Lo, the Poor Indian!

Commentary Magazine ^ | June 16th, 2009 | John Steele Gordon

[Jbny]

Alexander Pope decried the American Indian’s “untutor’d mind” that “Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind.” But Pope never encountered the Indian Health Service, which delivers what it is pleased to call health care to two million American Indians living on reservations in thirty-five states. “Don’t get sick after June” is the standard advice, for by then the money allocated by Congress has mostly run out.

[Wage Slave]

I see God in clouds and hear Him in the wind, too.

[ASOC]

““Don’t get sick after June” is the standard advice, for by then the money allocated by Congress has mostly run out.”

Then in August, they go on a spending spree to ensure they have completely burned up their budget.... Ever wonder about all that new furniture?

The FedGov IS NOT your friend. They are the reason to be afraid. ANY government big enuf to give you all you want is big enuf to take it all away....

[Rashputin]

My wife is Indian and I'm a vet, tell me about it. She's never used the available services and I avoid the Vet, literally, like the plague. Until Congress members and every single Federal employee has been on a system for a decade, it shouldn't even be considered refined enough to put into law and crap on the rest of us with.

But, I could be prejudiced, since I paid a bundle in cash for my niece when the Indian services said she had, “bad pneumonia” but sent her home with aspirin. No antibiotics, mind you, but just and only aspirin. Maybe they were were trying to be all natural or something after all, the hospital we took her to only put her in ICU and started cussing us out for not bringing her sooner. Once they understood that we didn't find out until it was at that point, they cursed even worse at her “medical services” than they had a us. The hospital social worker said if she weren't under that program, we'd have been looked into for neglect, but those covered by the program are never checked when this sort of thing comes up. It was nice to know it was common enough for them to have a policy, I'd hate to think there was a lack of oversight or quality followup of the program. One of those cruel, selfish, capitalist, so and sos put her family on his practice patient list and has looked over them free of charge for the past three years. You just can't trust the selfish, can you?

Why is this such a little known problem for FBI folks? It can't possibly that they're a minority, can it?

Great, eh?

[married21]

I received dental treatment once from Indian healthcare, back in about 1980. I was visiting a local reservation in the San Diego area to play the organ for the children’s choir at the church there. After rehearsal, they rounded up all the kids and took them to the federally funded mobile dental clinic. They wanted me to come to, to beef up the attendance. If enough people made use of the service, it would keep coming back. I filled out paperwork before my dental exam, asking me my ethnicity. I put “Polish-American”, and got my free check-up.
Things have changed a lot for that tribe, since they successfully entered the Indian gaming arena. But there are other tribes that seem to be terribly bad off.

I like the point in the article that the government would do well to demonstrate that it can take care of Indian health before it tries to take on everybody’s health.

[Graybeard58]

The main problem is a lack of federal money

No, it isn't.

a people that have been guaranteed free health care by the federal government since 1787

There's the problem.

[Graybeard58]

The least we can do is provide some basic services.

Forever? Might as well pay reparations to black people while we are at it. I never owned any slaves either.

[AuntB]

"Hell, if any group of people in the US deserve special treatment from the government, it’s Native Americans. They’ve been systematically screwed and betrayed at every turn by those who took over their lands for 400 years now. The least we can do is provide some basic services."

__________________________

Indians, though many were spritual, were not immortal. Not one "Indian" alive today suffered those betrayals. They are not victims except by their own design and the help of government. No one provides basic services for me...why should I pay for theirs? I'm as much 'native' as any of them.

The only 'fair' reparations would be to give them bare land like they left. Their ancestors had no problem surviving, but this modern culture of "Indians' would never make it. What this all proves is a 'nation within a nation' does not work. Just like it won't work with enclaves of Muslim shiria law. Or a little Mexico within our cities with as corrupt governments as the tribal ones are.

An Indian said it best. THIS is what we can do for the American Indian.

"Treat all men alike. Give them the same law. Give them an even chance to live and grow."

Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce c. 1877

[married21]

To the extent that we have any treaty obligations regarding healthcare, we should honor them. Every tribe’s history with the US government is different, though, which complicates things. But it was a deliberate strategy by the US government starting in the 1800s to make Indians weak and dependent. To undo the damage, and do it in cooperation with the tribes, may be a long-term challenge, for any leaders who would aspire to it. I sadly predict that for some tribes this could fester for generations to come, particularly the tribes who won’t accept simply a monetary settlement. (There’s that one tribe in the Great Plains, I believe, that won a money settlement in federal court, when what they wanted was their land back. The money has been accruing interest in the bank for a couple decades by now, and they won’t touch it.)

[AuntB]

This is a perfect example of why socialized/government run medicine CANNOT work.

See post #9

and

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2272453/posts?page=16#16

[blackie]

You said it “B”, good job on all three posts...I agree 100%!

Another Native American,
Blackie

[AuntB]

Since I got the new digital TV thing, I can’t get AM radio reception! Figure that one out! hmm....maybe there is a government program for poor minorities like me. LOL!

You know Blackie, from a purely ‘gimmee, I’m a victim’ standpoint, I can understand the angle. Think of it, just how much can the minority of modern ‘native americans’ (who were NEVER victimized) squeeze out of the rest of us. ...my grgrandfather, Cherokee, lived where Rome, Georgia is now. I could stand a chunk of that! Then they were moved to the Grand River in Oklahoma....not a bad place at all. Then they owned a county in Texas where they had no mineral rights, but there’s lots of oil today. Some of them found gold in California, I must be entitled to part of that!

Hereditary greed seems to be a powerful motivator, doesn’t?
What the modern ‘Indian’ seems to forget, that ‘whites’ like you and me is that we BOTH had a full blood greatgrandfather who walked this country as an Indian and was victimized. Some current day ‘tribe’ has no more claim to anything in or from this this nation than you or I do.

I’m so sick of this ‘race’ division tactic I can hardly stand it.

[blackie]

Yep, the ‘race’ division tactic is designed to upset.

We have four digital flat screen LCD TVs on DirecTV and seven radios around the house and all radios get great reception. Of course KPNW is a 50K Watt station here in Eugene and you hear it all over.

[AuntB]

I’m using antenna so I suppose that’s why I’m getting all the interference.

[blackie]

Most radios have built in antenna, except car radios.