The ads are becoming more frequent and more vicious. Kristi Noem, the Republican candidate for the lone House of Representatives seat in South Dakota, is the recipient of out-of-state advertisements that are using a scorched earth policy of attacking the incumbent Congress woman, Democratic Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. The most effective way to combat horrible ads [...]
Continue reading …By any objective measure Barack Obama has been the most engaged and effective president on American Indian issues since at least since Richard Nixon. You could even make the case that Obama is better than Nixon because there has been so much successful legislation and Executive Branch action in less than two years. A quick [...]
Continue reading …A year goes by fast. Way too fast. Thirteen months ago I plunged into my “year-long” exploration of the Indian health system. It’s been fascinating because there has so much activity: Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and included with that bill the permanent authorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. [...]
Continue reading …On July 1, 1981, a small, weekly newspaper was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The paper was named The Lakota Times for the people it would serve. My great admiration for the Navajo Times prompted me to add Times to the title. I started the newspaper because the Indian reservation, with [...]
Continue reading …I don’t know who said, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem,” but it certainly makes sense. Teen suicide, it would appear, is a problem throughout America, but it seems to happen more frequently among young Native Americans. A “study” on any topic usually does not offer a solution, but a “study” that [...]
Continue reading …What do people who work (or who have worked) for the Indian Health Service, think about the Indian Health Service? This is an important question when looking at any organization. Do the health care professionals see themselves as working for a great team? Are they employed by a government agency that’s too stingy with the [...]
Continue reading …Measuring the progress in native health – life expectancy for Native Americans
May 4, 2010 Comments OffHas the Indian Health Service been an effective, government-run delivery system? Consider this from a White House memo: “While there has been improvements in health status of Indians in the past 15 years, a loss of momentum can further slow the already sluggish rate of approach to parity. Increased momentum in health delivery and sanitation [...]
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