Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging is located – and our members operate – on the ancestral lands of the Dakota, Lakota, and Anishinaabe People. We acknowledge the Ho-Chunk, Cheyenne, Oto, Iowa, Sac, Fox, Arapaho, Omaha, Ottawa, Ponca, Sauk, Winnebago, Wyandot, and the other nations of people who also called this place home. We pay respect to their elders, past and present. Minnesota is undergoing an unprecedented demographic shift, becoming increasingly diverse and aging rapidly. By 2030 it is estimated that one in five Minnesotans will be 65 years and older. For many, this state is a great place to age. It is consistently rated one of the healthiest and most senior-friendly in national polls. However, this is not true for all groups. Minnesota ranks high in numerous disparities between Black, Indigenous, People of Color, the LGBTQ+ community, undocumented, and other marginalized voices and their white and heterosexual/cisgender peers. We understand that the scale of inequity affecting Minnesota's various communities is a function of interconnected socioeconomic systems built on a foundation of racial prejudice, stereotypes, and bias. Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging is committed to addressing this structural challenge in communities and services for older adults. We recognize the intersections of age, culture, ability and disability, neurodiversity, ethnic origin, gender identity and expression, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, and legal and socioeconomic status influence our experiences and influence our work. We acknowledge that historically Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGTBQ+, undocumented, immigrant and refugee, and all marginalized voices have been neither equally/fully visible nor respected. Our goal is to create communities and systems that support aging with dignity and a spirit of well-being in Minnesota.
