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Native News
Smoke Signals
Native health and commerce under fire
By Oscar Johnson
Northwest tribal leaders
last month highlighted key
legislative issues likely to
adversely effect the future
of health and commerce in
Indian Country.
Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde Council
members were among sev
eral Native delegations at
the Northwest Tribal Lead
ership Symposium where
a congressional update
honed-in on federally
funded health care and the
pending tobacco bill.
The three-day confer
ence was held in Portland
by the Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians (ATNI)
and gathered leaders from
northwestern states such
as Alaska, Washington,
Oregon and Idaho.
Future congressional
budget allocations for In
dian Health Services (IHS)
were a chief concern
among many at the
group's legislative update
on Tuesday. Currently,
the average non-military
American has nearly two
and one-half times more
money for health care than any one of the 1.5 mil
lion Native Americans serviced by IHS.
Although President Clinton's 1999 budget pro
posal seeks an additional $44 "million for such ser
vices, Congressional allocations have fallen short
of IHS budget requests by an average of $116 mil
lion per year since Republicans took over Con
gress in 1996. Democrats project next year's bud
get will fall short by nearly $500 million.
At ATNI's congressional update last month IHS
Director, Dr. Michael Trujillo presented an over
view of budget expectations. He underlined an over
all tightening of federal spending likely to effect
IHS's ability to provide health care treatment and
prevention to Indians living on or near reservations.
Trujillo called attention to a bill last month signed
by the President allocating an additional five-year
fund to grapple with Indian diabetes (presently
139 above the national average) and substance
abuse prevention. The bill also grants an addi
tional $100,000 for IHS to combat the spiraling
rate of youth suicides on the Standing Rock Reser
vation in South Dakota.
However, Trujillo said that while such allocations
were only temporary, budget cuts for sanitization,
maintenance and clinical services in Indian Coun
try are permanent.
He also expressed concern over "the inability of
Congress and the President's 1998 budget to iden
tify the cost of tribes administering their own (health
care) programs." He believes this could lead to
more underfunded Native health services.
The IHS Director expressed optimism, however,
over impending tobacco legislation. Noting that
Indian youth especially girls have one of the
highest rates of smoking for their age group in the
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Currently,
the average
non-military
American
has nearly
two and
one-half
times more
money for
health care
than any
one of the
1.5 million
Native
Americans
serviced
by IHS.
Stan Speaks, BIA Director for the Portland Area Office, presents recent
BIA issues with attendees of the ATNI Conference.
U.S., Trujillo said money likely to be provided by
the tobacco bill currently being debated in congress
will fund smoking prevention programs. Treat
ment for disproportionately high rates of smoking
related diseases in Indians such as cancer, high
blood pressure, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
are also in the pipeline, he said.
But Native lobbyists, though speaking with a uni
fied voice, indicated that the tobacco debate is a
two-edged sword threatening Indian communities.
While on the one hand, Trujillo and lobbyists
hope new legislation will cause tobacco companies
and new cigarette taxes to foot the bill for smoking
related health care in Indian Country, veteran lob
byist, Billy Frank, warned otherwise. The North
west Indian Fisheries Commission Chairman said
the tobacco bill could spell doom for Native busi
nesses "by abrogating another treaty and another
part of our trade and commerce.''
Drawing a parallel between Sen. Slade Gorton's
(R-WA) legislative onslaught on tribal sovereign
rights of commerce; and his account of deputized
civilians stopping only Native-run cigarette trucks
in Washington state, a fiery Frank told last month's
symposium that "racism is well and healthy in the
state of Washington."
Although Frank acknowledges important health
issues behind the tobacco debate, he believes the
sovereign right of Indians to sell tobacco free from
U.S. government imposed sales tax is also at stake.
The President has proposed levying a lump sum
tax of $1.50 per package of cigarettes.
"There's a lot of money poured into that tobacco
issue," Frank said. "If we don't have advocates
in Congress advocating for Indian- people and their
businesses and communities when the tobacco bill
comes down the line (Sen. Gorton) has a lot of
riders on that bill that will completely close down
the Indian people and their stores throughout the
nation."
Earlier this month Sen. Gorton proposed section
604 of the tobacco bill (1415) that if passed would
require tribes to collect and remit state tobacco
taxes. In addition to restructuring current mutu
ally agreeable statetribal accords between over 200
tribes and 18 states, the law would curtail much
needed income for many poor tribal communities
while imposing additional administrative cost on
their governments.
Many of the 16 tribal representatives attending
the symposium, such as ATNI First Vice President,
Antone Minthorne, stressed the need for a con
solidated effort by Native individuals and tribes to
combat what some perceive as a legislative war
waged by a conservative congress against Indian
sovereignty.
"Congress continues to attack sovereignty
through the legislative process," Minthorne warned
delegates attending the session. The Umatilla rep
resentative called on tribes to "join forces and share
resources and information to fight the war on sov
ereignty." He also encouraged individuals to
"walk the talk" by seeking out ways to support
such tribal efforts.