Opinion: Government shirks responsibility for urban Indians

The Seattle Indian Health Board was established in 1970, at a time when the United States was trying to rectify some of the damage the country had created by relocating large numbers of Indians to cities.

But in the last 40 years two presidents sought to eliminate funding for urban Indian health. President Reagan did not ask for money for urban Indians in the first six budgets he sent to Congress. President George W. Bush zeroed out the urban Indian health program on his last three budgets. Fortunately, Congress added the funding back.

Still, the funding for urban Indian health remains a scant 1 percent of the Indian Health Service budget, even while the percentage of Indians living in cities has reached 71 percent. Regardless of whether they live on reservation or in an urban area, the health crisis among Indians continues at shocking rates for an industrialized country.

Congress grants very few dollars to aid urban Indians, and runs the risk in this era of budget cutting of eliminating some urban Indians from receiving the health care promised in federal law and treaties.