Native American Legislative Update: July 28, 2004

This NALU contains information on:

• Suicide is a Leading Cause of Death
• Indian Health Care Hearing
• Native Religion and Repatriation
• Poverty as an Electoral Issue

SUICIDE IS A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH: Suicide is the third overall cause of death in this country for 10 to 24 year-olds, a grim but little known statistic. In an act of compassion, on July 9, the Senate unanimously passed (S 2634) an amendment to the Public Health Service Act which provides 82 million more dollars for youth suicide prevention, early intervention, and campus mental health programs. An emotional appeal by sponsor Sen. Gordon Smith (OR), who lost his son Garrett to suicide, helped the bill suddenly sail through the Senate.

What does this mean for Native Americans? Tribes will qualify for the grant money that will be available during the next three fiscal years. This is important because the suicide rate among Native American youth is even higher than among white youth. Suicide is the second cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 15 to 24 and the third cause of death for Native American children aged 10 to 14. What could be more tragic? The House companion bill (HR 4799) on youth suicide could be taken up after the congressional recess but only if legislators hear from their constituents.

ACTION: We need your advocacy to get the bill seriously considered in the House this year.

CONTACTING YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS EASY: Contact your member of Congress by fax or email and urge him/her to co-sponsor HR 4799. To find your member's contact information click here, then select your state. Or call (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected by telephone to your representative's office. Speak to the legislative aide who works on health or mental health issues. Tell the aide that the suicide rate for American Indian and Alaska Native youth is high and current mental health resources are low, so this additional money would be truly helpful in saving lives. Be sure to send copies to FCNL of your communications.

INDIAN HEALTH CARE HEARING: Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson had just returned from several days in Indian Country–the first Health Secretary in history to visit the Navajo Nation--and viewing health conditions first-hand had made a powerful impression. "Depressing" was a word he repeated about the ravages of widespread poverty and diabetes that he had seen as he testified on July 21 before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about how much he cared about improving Indian health. In addition, J. D. Hayworth (OK) as well as other elected officials from both parties offered remarks and sought to put pressure on administrative agencies to move forward on the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA).

Despite agreement that Indian health care is in a quiet crisis and that conditions for many tribes are depressing, IHCIA- the backbone of the health system, has been allowed to expire. A bi-partisan coalition has attempted to get the act reauthorized during this and the last two congressional sessions.

NATIVE RELIGION AND REPATRIATION: On July 14, the same Senate committee held an oversight hearing concerning two human rights laws: the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act and the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The purpose was to determine if federal agencies are protecting sacred places from public destruction while allowing access to native religious practitioners and are properly consulting with tribes on a government-to-government basis regarding these laws and cultural items. When tribes have historic ties to the land, are their wishes considered before building projects are undertaken? There is concern that the laws need to be strengthened. Currently Native Americans cannot bring an action when there is a problem. Brian Pogue, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Interior, and Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief of USDA Forest Service in Agriculture, testified about agency implementation of the two laws. The concerns of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples were brought forward by Walter Echo-Hawk, Native American Rights Fund, Suzan Shown Harjo, Morning Star Institute, and Bernard Red Cherries, Sundance Arrow Priest.

Conflicts over ownership exist between archeologists and tribes trying to exercise burial or reburial rights. Law professor Paul Bender, Arizona State University, testified that Congress intended NAGPRA to apply to "indigenous materials, even when no relationship with a present-day Indian tribe has been established." Museums are required by law to return Indian remains clearly traceable to an existing tribe for a proper burial and to catalogue remains with unknown origins so native and non-native experts can try to identify them. Yet, according to discussion at the hearing, although 14 years have passed, only about 1,000 remains have been recovered by tribes and most skulls and skeletons remained uncatalogued. According to testimony, the federal Smithsonian Institution examined its collection and reported that it has 18,500 native human remains, plus 4,500 skulls collected by the Army in the late 1880's, and the National Park Service has classified 100,000 remains as "unclaimed" or "culturally unidentifiable."

POVERTY AS AN ELECTORAL ISSUE: The needs of low-income people need to be lifted up to public attention. Call to Renewal, a coalition of religious organizations headed by Jim Wallis, is mobilizing faith-based organizations in the Midwest this fall. An October 6-17 bus tour is planned as a way to engage people of faith in the political process and to encourage voting as Christian civic participation. The goal is to have both political parties commit to overcoming poverty. The six-state, ten-city bus tour will sponsor rallies, worship services, press events and clergy breakfasts in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. FCNL is deeply concerned that elimination of poverty has not been made a national priority. A quarter of Native Americans live below the poverty line–some without basics such as running water and telephones.

ACTION: To find out more, visit Call to Renewal's web site at www.calltorenewal.org and find out how to get involved.

Register to vote, question the candidates, and order Vote 2004 action packets by visiting our web site at, www.fcnl.org and click on the Vote button.