomes of intergenerational connectedness. Many participants conceptualized intergenerational connectedness through their own experiences, often relating stories of their connection to people in their lives. Participants described the people they felt connected to in terms of how they knew each other, the activities through which they connected, and how that relationship impacted their lives. Participants shared positive emotions and a sense of guidance or purpose through these relationships with others, including ancestors and generations yet to come. The three primary themes were supported by axial codes displayed in Table 1.
| Primary themes | Supporting axial codes |
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| Dimensions of Intergenerational Connectedness |
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| Facilitators of Intergenerational Connectedness |
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| Qualities and Outcomes of Intergenerational Connectedness |
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Dimensions of intergenerational connectedness
Each participant described the relationships that comprised their sense of intergenerational connectedness, often by narrating their connection to their ancestors, Elders, grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, cousins, athletic coaches, teachers, friends, siblings, and children. Table 2 highlights various dimensions of intergenerational connection shared by participants through representative quotes.
| Subtheme | Representative quote |
|---|---|
| Ancestors | “Even though they [my ancestors] may not be here earth side, I still want to live for them and in a good way.” –Shayla Manitowabi Huebner |
| Older Generations | “There have been people in my past who are no longer alive that shared some of the teachings, and I realize that I'm connected to those people in that way… a person to carry on the teachings that they passed down to me.” –Lee ‘Obizaan’ Staples |
| Family/Friends/Community | “I think that we are not supposed to be alone. We are supposed to have connections. And that's part of our well-being is knowing that we have that connection with other people regardless of who we are.” |
| Youth | “I definitely feel that instant responsibility and auntie energy and mother energy of like, ‘Everything that I have I want to give to you.’” –Sarah Quint |
| Future Generations | “I feel a connection with the younger generation, with unborn, to know that in taking care of this [cultural and traditional] knowledge, I'm also then helping to make sure that it's able to be passed on and that it's part of that continued cycle.” –Kaylena Bray |
Several participants described connection to their ancestors as motivating and inspiring, with many aspiring to be good ancestors for future generations. A participant shared, “I hope that I am thought of the same way I think about my ancestors right now, that they were strong and powerful. They made an impact. They made an impact, small or large, but they made an impact in this world… Someday, I'll be an ancestor and I really hope that I emulate the strengths that my ancestors had. That's my goal. I want to emulate and be what they were for me.” Participants also expressed their sense of responsibility to care for and nurture younger and future generations. Another participant, Seth Allard, used an analogy to describe his relationship with youth by saying, “I've realized that [caring for youth] is what it is like to plant a tree that you know that you'll never see it in its full glory… But what you can do is you can take care of something, and you can fertilize it, you can give it nutrients, you can help it grow, you can plant it, you can guard it to make sure it's not getting messed up. I think that there's a joy in taking care of something, knowing that it's going to grow beyond what you imagine it to be.”
Several participants emphasized intergenerational connectedness's deep significance for the circular relationship across past, present, and future generations. A participant, Josephine Buck, described this phenomenon: “I know that my connection to my mother is because of a connection to my grandmother, who taught my mother everything she teaches me. And I look at it also as the things that I give my daughter is [are] what she's going to give her kids. And I think that's why that connection is so deep for me, because I really see no end in sight, both ways. That goes back to the creation of the first person in my family, whoever's going to be after.” When asked to define intergenerational connectedness in their own words, another participant described bidirectional learning: “Intergenerational connectedness is a must. We have so much to learn by being connected, young and old… I think our young people, when they spend time with those that are older, they learn to listen… It can go the other way, where older people make space for younger people to have a voice, and they're learning something new, and their life is being enriched.” Overall, throughout participants' stories and reflections, they illustrated the multi-dimensional nature that intergenerational connectedness presents in their lives and their hopes that future generations would also experience such connection.
Facilitators of intergenerational connectedness
As participants re-counted and narrated their experiences with intergenerational connectedness, they often discussed values, traditions, and activities that serve as a mechanism to facilitate and strengthen intergenerational connectedness in their own lives (Table 3). Transmission of intergenerational knowledge, including food, ceremonial, and traditional language knowledge, was uplifted as a vital conduit of intergenerational connectedness. Kaylena Bray explained: “Whether it's teaching others about white corn, even talking about it, I'm also very aware and connected where I learned that knowledge from… I'm then also being a part of that bigger cycle of being an ancestor too. So, how am I then helping to bring this knowledge, and maintain it, and pass it down? And so that's when I really feel like I'm connected in that circular way of understanding our ancestors and our lineage.” She went on to share the importance of intergenerational knowledge for connecting older and younger generations: “As you're learning language and learning what goes into different ceremonies that we have, there's a strong process where that's taking place with younger generations and older generations that are the ones who've been really maintaining. The faith keepers, they're keeping the knowledge around these traditions and passing them on.” These quotes highlight the importance of building and maintaining connectedness across generations through relational activities that apply cultural values to exchanging energy, knowledge, and intergenerational awareness.
| Facilitator | Representative quotes |
|---|---|
| Activism and Advocacy | “She [my grandma] was doing a lot of environmental activism, a lot of Indigenous rooted and enacted environmental activism… And at the time, I didn't really connect it to Indigeneity; I just thought it was, ‘That's my grandma.’ That is Indigeneity. She's enacting, she is protecting our land and our water. That's what it is. And I always really respected her for it. And that's how we became connected because I was interested in her stories. And I was interested in learning about land, about water, about our culture.” |
| Ceremony | “When my time comes, and I'm no longer here, [I hope] that she's [my daughter is] still going and she's still participating, and that my grandchildren will know and understand in particular our Midewiwin life. And they're partaking in that, and they're going there for help because that's really what our ceremonies are about. It's where you go to get help with your health, with your well-being, with your mental health… That was shown to me by my Elders and my family. And I hope that I am living that now so that even people that are going to be part of my family that are not even born yet, that they embrace this part of their being.” |
| Traditional Foods and Subsistence | “Being a food gatherer within our family, that was put into my life before I even realized it, was spending time outdoors and respecting where we're at. So I think the value, it all comes from generations before me. Which was my parents, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents that I know for sure, that spent so much time outside… We have that relationship already with our foods that come naturally from the lands that have, I guess, endured for all of these generations.” –Josephine Buck |
| Traditional Language | “The language and the culture just kind of seems like a natural way to connect across generations, just because they're things that have been passed down through generations and things that we want to continue through generations. So that's what I focus on as far as connecting myself through to the past and then to the future, and then trying to form those connections for my daughter too.” |
| Storytelling | “The stories of what your ancestors went through when they were coming so that you have a greater appreciation of life and how to appreciate what you have, the things that you can do, like things you can make grow… I mean, those [stories] are things that I just remember and things that I think are important to help remind you and what life was like for our ancestors. Or stories of where you came from because we all came from someplace.” |
| Prayer | “In my prayers, I pray for my kids, their kids, and their grandkids. I try to reflect on our ancestors. They probably prayed for us, and they didn't know us. So, I feel that connection through prayer.” |
| Athletics | “I think when I'm running [I feel connected to my ancestors]. I'm running just because it's just me and my thoughts and the land and everything around me… I think it's maybe the movement aspect of it too and that spiritual component… I always keep my ancestors in my mind, or maybe even my dad or my grandparents and my family, just what they went through, even though I don't really know the full extent… Running allowed me to be mindful of that. I'm not alone in this run, even though maybe there wasn't another body next to me that I was talking to.” –Shayla Manitowabi Huebner |
| Land | “I think the land is a big part of how I feel connected to my ancestors. Going back home to [home reservation], there's just a deeper sense of connection there; I guess because I know that my families lived there and that generations before have lived there in that spot. And then when I do things like harvesting wild rice or trying to make maple syrup, I know that those are things that have been done for generations and generations and feel connected to them in that way.” |
Qualities and outcomes of intergenerational connectedness
Our qualitative inquiry revealed intergenerational connectedness serves many purposes and positively influences well-being. Many participants shared that their connection to other generations gives them a sense of identity and belonging, which in turn supports their well-being. A participant explained this: “If you're grounded in who you are and your identity, you know that you have these certain strategies that you can use, or these spaces that you can go to when you need help or people that you can go to when you need help.” Another participant stated that they strove to exemplify intergenerational connectedness and its impacts on the well-being of younger generations: “[I] just try to really model for young people what being connected to community can do for your well-being. Being connected to community and culture and language and ceremony and all those things. It just really does something for your overall mental health and your overall spiritual health… To see them [young people] make some of those choices too, to be involved, it makes me hopeful. It makes me feel hopeful that they're going to be doing the same for young people later on in the future.” As illustrated by participants, being connected intergenerationally resulted in several qualities and positive outcomes (see Table 4).
| Quality/outcome | Representative quote |
|---|---|
| Love | “There is a security in knowing that you're always loved unconditionally. And that you always have support, no matter what.” –Sarah Quint |
| Belonging | “Well, it's just knowing that we're all a part of the circle, knowing that we're all connected. And knowing that we all have a duty to walk with knowing who we are, and where we come from, and to protect it [our community]. Protecting it by learning our language, learning our ceremonies. Whether it's the smallest to the biggest part of those areas and giving that to our kids. Because even a word, a piece of that is huge.” –Waasamooginini-(Lightning Man; Fred Desjarlait) “We're all intergenerationally connected across time and space, even to those that we're not blood-related to. Through our actions, inactions, and interactions, our ways of being, and setting examples (modeling behavior), we have cascading impacts on everything and everyone. That's the way it's important to help take care of one another and to conduct ourselves in a good way, is how I understand it anyway.” –Bagwajinini (Alex Kmett) |
| Identity | “But for me, it's just about remembering who you are, where you come from, and living it and sharing it with your family… And we're giving it to those around us and especially our youth, our kids. And likewise, because we're radiating that energy, that knowledge, and that being of who we are. So that's what it [intergenerational connectedness] means to me. It's just being us and remembering who we are. Not getting away from it and keeping it close to our hearts and living it.” –Waasamooginini-(Lightning Man; Fred Desjarlait) |
| Mentorship | “I think I always want to be the best that I can be or the best version of me that I can be on any given date, just to be a role model for the younger kids. And I know that part of that is I have to take care of myself so that I can take care of them.” |
| Responsibility | “I think part of it is feeling connected and knowing the responsibilities over time that maybe were given to me through my elders, my teachers, and making sure that I'm being responsible with that information in the way that I maintain it within my own practice, my own work.” –Kaylena Bray |
DISCUSSION
This qualitative study demonstrates the profound importance of intergenerational connectedness held by diverse Indigenous community members. Our findings revealed a primary theme elucidating intergenerational connectedness as a multi-dimensional construct, with community members identifying connections across several generations. Participants reported feeling connected to ancestors (i.e., those who have passed before us), older generations (e.g., Elders), family, friends, community, youth, and future generations (i.e., those yet to be born). Importantly, these connections across past–present–future generations were viewed as both circular and horizontal. For example, several community members expressed the importance of bidirectional learning and connection across generations. Supportive relationships among Indigenous youth, adults, and Elders have been emphasized to increase cultural knowledge and community connectedness, which in turn can promote mental health and overall well-being (Cwik et al., 2019; Doria et al., 2021; Rasmus et al., 2019; Wexler et al., 2020).
The second theme demonstrated practices that facilitate and strengthen intergenerational connectedness. Specifically, participants shared powerful experiences that strengthened intergenerational connectedness in their lives, including involvement in activism/advocacy, ceremony, engagement with traditional foods and subsistence practices, learning or practicing traditional languages, hearing or sharing family or traditional stories, prayer, athletics, and connection to lands. Many of these experiences mirrored a published literature review showing that intergenerational connectedness involves sharing and learning stories about family and community, speaking Tribal languages, and participating in community activities and cultural practices (Ullrich, 2019).
Finally, the third theme described what intergenerational connectedness provides in the lives of Indigenous community members, including how it influences their health, mental health, and well-being. Many individuals shared that intergenerational connectedness helps them feel unconditional love and meaningful belonging. Further, some participants shared that connecting across generations promotes a sense of responsibility for the knowledge and practices taught to them by Elders, as well as a commitment to live their lives in a good way and serve as role models for children and others in their community.
Dimensions, facilitators, and outcomes of intergenerational connectedness identified in this study are largely and inextricably linked to broader conceptions of Indigenous cultures. Many Indigenous communities are actively working to revive and restore cultural traditions via Indigenous-centric approaches across educational, health, mental health, human service, and other community sectors (Goodkind et al., 2010; Yazzie-Mintz, 2011). Such cultural revitalization work is representative of Indigenous peoples' active efforts to heal and address the lingering impacts of colonization on individual, family, and community well-being. Our findings support these broader movements. Participants described culturally rooted aspects (e.g., traditional language, ceremony) of Indigenous intergenerational connections as facilitators of holistic good health, thus aligning with Indigenous notions of culture as medicine, treatment, and healing (Bassett et al., 2012; Legha & Novins, 2012).
This collective work builds upon previous research in several ways. Specifically, we expand our understanding of intergenerational connectedness, identified as a critical domain of child and community well-being according to the Indigenous Connectedness Framework (Ullrich, 2019). In addition, the Awareness of Connectedness Scale (Mohatt et al., 2011) is a useful measurement tool related to Indigenous connection developed more than a decade ago. The current study findings relate to aspects of the Awareness of Connectedness Scale (Mohatt et al., 2011), specifically connection to family, community, and lands. Our findings add depth to understanding the connection to family and community as dimensions of intergenerational connectedness and lands as a type of facilitator of connection across generations. Further, items on the Awareness of Connectedness Scale (Mohatt et al., 2011) do not specify connection across generations. Given our qualitative findings, our future measure will include items explicitly conveying connection across generations. Overall, it is important to acknowledge that Indigenous knowledges and ways of being are not stagnant, they evolve with time (Ullrich, 2019). Therefore, continuous guidance from Indigenous communities is needed to build upon understandings of Indigenous connectedness; including intergenerational connectedness (Ullrich, 2019).
A limitation of the study is that participants cannot and do not represent all AI/AN/First Nations communities and, therefore, perspectives about intergenerational connection. We also acknowledge that intergenerational connection encompasses feeling connected to more than human relatives (e.g., animals, plants, and lands), reiterated by our participants when discussing facilitators of connection. While connection to all living beings is an essential teaching in many Indigenous communities, and there are existing measures that capture components of these teachings (e.g., Awareness of Connectedness Scale; Mohatt et al., 2011), our study focused on how individuals feel connected across generations of human relatives to inform a novel measure. Another limitation is that we experienced barriers in recruiting youth participants to share their voices about this topic. Since intergenerational connectedness inherently includes connection to youth and young people, future research should include youth perspectives. In addition, several participants shared stories of family, community, and cultural disconnection, as well as intergenerational and contemporary trauma and discrimination in their lives. While these experiences likely impact intergenerational connectedness and are important to acknowledge, we did not include these themes given the strengths-based focus of this study and larger parent grant. Loss and disconnection are common experiences within Indigenous communities, given the historical and contemporary injustices these communities endure. Indigenous scholars continue to focus research on survivance and intergenerational wisdom instead of resilience against intergenerational trauma (Wilbur & Gone, 2023). Further, we join the call to cease damage-centered research that perpetuates notions of our (i.e., Indigenous) communities as broken and pathologized (Tuck, 2009). We acknowledge, but do not focus on qualitative findings of loss and disconnection while emphasizing themes around intergenerational connection. Indeed, we align our study to intentionally shift towards desire-based research that emphasizes the complexity and collectivity of our communities and our survivance (Tuck, 2009; Vizenor, 1999, 2000).
Despite these limitations, there are numerous strengths to this study. The current study provides perspectives from diverse Indigenous community members about their experiences of intergenerational connectedness that can inform future research and programming that promotes an Indigenous perspective of cultural wealth and wellness. In addition, this CBPR was led by a research team that was nearly all Indigenous who partnered with two all-Indigenous national groups (Indigenous Measurement Development Group and CAB) to guide the research. Another strength includes the potential for understanding connection across generations in other diverse communities. There are examples of intergenerational connection research, including qualitative research examining connection across first and second-generation Chinese American families (ChenFeng et al., 2015) and transmission of cultural and spiritual worldviews of healing from enslaved adults to generations of African American community members (Henderson et al., 2021). The concept of connection across generations, therefore, can be extended to other communities and may be useful as a culturally relevant construct to measure in strengths-based health and mental health research.
The qualitative findings in this paper describe intergenerational connectedness and its components for further research. These findings will inform our ongoing community-based participatory and mixed methods research study to develop an Indigenous intergenerational connectedness measure. We will use our qualitative results to create a large item pool that reflects themes, followed by a collaborative item review and revision process with our CAB and Indigenous Measurement Development Group. Future directions include piloting the Indigenous intergenerational connectedness measure with diverse AI/AN youth and adults and pursuing scientific and community dissemination to ensure this novel measure is accessible to AI/AN communities and researchers. Overall, this work addresses the significant dearth of literature on AI/AN measurement-development methods (Gonzalez & Trickett, 2014), specifically methods that build upon community-research partnerships (Walls et al., 2019). This work also adds to the growing field of AI/AN strengths-based public health and mental health research that promotes Indigenous values, worldviews, cosmologies, and epistemologies to promote healthy, thriving Indigenous communities (O'Keefe et al., 2023; Walls et al., 2019). As we continue to learn from our ancestors and our current families and communities, we share hope within our hearts for future generations to live, be well, and thrive.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
