- Details
- By Press Releases
Call comes as first COVID-19 case is confirmed in Indian Country – follows congressional approval of coronavirus emergency funding bill that includes $40 million in funds for Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Urban Indian Health Organizations
From Press Release
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate health committee, joined U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), the vice chairman of the Indian Affairs committee, and a bipartisan group of 25 colleagues in writing to Vice President Mike Pence to request the Trump administration meaningfully engage with Native communities and Tribal leaders on their response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The senators sent the letter following congressional passage of a coronavirus emergency supplemental appropriations bill that includes $40 million for Tribes, Tribal organizations, and Urban Indian Health Organizations impacted by COVID-19.
The United States has confirmed COVID-19 cases in a number of states where Tribes and urban Indian communities are located. Given these developments and past issues accessing federal resources for the Zika, Ebola, H1N1, and SARS outbreaks, Tribes and Urban Indian Organizations are concerned that federal COVID-19 response efforts and resources will not reach them.
“As you undertake your work leading the Administration’s 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response, [we] urge you to meaningfully engage with Native communities and Tribal leaders,” the senators wrote.
“The U.S. government has specific trust and treaty responsibilities to provide American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) with comprehensive quality healthcare,” the senators continued. “While the IHS serves as the primary agency charged with provision of AI/AN healthcare, all federal healthcare-related programs and initiatives – including the COVID-19 response – share equally in the requirement to fulfill these trust and treaty obligations.”
“Additionally, to ensure proper precautions and response measures are deployed efficiently, it is imperative that Tribal and urban Indian health teams have access to Congressionally-allocated COVID-19 resources and the most up-to-date information regarding the presence of COVID-19 in their communities,” the letter concluded.
In addition to Cantwell, Murray, and Udall, the letter was also signed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jon Tester (D-MT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
The full text of the letter can be found HERE and below.
March 5, 2020
Dear Mr. Vice President,
As you undertake your work leading the Administration’s 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response, we urge you to meaningfully engage with Native communities and Tribal leaders. Specifically, we ask that you ensure the Administration:
Includes a representative of the Indian Health Service (IHS) on the Administration’s COVID-19 task force;
Provides Tribal leaders, Tribal health departments, and urban Indian health programs with equal access to COVID-19 related information that is provided to their state and local counterparts; and
Directs all COVID-19 resources identified by Congress for Native communities’ use to impacted IHS facilities, Tribes, and urban Indian health programs in a timely manner.
The U.S. government has specific trust and treaty responsibilities to provide American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) with comprehensive quality healthcare. While the IHS serves as the primary agency charged with provision of AI/AN healthcare, all federal healthcare-related programs and initiatives – including the COVID-19 response – share equally in the requirement to fulfill these trust and treaty obligations.
Additionally, to ensure proper precautions and response measures are deployed efficiently, it is imperative that Tribal and urban Indian health teams have access to Congressionally-allocated COVID-19 resources and the most up-to-date information regarding the presence of COVID-19 in their communities. As the IHS noted in its February 24th announcement, the state of the COVID-19 threat “is a rapidly evolving situation, and information is likely to become dated quickly.”[1] As such, it is incumbent on the Administration to keep Indian Tribes, Tribal health departments, and urban Indian health programs apprised of any relevant developments in real time.
Thank you for your attention to these matters. We look forward to working with you to uphold the Federal government’s Tribal trust and treaty responsibilities and to engage in meaningful government-to-government relations with Indian Tribes and urban Indian communities regarding the national COVID-19 response.
More Stories Like This
Native Bidaské with Erin Fehr on What Eclipses Mean to Various TribesCalifornia Roundtable Dissects Detriments of Public Law 280 to Tribal Public Safety, Sovereignty
Cherokee Veterans in the Nation’s Capital for 10th Cherokee Warrior Flight
Montana Supreme Court Strikes Down Voting Laws Intended to Disenfranchise Native Voters
Women’s History Month: Elizabeth Peratrovich (Tlingit)
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.