This report follows The Coming of Age report produced in 2002 by some of the principals involved in this project, and published by St. Luke’s Health Initiatives. That research showed that Arizona had much to do to get ready for the baby boomer age wave. The results of Unlocking Resilience from new survey data, interviews, and secondary research indicates Arizona still has much to do to prepare for aging and must make concrete policy decisions about aging.

Tribes have a direct government-to-government relationship with the U.S. government wherein no decisions about their lands and people are made without their consent. In Arizona, for example, American Indian reservations occupy nearly 30 percent of the land. Native Americans have a legal and moral claim to significant quantities of water as well. Because of their special legal standing in the United States, tribes are not just another group of stakeholders to be considered in the research and policy process. The purpose of this paper is to provide a legal and political background for interactions between the United States and tribal governments and provide models for those interactions, with special attention to research and outreach.