Red Indians: “America’s Broken Promises”
Jun 15th, 2009 | Comments
While the US media and the blogs are going hysterical about the health care issues of “Americans”, Mary Clare Jalonick (Associated Press Writer) provides us with a moving insight into the continued poverty, deprivation and neglect of the “other” Americans — the indigenous people who live within the borders of the United States of America.
The story revolves round the death of five-year-old Ta’Shon Rain Little Light (See photo).
“Ta’Shon’s story is not unique in the Indian Health Service system, which serves almost 2 million American Indians in 35 states. On some reservations, the oft-quoted refrain is ‘don’t get sick after June,’ when the federal dollars run out.
“It’s a sick joke, and a sad one, because it’s sometimes true, especially on the poorest reservations where residents cannot afford health insurance. Officials say they have about half of what they need to operate, and patients know they must be dying or about to lose a limb to get serious care.
“Wealthier tribes can supplement the federal health service budget with their own money. But poorer tribes, often those on the most remote reservations, far away from city hospitals, are stuck with grossly substandard care. The agency itself describes a ‘rationed health care system.’
“The sad fact is an old fact, too. The U.S. has an obligation, based on a 1787 agreement between tribes and the government, to provide American Indians with free health care on reservations.
“But that promise has not been kept.
“About one-third more is spent per capita on health care for felons in federal prison, according to 2005 data from the health service.
“In Washington, a few lawmakers have tried to bring attention to the broken system as Congress attempts to improve health care for millions of other Americans.
“But tightening budgets and the relatively small size of the American Indian population have worked against them.” More here…
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