Experiences with Native American tribes and proposes that American Indian tribes be exempt from sequestration.
United States - August 15, 2013 /MarketersMedia/ --
In the recently published New York Times op-ed piece, former senator Byron L. Dorgan states that after 30 years of service in Congress there was one unsolved problem that he could not forget about after retirement. Dorgan donated one million dollars of unused campaign funds to the Aspen Institute to create the Center for Native American Youth, in an effort to make initial steps towards amends for what he calls a “trail of broken promises to American Indians”.
Dorgan served as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, a position which put him in touch with the harsh realities facing American Indians. In Dorgan’s opinion, American Indian children are the most at risk population in the United States. In the editorial, Dorgan illustrates many of the scenes he encountered as senator that indicated poor living conditions and a daily struggle among Native Americans to overcome unemployment, endemic poverty, lack of housing and lack of health care. According to Senator Dorgan, many tribes have treaties with the U.S. government in which the Federal government agrees to provide for these basic needs on tribal lands.
In the editorial, Dorgan describes the plight of American Indian children, including homelessness, extremely high suicide rates and lack of electricity. Dorgan states that sequestration should have never applied to tribal lands in the first place and argues that sequestration cuts to tribal funding need to be reversed immediately. In his opinion, a series of investigative hearings should be held to take a look at unfulfilled treaty obligations to Native American tribes.
Tribal Council members communicating with Dorgan indicated that some of their funds for providing health care will only last until May, after which the tribes will be completely unable to provide any medical services. Dorgan says that the Indian Health Service is already woefully underfunded, but after sequestration cuts the service expects to accept 804,000 fewer patients in the coming year.
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