So far, most of the government”s austerity movement has been theoretical. We know the federal budget is shrinking, but the evidence of that has been slow to surface. Proposals to wipe out the Bureau of Indian Affairs (and replace it with what?) remain little more than spin. Kentucky Sen. Paul Rand’s bill, for example, has […]
Mark Trahant
Posted inRange
Dental boot camp brings services to Alaska natives
BETHEL, Alaska — Conan Murat has a tough schedule. About every other week he packs up a portable dental office, checks his groceries, sleeping bags and other supplies, then he flies to one of his 13 assigned remote villages in the Yukon-Kushkokwin Delta. Then remote is a relative word: Murat’s base is Aniak, some 90 […]
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Three Books from Indian Country
Here are my three picks for the best in summer reading: 1. Walter Echo-Hawk’s In the Courts of the Conquerors: The Ten Worst Indian Law Cases Ever Decided. 2. Roberta Ulrich’s American Indian Nations from Termination to Restoration, 1953-2006. 3. Alison Owings’ Indian Voices: Listening to Native Americans. Echo-Hawk’s book ought to retire the entire […]
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Throw away the old playbook
Idaho’s Bannock County is considering an ordinance that would create an “overlay” zoning district on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. The idea is that the county would “serve” non-Indians who live on the reservation, while the tribes would then be limited to zoning its own members. This is a script from an old playbook. Basically, […]
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Are Indians and Westerners halfway to a lost decade?
Last week I wrote about how this economic crisis will impact Indian Country through the loss of government-funded jobs. Indeed, readers reacted to my commentary with two basic responses. One group said it’s time for Native Americans to get off the dole; another asked why tribes aren’t solving this problem on their own? But Indian […]
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Where are the jobs in Indian country?
Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics started a frenzy when it released its latest job report, showing that only 54,000 jobs were added to the economy in May. That’s true. And, I think the White House ought to get more credit for keeping the economy from falling off the cliff. But at the same […]
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Tribes need foreign policies
Nobel winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is trying to change the national debate about the deficit, the role of government and the impact of those policies on the day-to-day economy. “There are principled ways of cutting the deficit … putting Americans back to work,” the Columbia University professor recently said in a speech, as quoted in […]
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American Indians suffer from high gas prices
A few weeks ago Bloomberg News reported that Saudia Arabia is investing $100 billion in renewable energy sources. In other words the country with the largest known reserves of oil is spending its profits building power plants fueled by nuclear energy, wind, geothermal and solar power. What does Saudia Arabia know that the rest of […]
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Indians await health care funding
Just over a year ago President Barack Obama signed the health care reform bill into law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. That measure, of course, also includes the permanent authorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. So what has happened since the president signed the bill into law on March 23, 2010? […]
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Deflation Nation
Finally the economy seems to be creating jobs again. Last week a federal jobs survey showed an increase in 222,000 private sector jobs, a full year of growth that added 1.5 million jobs at companies and small businesses. As Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers put it in his White House blog: […]
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What is ‘Plan B’ for tribes during a government shutdown?
Is there a Plan B? That is the question tribes, Indian organizations and government agencies should be asking — and answering because it looks more and more likely there will be a federal government shutdown early next month. Why is this a concern now? Congress did not pass a budget for this fiscal year. Instead, […]
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Health cuts and Indian Country
Journalists like me have played the role of Chicken Little for many years. We have written dozens of stories about the consequences of an election, predicting what will happen after Republicans win and fulfill their promises to drastically cut government. Only very little happened. Sure, there were significant budget cuts and restructuring of programs under […]
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A new standard for tribal and U.S. relations
WASHINGTON, D.C. — What’s my take away from the White House Tribal Nations Conference? Easy. This is an administration that actually believes the United States government must represent all of the people, including American Indians and Alaska Natives. Make no mistake: Everything is not perfect between Indian Country and the United States as we close […]
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Cobell, settled at last
Federal government finally accounts for money mismanagement of tribal nations.
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So goes Alaska…goes Indian Country
There are three elements in successful political campaigns: money, organization and voter participation. The historic re-election of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, had all three … generated by Alaska Natives. But 2010 was no ordinary year for a lot of reasons. The first one being a change in the election laws because of a […]
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A new article of faith: don’t make the poor balance the budget
There is a political article of faith: “Don’t raise taxes during a recession.” Just Google the phrase and you’ll find some 2.5 million results. The popular idea is that deeply embedded into our political thinking. Of course it makes economic sense: You want people to spend their money on goods and services. Then producers will […]
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We, the American people, are united by our divisions
All election night the message was about how the people have spoken with a clear voice and returned Republicans to power. In Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul called it the “Tea Party tidal wave.” Or the soon-to-be Speaker of the House, John Boehner, said “it’s clear tonight who the real winners are, that’s the American […]
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Do Indian Country voters have the president’s back?
By any objective measure Barack Obama has been the most engaged and effective president on American Indian issues since at least since Richard Nixon. You could even make the case that Obama is better than Nixon because there has been so much successful legislation and Executive Branch action in less than two years. A quick […]
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What will the Indian health system look like?
What will the Indian health system look like a decade from now? That’s an impossible question to answer. There is the potential of a court ruling striking down at least part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And, there is always the possibility of Congress will rewrite the law (I view this as […]
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A fast year
Lessons from the Indian Health System A year goes by fast. Way too fast. Thirteen months ago I plunged into my “year-long” exploration of the Indian health system. It’s been fascinating because there has so much activity: Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and included with that bill the permanent authorization of […]