Alaska Native Elders' Perspectives on Physical Activity and Successful Aging.

L'activité physique est généralement considérée comme un facteur contribuant de façon significative au vieillissement réussi d'une personne. Certains groupes n'ont cependant pas été suffisamment représentés dans les discussions sur l'activité physique et le vieillissement, particulièrement ceux provenant d'horizons culturels différents. Dans cet article, nous explorons comment les aînés autochtones de l'Alaska perçoivent le rôle de l'activité physique au cours de leur vieillissement et la contribution de l'activité physique au vieillissement réussi. Les entretiens semi-structurés menés auprès de 41 aînés ont montré que l'activité physique n'était pas seulement perçue comme une responsabilité personnelle en vue du maintien d'une bonne santé lors du vieillissement, mais aussi comme un moyen de résister à l'opinion répandue voulant que les personnes âgées soient dans une phase de déclin. Pour ces aînés, être physiquement actif, peu importe l'âge, était vu comme un moyen pour améliorer ou maintenir leur état physique, mental, émotionnel ou spirituel, et permettrait de participer aux activités de subsistance qui sont rattachées à leur culture et aux rôles ancestraux qui leur sont reconnus.Physical activity is widely considered to be a significant contributing factor to how "successfully" one ages. There are, however, certain groups whose voices have not been widely heard in discussions around physical activity and aging, particularly those from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this research, we explored how Alaska Native Elders perceive the role of physical activity as they age and its contribution to successful aging. Based on semi-structured interviews with 41 Elders, the results show that engaging in physical activity was not just seen as a personal responsibility to maintain health and age successfully, but also as a way to resist Western society's dominant view of older adults as deteriorating and declining by being physically active regardless of age; to improve or maintain their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health; and/or to enable them to continue participating in subsistence activities that are rooted in their culture and traditional roles as Elders.

Community-level factors that contribute to First Nations and Inuit older adults feeling supported to age well in a Canadian city.

Despite the proliferation of age-friendly cities in Canada that are intended to support older adults to age well, there are still many inequalities between groups of older adults, particularly, and of concern for this paper, between Indigenous older adults, who experience colonialism's ongoing impacts, and non-Indigenous older adults. A better understanding of factors that inform these inequalities will help in the development of policies and programs that better support Indigenous older adults to age well and, thus, will contribute to ameliorating the inequalities that they face. Using a community-based participatory research approach, informed by a postcolonial theoretical lens, in this paper we addressed the question, "what community-level factors contribute to Indigenous older adults (aged 55 years and over) feeling supported to age well in the city of Ottawa?" We specifically examined this question in relation to the age-friendly communities framework, which guides the City of Ottawa's Older Adult Plan. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and photovoice with 32 First Nations and Inuit older adults revealed that the participants felt both supported and unsupported to age well. More specifically, there were two main areas in which they felt they could be better supported to age well: the social environment and physical environment. There were three subthemes within the social environment theme: responsive health and community support services, respect and recognition, and communication and information. Within the physical environment theme there were four subthemes: transportation, housing, accessibility, and gathering space. The results demonstrate that despite there being similarities in the areas that the participants felt they needed support and the areas on which the Older Adult Plan focuses, if the domains of aging well initiatives do not better account for the impacts of colonialism, it is unlikely that they will be effective in supporting Indigenous older adults' health and well-being.

"RIP KFC": Public Perceptions of a Fast-Food Restaurant Closure.

This paper used netnography and thematic analysis of the comments made in online news articles to understand better the public response to the closure of the only KFC restaurant in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, in 2015. While the popular media often cover fast-food restaurant closures, past academic research has not examined the public response to these closures. To begin to fill this gap, we examined the comments sections of five online news articles from the Canadian news outlet, CBC.ca, and reactions shared on Facebook. 239 commenters made 308 publicly available online comments addressing the closure. Key themes in commenter perceptions included pro-closure reactions, which were based on the perceived public health benefits of reduced fast-food consumption, and anti-closure reactions to such factors as the loss of a local landmark and a source of positive memories. The unfavorable reactions appeared to pose a significant barrier to public acceptance of the KFC closure. This paper argues that it is important to examine public perceptions of fast-food closures to understand better what these restaurants mean to individuals and communities. This information, in turn, can be used to promote healthier restaurant-eating in ways that will complement efforts to encourage healthier food choices.

Culturally Relevant Physical Activity through Elders in Motion: Physical Activity Programming for Older Aboriginal Adults in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

The 2011 National Household Survey found that the number of Aboriginal peoples in Canada aged 65 and over has increased by over 46 % since the 2006 Canadian Census (Statistics Canada 2011). Despite this dramatic increase in older Aboriginal peoples, there is a dearth of research concerning this cohort, especially regarding their engagement with physical activity. Using a case study methodology, this research sought to examine if the Northwest Territories (NWT) Recreation and Parks Association's (NWTRPA) Elders in Motion (EIM) program is culturally relevant for the participants. For this research we used a postcolonial theoretical framework since many of the participants in EIM are Aboriginal older adults and have experienced, and continue to experience, the effects of colonialism. To address this aim we conducted nine semi-structured interviews with EIM program leaders and NWTRPA staff, and supplemented these with archival research of EIM program documents. The findings show that the NWTRPA has adapted many EIM program documents for the participants and thus attempts to be culturally relevant for the participants. There are, however, aspects of the program that are not culturally relevant and actually reinforce colonialism, specifically with the program content (i.e. activities that are a part of EIM). In light of these findings, recommendations are offered for the NWTRPA on how the EIM program can become more culturally relevant for its Aboriginal participants.