The University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health’s Dementia Engagement, Education, and Research Program will host the 2026 Tribal Summit on Age- and Dementia-Friendly Care on May 5 in Nixon, Nevada. The event is organized in partnership with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and aims to bring together Tribal leaders, elders, health professionals, care partners, researchers, and community advocates for a day focused on learning about dementia care and healthy aging.
The summit is part of a five-year series funded by the Nevada Interprofessional Healthy Aging Network. Each year focuses on one aspect of age-friendly care; this year’s theme is “Medicine: Traditional Healing Meets Clinical Care.” The program will explore how traditional healing practices can intersect with clinical medicine to support Indigenous communities’ health across generations.
Jennifer Carson, Ph.D., associate professor at the School of Public Health and director of the Dementia Engagement, Education, and Research Program said: “Gatherings like the Tribal Summit remind us that the strongest pathways to health are shaped within community, culture, and relationships. We are honored to partner with Tribal leaders and elders, whose knowledge and leadership guide care that honors dignity, strengthens connection, and affirms the full humanity of each person.”
The event also highlights efforts by Dementia Friendly Nevada—a statewide initiative that began in 2016 with four community groups but has since expanded to nine—to make communities more inclusive for people living with dementia. One example is the Pesa Sooname Advisory Group from Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. Casey Venturini, director of Dementia Friendly Nevada said: “Dementia is more common among Native people yet it is too rarely discussed. Through the Pesa Sooname Advisory Group and the Tribal Summit series we are helping communities begin conversations that reduce stigma strengthen support and promote well-being.”
Sessions during the summit will include a keynote address by J. Neil Henderson focusing on bridging traditional medicine with biomedicine as well as workshops adapting age-friendly frameworks for Indigenous contexts. Interactive sessions led by Charae Wamsley from Alzheimer’s Association of Nevada along with Valerie Bill from Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe will help participants integrate traditional activities lifestyle habits and medical knowledge into brain health strategies.
Organizers say they have designed space for dialogue ceremony shared experience throughout the day reflecting their ongoing commitment to culturally responsive partnerships across rural urban tribal communities in Nevada.