The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Historic Address Calls Attention to the State of American Indian Nations

Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 2/14/2003

According to Tex Hall, President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), there are three major areas of concern for the nation’s Tribes: survival as independent self-governing peoples; meaningful economic development; and overall well being of American Indian and Alaska Native people.

Hall's January 31 “State of American Indian Nations” address was a response to the President’s State of the Union address, and a chance for many non-Native Americans to learn and be inspired to do something about the inexcusable often ignored state of American Indians.

Hall pointed to the fact the increasing encroachments on Tribal sovereignty (tribes are recognized governments) has led to a break down in law enforcement. For example, 75 percent of domestic violence incidents involve a non-Indian offender, over which the tribal police have limited jurisdiction.

Concerning the issue of economic development, Hall declared, “There is no group of people with a more urgent economic crisis than American Indians.” With unemployment rates as high as 80% in some communities, he urged the government to address this problem with the same tenacity set on recovering from the national economic slump.

Hall also pointed out that “while the rest of the country is seeing the arrival of DSL… many tribal communities still await basic telephone service…23.4% have no telephone service…14.2% of Indian households have no access to electricity.”

The health and overall well being of American Indians and Alaska Natives is also discouraging. According to Hall, “The per capita expenditure for American Indian and Alaska Native medical services is less than one third of the average annual expenditure for individual Medicaid assistance.” This, coupled with high mortality rates from diabetes and other diseases, indicates that the overall health of Native Americans is in jeopardy.

The Native American education system is also in need of serious attention. With high school drop out rates of about 50 percent there is a desperate need to assure that “no child is left behind in our land of promise and opportunity.”