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You are here: Home » Policy Issues » Health & Human Services Health & Human Services
Tribal leaders from many of our traditions are guided by the principle that a community's leaders must consider--and are responsible for--the consequences of their actions through the seventh generation to come. In exchange for over 450 million acres of Native lands, American Indians received a commitment from the federal government to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of Indian people into the future. This federal trust responsibility has never been met. Native peoples experience higher disease rates, lower life expectancy rates, higher dropout rates, and higher poverty rates than any other racial or ethnic group in the country. The overall prosperity of our Indian nations is directly tied to the health and well-being of each tribal member. Indian Country desperately needs Congress to address these issues by reauthorizing programs and funding streams that provide basic health, social service and workforce funds to tribal communities. Without some measure of certainty in the funding and program structure in these key areas, tribal governments cannot move forward in developing the infrastructure to administer the programs and the innovative program designs that make services truly accessible and culturally-appropriate for Indian citizens. We must close the disparities in health outcomes, provide much-needed social services and economic opportunities on Indian lands.
In order to improve the quality of life in Indian Country, National Congress of American Indians works in collaboration with the National Indian Health Board, National Indian Education Association, National Indian Child Welfare Association, National Council on Urban Indian Health, American Indian Higher Education Consortium, National Indian Council on Aging, Tribal Education Departments, and countless other organizations.
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