New York, NY – Indigenous older adults have often been left out of research on aging and dementia, even though they face significant challenges when it comes to healthcare access, financial security and support for caregivers. Dr. Cliff Whetung, PhD ’24, set out to change that.
Dr. Whetung has been awarded NYU’s Outstanding Dissertation Award in Social Sciences and NYU Silver’s Robert Moore Award for Excellence in Scholarship for his dissertation, titled Weathering the Storm of Cognitive Inequities: Testing the Minority Stress and Cognition Model with Indigenous Older Adults.
Dr. Whetung’s research used 14 years of data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study to better understand how stress factors like poverty and discrimination affect the cognitive health of Native American and Alaska Native older adults. His work is one of the first of its kind to focus specifically on this group in a major national study.
“I wanted to make sure Indigenous older adults were not just included in the data but centered in the research,” said Dr. Whetung, who is a band member of Curve Lake First Nation in Canada. “These are people who have given their time to research studies. They deserve to be represented.”
One major finding from his research was that Indigenous older adults experienced high levels of everyday discrimination, such as being treated with less respect by others, and that these experiences were tied to worse cognitive health. Many Indigenous older adults also experienced financial instability: On average, they earned less than half the income of their White peers and had about one-fifth of their total assets. However, he also found evidence of important protective factors for cognitive health among Indigenous respondents, such as high levels of social engagement and physical activity, findings he plans to explore further using community-level analyses.
“I hope this work helps push the field to focus more on equity,” Dr. Whetung said. “If we want to understand dementia and how to prevent it, we need to include all communities in that research and advocate for increased access to preventative services. Dementia risk is not just the product of individual choices.”
In addition to its academic impact, Dr. Whetung hopes his research will be used by Indigenous communities to inform policies, apply for grants, and support caregivers. He also would like it to inspire other Indigenous students to see themselves in science. “I want more students from small communities to know that there’s a place for them in research. And I hope they’ll reach out, because I want to work with them.”
Dr. Whetung credits his success to the community of mentors and colleagues who supported him during his time at NYU. He especially thanked his advisor, Dr. Ernest Gonzales, along with Dr. Marya Gwadz, Dr. Abraham A. Brody, and Dr. Charles Cleland. He also found community in the Native Studies Forum at NYU, a network of Native graduate students and scholars that were an important part of his experience.
Now a faculty member with the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team on Indigenous and Rural Health Equity at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Whetung is continuing his research on Indigenous and rural cognitive health.
The Robert Moore Award was established in 2009 in memory of Professor Robert Moore, whose scholarship and mentorship shaped NYU Silver’s PhD Program. Cliff Whetung’s work carries that legacy forward by contributing research that is not only academically rigorous but also deeply rooted in justice and community.
About NYU Silver School of Social Work
Founded in 1960 and renowned for a strong tradition of excellence in direct social work practice and dedication to social justice, NYU Silver has provided rigorous training to more than 20,000 social work practitioners and leaders in every area of the field, making it the leading destination for students who want to become innovative practitioners at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of social work practice. The School has four campuses in the heart of New York City, Rockland County, Westchester County, and Shanghai.