U.S. Civil Rights Panel Chides Gov't (Re. Native Americans)

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON -- The government is failing to provide adequate health care, law enforcement and education to American Indians, and other government agencies need to do more to enforce civil rights policies, two reports from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights say.

The commission said American Indians rank near the bottom of almost every social, health and economic indicator. They have more than twice the average poverty rate and unemployment rate and lag in high school and college graduation rates. In addition, they have the shortest life expectancy and suffer from more diseases.

"Native Americans have suffered too long from inattention and halfhearted efforts, and the crisis in Indian country must be addressed with the urgency it demands," the report said. "The federal government must take immediate steps to resolve the disparate living conditions that plague Indian country."

Various treaties and legislation have given the federal government a financial obligation to protect American Indian lands and provide social services, which in large part are not being done.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-civil-rights,0,4988034.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[xchrom]

1. the repukes are going to care?

not that any admin does right by native american concerns -- but when i think of the deficits and under funded leave no child behind, cost over-runs in iraq, increased military spending -- i begin to feel faint. where the fuck is it all going to come from?
and 1st nations people are probably at the top of my list.