June is Seniors Month, and it is an annual opportunity to celebrate the valuable contributions that seniors make to our families, communities, and territory. Seniors Month reminds us to:
- Recognize and honour the diverse experiences, contributions, and wisdom of older NWT residents
- Plan events and activities that strengthen social participation and connections in all life stages to enhance one’s health and well-being
- Create inclusive opportunities for generations to learn together and from each other
- Work together to address issues concerning seniors in the NWT
- Demonstrate respect and kindness to seniors in our families, our communities, and the NWT
What you can do to celebrate Seniors Month
- Visit a Senior – Connect and spend time with a senior in your community. Listen to them. Ask them what they’d like to do.
- Get Outside and Be Active – Plan an outdoor activity with a senior such as gardening, a bush walk, birding, a picnic or cook-out, on-the land activities, and more.
- Cook a Meal – Cook a meal and share it with a senior in your community. Learn how to prepare traditional foods from an elder or share favourite recipes.
- Story Time – Create opportunities for seniors and children to read together or for older adults to share their experiences, adventures, and memories.
- Learn & Teach a Language – Create opportunities to share and learn Indigenous and non-Indigenous languages between generations
- Beading, Quilting, Woodworking, & Carving – Plan inclusive and accessible crafting workshops for younger and older persons in your community to come together, share knowledge, and create beautiful works of decorative art.
- Cards, Board games, Cribbage, & Mahjong – Discover the joy of face-to-face board games, crib, mahjong, sudoku, chess, euchre, and puzzles with a senior in your community.
- Kayak, Canoe, & Boat Restoration – Learn how to restore an old watercraft from a skilled older person in the community.
- Drum, dance or try yoga – Offer regular age-friendly dance, yoga, drumming or tai chai for seniors as they combine exercise, fun, and connections.
- Helpful Information – Distribute easy to read brochures and pin posters on highly visible community bulletin boards explaining the programs, services, performances, feasts, luncheons, and get-togethers for seniors in their area.
Resources
- Seniors’ Information Handbook
- NWT Caregivers Guide
- Together We Can Stop Elder Abuse
- Protecting Elders from Abuse and Neglect
- Getting Help for Elder Abuse
- Apply for Take a Kid Trapping Funding
- Mentor-Apprentice Program (MAP)
- Cook with Me Regional Recipe Books
- Healthy Family Program Collective Kitchen Recipe Book for Northern Cooks
- NWT Seniors’ Society