Follow our specially tagged blog posts throughout the week for more on how the proposed budget affects many of the priority issues for our Movement.
While Americans prepare to privatize the moon and the Department of Defense embraces vintage helicopters, many groups have reason to cheer the Obama Administration’s pared down, but thoughtfully allocated budget for fiscal year 2011. Among them are Native Americans who have received increased monies toward governance, education, law enforcement and health care.
The most promising appropriation is an additional $9 million in funding Native American schools from the elementary level through to tribal colleges and universities. This financial boost comes at a welcome time when Indian educators are pushing for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which is on this year’s legislative agenda. Creating high-level federal Indian education positions, fostering language and cultural learning, and increasing funding for Indian serving institutions are priorities of the National Indian Education Association, which has reached out to retiring Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-ND) to request that he focus increased energy on Indian education in his last year in Congress.
Much needed additional funds have also been appropriated for the Indian Health Service, which will receive a $354 million increase to its $5.4 billion budget for the improvement of health services in the hope of reducing disparities for Native Americans and Alaska Natives who have historically faced barriers to high quality health care. It is crucial to note, however, that additional monies are merely a palliative solution to the woefully inadequate health care system that serves this population. True improvement will come with the overhaul of our nation’s health care system, which includes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. This legislation expands coverage for Native Americans under Medicaid, Medicare and SCHIP and aims to recruit and retain professionals to work on isolated reservations.
Native American tribes are cheering the allocation of an additional $19 million to the FBI to fight crime on reservations, but in this case as well more must be done. While welcoming increased efforts by federal law enforcement to protect their communities, tribal leaders continue to push for passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009 (S. 797) in the hopes of increasing Native American tribes’ law enforcement powers as well as federal powers and responsibilities regarding crimes on Indian land, which frequently go unprosecuted.
Overall, the Obama Administration has shown a clear commitment to improving access to resources and protection of Native American communities, but the budget falls far short of achieving much-needed change. Let this be a first step forward on an ambitious path to reform.