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“The federal government funds or provides many services to Indian Country — including law enforcement, healthcare programs, and road maintenance — as a result of treaties signed generations ago in which the US government guaranteed funds to tribes, according to The New York Times. The shutdown has meant tribal officials have had to either pause programs or dip into their funds to cover basic services such as healthcare and education.
“The federal government owes us this: We prepaid with millions of acres of land,” Aaron Payment, the chairman of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe, told The Times. “We don’t have the right to take back that land, so we expect the federal government to fulfill its treaty and trust responsibility.”
For a tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan, the shutdown has meant daily losses of $100,000 in federal funding. The money, according to The Times, funds health clinics, food pantries, and other services. For now, the tribe is using its own funds but stands the chance to deplete its stopgap account if the shutdown continues longer.”
– Business Insider, How the government shutdown is taking a toll on Native American tribes across the US.
“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.”
– The New York Times, Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine and Pay in Doubt in Indian Country.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #1 – Government Shutdown.
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country. Follow the series: Indian Country 52
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
