Lynn Powers is Ojibwe but doesn't look it. With blond hair and light skin, she found herself an outcast among Indians and Whites.

But now Powers has found her place at the Minneapolis American Indian Center. She is a home care worker for the center's senior program, providing care to elders who have come to love and trust the woman they call "Casper."

Without Powers, elders say they would be forgotten. They credit her with helping them get medical attention and navigating the medical system.

"People just seem to forget about you when you're older. They figure if you don't call, you're fine," Jeannette Banks, 72, told The Minneapolis Star Tribune. "But a lot of elders don't want to impose on relatives ... and a lot of Indians don't trust."

Get the Story:
Minneapolis caregiver has won trust of urban Indian elders (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/21)
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Relevant Links:
Minneapolis American Indian Center - http://www.maicnet.org