Tonkawa Council of Elders
Respect Native American Traditions
The Tonkawa Council of Elders was founded in 1974 by a consortium of American Indian individuals, many of whom were tribal seniors. At that time, they were employed by the San Diego Indian Center located downtown, on Fifth and Cedar. This organization and services no longer exist. Tonkawa Council of Elders is the traditional rock of Native American wisdom for the new millinium.
Our Purpose:
The purpose of the Tonkawa Council of Elders Development Project is to improve the quality of life for American Indian Elders. Our major focus is community development.
Our goal is to provide the resources to assist all American Indian elders in a respectful, traditional manner.
To improve the quality of life for American Indian Elders we will inform and facilitate their access to services that will maintain them in their homes, as respected members of their communities and as keepers of our tribal custom and traditions.

TONKAWA SENIOR CLUB
Meeting Dates
Kumeyaay Selected as Senior Leader
Honoring Our Elders Pow wow 2001 - Jane Dumas
1ST ANNUAL PICNIC - SAN DIEGO
Support Services for Senior

TONKAWA COUNCIL of ELDERS
TONKAWA Talking Leaf Newsletter
Previous Newsletters Click on Month January Meeting Newsletter, February, March03, April, June, July, Oct, Jan04, July, Aug, Sept,Oct, Nov, Dec Feb05 March April June July AUG PICNIC Oct Nov Dec March06 April June Picnic06 Picknic07 July Nov07 Feb08 Mar Sept 2009 Jan09 Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2010 Jan Feb Apr May June Aug Oct Nov Dec 2011 Jan11 Mar Apr June Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 2012 Jan Feb Mar

TONKAWA MIGHTY MINUTES
April 8, 2012 - Noon

TONKAWA VP Jerry Starnes and Rita arrived early and were soon joined by Roy Cook and ‘hot enchiladas’ Liz Stranerfield. Also attending were El Bissara and Dennis ‘Six toes’ Charette with fresh sage and dream catcher gifts.

This meeting had a mixed multi-choice holiday turn out of our faithful TONKAWA membership and friends. We were pleased to see most of our faithful members at the Easter monthly gathering. Our blessing was provided by Roy Cook. It is all good when we can gather to feast and enjoy each others’ company. Regardless of other priorities of those that didn’t remember or couldn’t make it.


We ate up the fine selection of noodles with chicken, fresh vegetables in cream sauce. Also, crusty French bread with soft butter and a bountiful tray of chili enchiladas with black olives. Enderman’s Danish for sweet delights and naturally ‘sugar free’ donuts with good TONKAWA coffee. We chatted up political and camping activities in addition to upcoming pow pows and conferences intersperse with a lively and exchange of jokes and humorous episodes of our elders’ long lives.

Finally, as we cleaned up the room and were still wishing each other good health options as we scooted out the door to catch up with other late afternoon activities.

May 12 & 13, 2012

American Indian Culture Days
Balboa Park, Park Blvd & Presidents Way
San Diego, Ca

Info: Jonathan York @ (619) 281-5964

As in past years we will meet, as the location permits, at noon next month at the Culture Days pow wow in Balboa park on, Sunday, May 13, 2012 (We are always recruiting Elders to be TONKAWA members!). It is always nice to see new members and guests drop in and are encouraged to return. This is a real nice down home meeting to attend. We are also very pleased to enjoy the regular attendance of TONKAWA along with community guests and family members.

Our next regular monthly TONKAWA meeting is at noon June 10, 2012 at the IHRC offices, 4265 Fairmont Ave. San Diego 92105. There is plenty of good parking with easy access. Thank the Creator and all of you for being there today. Mehan, aho.

Respectfully submitted: TONKAWA Secretary Roy Cook
New (to this list) on the WEB
AGING IN THE MEDIA
• Will California Keep Adult Day Health?
http://www.californiahealthline.org/capitol-desk.aspx
• Grief, Unedited
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/opinion/15Konigsberg.html?emc=eta1
• When Elderly Drivers Must Stop Driving
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/when-elderly-drivers-must-stop-driving/
• When Alzheimer’s Waited Outside the Oval Office
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/health/views/22reagan.html

AARP REPORT:

• How Recent Changes in Reverse Mortgages Impact Older Homeowners
http://www.aarp.org/money/credit-loans-debt/info-02-2011/fs211-reverse-mortgage.html

• Studying Aging, and Fearing Budget Cuts
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/health/22hodes.html?pagewanted=all

• Can Unemployed Older Workers Find Work?
http://www.urban.org/retirement_policy/url.cfm?ID=412283

Consumer Information

Safe (and Enjoyable!) Sex for Seniors: Tips from the American Geriatrics Society's Foundation for Health in Aging, http://www.healthinaging.org/public_education/safe_sex_tips.pdf

ELDER VOICE: RELATED RESOURCES

New Blog for LGBT Older Adults
LGBT older adults have a new forum to help envision and create an aging society
informed by the best lessons and thinking of the LGBT community:
www.GrayPrideParade.com.
GrayPrideParade.com, is a new national blog and platform curated by long-time LGBT
aging advocate, Loree Cook-Daniels. Cook-Daniels founded the Transgender Aging

Network, is a contributing editor to Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled, and has
been working on LGBT policy issues since the mid-1970s. GrayPrideParade (GPP) is
sponsored by FORGE (www.forge-forward.org). FORGE - Transgender Aging Network
is one of 11 partners in the U.S. Administration on Aging-funded National Resource
Center on LGBT Aging (http://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/), and administers grants from the

U.S. Office for Victims of Crime and the Office on Violence Against Women.
GPP is designed to:
. Help readers know about and weigh in on policies that affect LGBT elders;
. Disseminate ideas, programs, and resources that can improve the lives of LGBT older
adults;
. Provide a forum for envisioning and creating an aging future informed by the best
lessons and thinking of the LGBT community; and
. Showcase LGBT older adults contributions.

Still Out, Still Aging: The MetLife Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Baby Boomers , March 2010, MetLife Mature Market Institute.
http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/2010/mmi-still-out-still-aging.pdf

NIHSeniorHealth features authoritative and up-to-date health information from Institutes and Centers at NIH. In addition, the American Geriatrics Society provides expert and independent review of some of the material found on this web site. Each health topic includes general background information, open-captioned videos, quizzes and frequently asked questions (FAQs). New topics are added to the site on a regular basis.
See: http://nihseniorhealth.gov/listoftopics.html
The list of topics includes: Alzheimer's Disease; Arthritis; Balance Problems; Breast Cancer; Caring for Someone with Alzheimer's; Cataract; Colorectal Cancer; COPD; Diabetes; Diabetic Retinopathy; Dry Mouth; Exercise for Older Adults; Glaucoma; Hearing Loss; Heart Attack; Heart Failure; Low Vision; Lung Cancer; Macular; Degeneration; Osteoporosis; Problems with Smell; Problems with Taste; Prostate Cancer; Shingles; Sleep and Aging; Stroke; Taking Medicines

Information on Urinary Incontinence from The May Clinic WEB site, MayoClinic.com has extensive information on urinary incontinence that includes the following sections:
o Signs and symptoms
o Causes
o Risk factors
o When to seek medical advice
o Screening and diagnosis
o Complications
o Treatment
o Prevention
o Self-care
o Coping skills
See: http://mayoclinic.com/health/urinary-incontinence/DS00404

Just in Case: Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and Caregivers. This free consumer resource includes a 12-page fact sheet and checklist that will help older adults prepare for emergencies. Special emphasis is placed on issues that affect older adults, due to medical conditions, physical challenges, assistive devices, and mobility issues. See: http://www.aginginstride.org/emergencyprep/default.htm

Consumer Sites
* The Guide to Medi-Cal Programs provides a summary of each program; a description of who is eligible and how many recipients are covered; and a listing of the corresponding aid codes. A specific section "Programs for seniors and people with disabilities" is included. The Guide to Medi-Cal Programs can be downloaded from http://www.chcf.org/topics/medi-cal/index.cfm?itemID=20387&subsection=medi-cal

Respect Native American Traditions
americanindiansource.com
aisource8@gmail.com
5026 70th. Street
San Diego, CA 92115-1805
WebMaster: Ben Nance