Great Plains Tribes: Indian health care is a treaty right

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Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. United States: Indian Health Care is a Treaty Right

Monday, December 20, 2021

By Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association

With all due respect, we call upon the Biden Administration to honor the U.S. Court of Appeals decision in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. United States. Indian Health Care is a Treaty Right!

On August 25, 2021, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that where the 1868 Treaty with the Great Sioux Nation says, America will provide a physician, buildings and appropriations, it means that the United States will provide “competent” physician-led health care.

The Biden—Harris Administration has said that “in America health care is a right, not a privilege.”

"No one else needs to die": A deadline is fast approaching for the Biden administration to live up to its promise to do better in Indian Country. #HonorTheTreaties #JoeBiden https://t.co/egMYM1vhPp
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Secretary Xavier Becerra of the Department of Health and Human Services has been conducting consultations on Indian health care as mandatory spending on par with Medicaid and Medicare.

“We understand that Secretary Haaland and Secretary Becerra want to honor the Eighth Circuit decision in Rosebud Sioux Tribe to respect the 1868 Treaty,” Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association Chairman Harold Frazier said in reference to Becerra and to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is the first Native person to serve in a presidential cabinet.

Harold Frazier serves as Chairman of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association and of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Photo by Kevin Abourezk

“Now, it’s time for Attorney General Merrick Garland to honor President Biden’s policy, and drop the Trump Administration’s opposition to the Rosebud Indian Health Care lawsuit,” Frazier continued.

“It’s time for DOJ to honor our Indian treaties, according to their plain language. Indian health care is a Treaty Right,” Frazier concluded.

Executive Director A. Gay Kingman noted: “Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, and Catherine Cortez-Masto and the Bi-Partisan House Native American Caucus, including South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson, called on the Biden Administration to honor Indian health care as a treaty right.”

8th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision

Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. United States (August 25, 2021)

Letters of Support in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. United States

Members of Congress

Indian Country Organizations

Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association

President Scott Herman of Rosebud Sioux Tribe