American Indian, Alaska Native, 

and Native Hawaiian Program 

BACKGROUND

Under Title VI of the Older Americans Act, 

the Administration on Aging (AoA) awards 

grants directly to Tribes, Tribal organizations 

and Native Hawaiian organizations for a wide 

range of home- and community-based 

services and supports that have enabled older 

adults to remain in their homes and active in 

their communities. 

Grants are provided to promote the delivery 

of home and community-based supportive 

services, to include nutrition, transportation 

and caregiver services. These programs are 

responsive to the cultural diversity of Native 

American communities and represent an 

important part of the communities’ 

comprehensive long term services and 

supports. 

Most sites provide hot congregate meals four 

to five times a week. Home-delivered meals 

are available for elders who are in poorer 

health, are more functionally impaired, are 

more apt to be homebound and in need of 

transportation services, or in need of in-home 

supportive services. 

Title VI programs are important sources for 

social interaction and supportive services to 

include health promotion and wellness 

programs. These programs are essential to 

help address the higher rates of Native elders 

experiencing greater incidences of diabetes, 

obesity and nutritional risk.

NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTERS

AoA currently funds three Native American 

Resource Centers (Centers). The primary goal 

of the Centers is to enhance knowledge about 

older Native Americans and thereby increase 

and improve the delivery of services to them. 

Each Center addresses at least two areas of 

primary concern which include: health issues, 

long term care (including in-home care), elder 

abuse, mental health, and other problems and 

issues facing Native communities.

Since 1994, AoA has funded the National 

Resource Center on Native American Aging 

at the University of North Dakota. This 

Center helps identify patterns of access and 

barriers limiting access to home and 

community based services through evidence 

based research and interactions with Tribal 

in conducting needs assessments for program 

development. More information about the 

Center is available on the Web at:

http://www.nrcnaa.org/

Since 2003, AoA has funded the National 

Resource Center on American Indian, Alaska 

Native and Native Hawaiian Elders at the 

University of Alaska – Anchorage. This 

Center focuses on issues affecting Native 

Alaska elders, particularly in the areas of 

elder abuse and health care needs. They also 

collaborate with the Joint Alaska Native 

Elders Health Advisory Committee on 

projects related to culturally appropriate 

services for Native Alaska elders. 

 
More information about the Center is 

available on the Web at: 

http://elders.uaa.alaska.edu/. 

The third Center has been funded since 2006. 

The Ha Kupuna Center for Native Hawaiian 

Elders is located at the University of Hawaii. 

This Center focuses on Native Hawaiian 

elders and is partnering with the State of 

Hawaii Executive Office on Aging, the two 

Native Hawaiian Title VI programs, and the 

Native Hawaiian Health Care System on all 

islands to better assist their communities to 

develop programs to meet the needs of Native 

Hawaiian elders. More information about this 

Center is available on the Web at: 

http://manoa.hawaii.edu/hakupuna/. 

AoA also funds the National Indigenous Elder 

Justice Initiative (NIEJI). NIEJI has an 

established Resource Center on elder abuse to 

assist tribes in addressing indigenous elder 

abuse, neglect, and exploitation. This Center 

provides research, education, and training for 

the identification and prevention of elder 

abuse in Indigenous communities. This 

Center serves these communities in an effort 

to improve the elders quality of life. More 

information about this Center is available on 

the Web at: http://www.nieji.org/ 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more information on Title VI programs, 

please visit 

http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/AoA_Program

s/HCLTC/Native_Americans/index.asp

For more information about ACL 

U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, Administration for Community 

Living, Washington DC 20201 

Phone: (202) 619 – 0724

Fax: (202) 357 – 3555 

Email: ACLinfo@acl.hhs.gov

Web: http://www.ACL.gov