Amber Hoon
Tribal Dementia Program Director
Great Lakes Intertribal Council
“Together Strong” Tribal Dementia Program
Amber Hoon is the Tribal Dementia Program Director for the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council’s (GLITC) “Together Strong” Tribal Dementia Program. Together Strong is a partnership with several Wisconsin-based Tribal Nations and the State of Wisconsin Tribal Dementia Care Specialists to create a training and awareness program on Alzheimer’s and dementia-related diseases. This program is created from the Tribal perspective, supporting the unique culture and experience of each Tribal Partner.
Prior to her current position, Amber spent 14 years nursing on the Special Care: Alzheimer and Dementia Unit at the Milwaukee Catholic Home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was an amazing journey, and she learned a lot from the people she cared for. One of the biggest lessons she feels she needs to share is that people living with Alzheimer’s or dementia are still people with thoughts, strengths, feelings, needs, and wants. It became Amber’s personal mission to learn from those she cared for by:
Finding ways that worked best for them to maintain dignity and independence.
- Helping them live their best lives possible.
- Helping families understand the changes their loved ones were going through; and how to approach those changes according to their loved one’s abilities.
- Providing support throughout those changes.
Amber brings this experience and care to her work with GLITC and other tribal partners, where she helps tribal staff, caregivers, families, and individuals living with dementia understand and learn what to expect through the different stages by providing culturally appropriate trainings, educational resources, and emotional support. Together we are strong!
Outside of her work with GLITC, Amber is the mother to three adult sons. She enjoys spending her free time in the woods with her two dogs and partner. She has a deep passion for learning about plant medicines and traditional food practices, participating in traditional Anishinaabe cultural events and ceremonies, and especially enjoys hearing and learning traditional stories and songs.
