Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine and Pay in Doubt in Indian Country

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine and Pay in Doubt in Indian Country

By Mitch Smith and Julie Turkewitz
Jan. 1, 2019

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — For one tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the government shutdown comes with a price tag: about $100,000, every day, of federal money that does not arrive to keep health clinics staffed, food pantry shelves full and employees paid.

The tribe is using its own funds to cover the shortfalls for now. But if the standoff in Washington continues much longer, that stopgap money will be depleted. Later this month, workers could be furloughed and health services could be pared back. “Everything,” said Aaron Payment, the chairman of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe, “is on the table.”

For many Americans who are not federal workers or contractors, a shutdown is a minor inconvenience. A trip to a national park may be canceled. A call to a government office may go unanswered. But for Native American tribes, which rely heavily on federal money to operate, a shutdown can cripple their most basic functions.

All across Indian Country, the federal shutdown slices deep. Generations ago, tribes negotiated treaties with the United States government guaranteeing funds for services like health care and education in exchange for huge swaths of territory.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/us/native-american-government-shutdown.html

[GusBob]

1. Dang! I was to find out about a position with the IHS out west this week!

Guess I wont be getting that phone call.

I'd be willing to work without pay thru the shutdown, but probably none of the other staff would